The Plastic Bag Debate

Symphony Environmental Tech. PLC
03 March 2008


 

                                                                      
                                                                                
For Immediate Release                                      3 March 2008

 

                                                                                
                                                                                
                    SYMPHONY ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES PLC                     
                                                                                
                                ('Symphony' SYM)                                

 

                             THE PLASTIC BAG DEBATE                             

 

Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc ('Symphony' or 'the Company'), the
degradable plastics and waste-to-energy Group, welcomes the debate in the UK
press about plastic bags, and the interest which the Prime Minister is showing
in the subject.

 

Symphony has over the past seven years made very large investments to create and
develop an additive which, when added to normal polymers at the manufacturing
stage, renders them oxo-biodegradable.

 

Oxo-biodegradable plastic bags pass the tests prescribed by American Standard
6954 and they degrade to carbon dioxide, water and biomass with in a few months
on land or in water leaving no fragments or harmful residues. They are made from
a by-product of oil refining which would otherwise be wasted, so nobody is
importing oil to make them. The oil is being imported to make petrol and diesel.

 

Symphony believes that it is wrong to ban plastic bags altogether, as they are
so light, strong, durable, and convenient. Instead they (and all other plastic
products with a useful life of 5 years or less) should be made
oxo-biodegradable. If this were done, further accumulation of plastic waste in
the environment would be greatly reduced. In Brazil, Argentina and in the city
of Delhi, there is already legislation requiring shopping bags to be degradable.

 

Commenting on the decision of Marks & Spencer to charge 5p for each bag,
Symphony's CEO, Michael Laurier said. 'The bags they are selling are made partly
from recycled material and partly from virgin material, but they are not
degradable and will still lie around in the environment for hundreds of years.
As an environmentally-responsible company, M&S would be well advised to put our
additive into their bags, as the Co-op has already done. The 5p they are
charging would pay for the additive many times over.'

 

Customers will not take their goods home in their pockets, and the alternatives
are worse for the environment. Starch-based bags (complying with EN 13432) made
from crops are at least 400% more expensive, they are not strong enough, and
they emit methane (a serious greenhouse gas) in landfill. It is the opinion of
the directors of Symphony that it is wrong to use scarce land and water
resources to grow crops to make plastic bags, given that it drives up the cost
of food for the poorest people.

 

The same applies to growing cotton or jute to make durable bags, which are
usually transported thousands of miles from the Far East. These become
unhygienic and become a durable form of litter quite soon, but they can be made
from oxo-bio plastic to last up to 5 years.

 

Paper bags use 300% more energy to produce, and to transport, and they are not
strong enough.

 

Paper, jute and cotton, as well as starch-based plastics, will all emit methane
in landfill

 

 

For further information, please contact:

 
Symphony                                                               
Michael Stephen (Deputy Chairman)       Tel: [phone]             
                                                                       
                                        07917-796444                   
                                                                       
                                                                       
                                                                       
Carteret Communications                                                
Max de Trense                           Tel: [phone]            
                                                                       
                                        07795-204078                   
                                                                       

 

 

SYMPHONY ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES PLC is a world leader in oxo-biodegradable
plastic technology. The technology is recognised by the d2w(R) droplet logo on
thousands of tonnes of oxo-biodegradable plastic products. Symphony develops and
supplies environmentally-responsible d2w(R) pro-degradant additives as well as
d2w(R) oxo-biodegradable plastic film, and rigid packaging products.

 

Symphony has a diverse and growing customer base in the UK and has successfully
established itself as an international business after signing distribution
agreements for Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada & USA, the Caribbean, Chile,
Colombia, France, India, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Portugal, South
Africa, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Uruguay, Qatar and other countries. Its d2w(R)
products can already be found in more than 50 countries.

 

Symphony is also developing innovative waste-to-energy technology and is
exploring opportunities where there is a demand to convert plastics, tyres and
other waste streams into valuable products by cost effective processes.

 

Further information on the Symphony Group can be found at
www.symphonyplastics.com and www.degradable.net Further information on
oxo-biodegradable plastic can be found on www.biodeg.org



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