RCS - Symphony Environment - Study Findings - No Trace of Microplastics

Symphony Environmental TechnologiesAnnouncement

11/03/2025 07:15

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RNS Number : 0815A  Symphony Environmental Tech. PLC  11 March 2025

This is a Reach (i.e. non-regulatory) announcement and the information
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11 March 2025

 

SYMPHONY ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES PLC

("Symphony", the "Company" or the "Group")

 

Scientific study confirms

no trace of microplastics in soil from d2w plastics

 

Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc (AIM:SYM), the global specialists in
technologies that make plastic and rubber products smarter, safer, and more
sustainable, is pleased to announce the results of an important scientific
study by Intertek International ("Intertek")  relating to its d2w
biodegradable technology. The study shows conclusively that d2w in plastics
does not create microplastics and instead causes a complete transformation of
the plastic into natural biodegradable compounds which are then organically
recycled back to nature.

The Intertek study

Intertek performed the study between 20 January and 7 March 2025 with the
objective of establishing the composition of any residues from degraded d2w
products. The study concludes that after samples of polyethylene (PE) and
polypropylene (PP) had degraded in soil, ZERO microplastics were found.

Intertek used ISO Standard 24187:2023, the standard for investigating
microplastics in various environmental matrices. The soil used had also been
tested in accordance with the OECD 207 and 208 standards, and no toxicity to
seedlings or earthworms was found.

About Intertek

Intertek Group plc is a multinational company that provides assurance,
inspection, product testing, and certification services. Headquartered in
London, Intertek is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is on the FTSE 100
Index. See www.intertek.com

Michael Laurier, CEO of Symphony said:

"In addition to this groundbreaking study, which confirms what Symphony and
many scientists and organisations have always understood, a Position Paper
published by Symphony
(https://www.biodeg.org/subjects-of-interest/microplastics/) on microplastics
has been endorsed by some of the world's leading polymer scientists in Canada,
USA and Brazil, confirming that d2w technology does not create microplastics.

Many people have asked why our sales of d2w had been slow to develop, and the
main reason is the misconception that plastics made with d2w technology merely
fragment into microplastics, which is the position that the EU and some
corporations have taken. We now believe that with this new scientific
evidence, these misperceptions will change."

 

Enquiries

 Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc
 Michael Laurier, CEO                                                  +44 (0) 20 8207 5900
 Ian Bristow, CFO
 www.symphonyenvironmental.com (http://www.symphonyenvironmental.com)

Microplastics - Information

Microplastics are seen today as the main problem with plastics. They are tiny
pieces of plastic, which are being found on land, in the sea, and now even in
the air we breathe and the water we drink. Some of the microplastics are
coming from tyres and man-made fibres, and recycling and composting can also
be a source of microplastics, but most of the microplastics found in the
environment are caused by the fragmentation of ordinary plastic.

Exposure to weathering in the environment causes the degradation of ordinary
plastic articles, leading to embrittlement and fragmentation in as little as
4-8 weeks, particularly when exposed to sunlight, on land or when floating on
the ocean. Fragmentation will be accelerated by colorants and other impurities
in the plastic.

The problem is that although ordinary plastics are degrading, they persist in
the environment for a long time because their molecular weight is too high for
biodegradation.  They then get smaller and smaller until they are small
enough to get into our bodies. This persistent particulate litter takes
decades to degrade sufficiently to permit biodegradation. Also, fragmented
conventional polymers are more likely to be occluded from sunlight by burial
in topsoil or vegetation and to be susceptible to biofouling over time,
resulting in a reduced rate of degradation.

This is why d2w biodegradable plastic was invented. Professor Ignacy
Jakubowicz, one of the world's leading polymer scientists, has described the
process as follows: "The degradation process is not only a fragmentation, but
is an entire change of the material from a high molecular-weight polymer to
monomeric and oligomeric fragments, and from hydrocarbon molecules to
oxygen-containing molecules which can be bioassimilated."

The prodegradant catalyst in the d2w masterbatch not only accelerates
oxidative degradation and reduction of molecular weight but also - critically
- removes the dependence of this process on sunlight so that, unlike
conventional plastics or photo-degradable plastics, degradation will continue
in darkness - even if buried - until biodegradability is achieved.

In September 2024, scientists at Lambton Manufacturing Innovation Centre in
Ontario, Canada, reported on biodegradable plastic and concluded that
oxo-degradable plastics (i.e. ordinary plastics) create microplastics, but
oxo-biodegradable plastics do not. They said:

"Oxo-biodegradable plastics are both bioplastics and biodegradable plastics.
They consist of a conventional plastic containing a masterbatch. The
masterbatches cause the molecular chains to be dismantled by oxidation so that
the material is no longer a plastic and becomes biodegradable. Light and heat
will accelerate the process, but it will continue even in dark, cold
conditions. Moisture is not necessary for oxidation and does not prevent it."

"Ordinary plastic and oxo-biodegradable plastic lose their strength and fall
apart at about the same time when exposed to sunlight, but the fragments of
ordinary plastic have a molecular weight which is much too high for
biodegradation."

"In summary, it is clear that if plastic products are made with an
oxo-biodegradable masterbatch and get into the open environment intentionally
or by accident, the molecular weight of the plastic will reduce much more
quickly and it will become a waxy substance which is no longer a plastic. It
will then have become a source of nutrition for naturally occurring
micro-organisms."

The European Chemicals Agency ("ECHA") were asked to study this type of
plastic in December 2017. They made a Call for Evidence, and they advised
after 10 months that they were not convinced that it creates microplastics. We
agree with them and have seen no evidence that microplastics from
oxo-biodegradable plastic have ever been found in the environment.

 

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