LONDON, March 22, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- On 11th March the Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) of the UK Government published a Report from Loughborough University entitled "Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Oxo-degradable Plastics Across their Life-cycle."

A detailed response has been prepared by Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc., a British public company quoted on the London Stock Exchange, developing and supplying Oxo-biodegradable plastic technology under its d2w trademark in 92 countries worldwide.

The Loughborough Report has confirmed that oxo-biodegradable plastics:

    
    * Do degrade abiotically in a normal environment
    * Do degrade abiotically under elevated temperatures in landfill
    * Do biodegrade
    * Do not emit methane even deep in landfill
    * Are safe for food contact
    * Contain no heavy metals
    
    The report has also confirmed that:
    
    * Pro-degradant additives are not harmful and have no negative
      environmental impact in the production and use phase
    * There is no evidence of bio-accumulation7 nor any harmful effect
      on the environment
    * There is no evidence of accumulation of pollutants
    * There is no evidence that degradable plastics encourage littering

However, Symphony believes that the Report contains some very strange recommendations about oxo-biodegradable plastics in relation to recycling, composting, and other issues, which are not supported by the evidence.

The report was prepared by four members of staff at Loughborough, none of whom are professors, and none of whom is a specialist in oxo-biodegradable technology. They state that their recommendations are their own opinions, and that their views do not necessarily reflect DEFRA policy or opinions.

The Oxo-biodegradable plastics industry was not given a draft of the Report before publication nor asked for its views on the "Key Findings and Recommendations". Symphony regard this as inappropriate.

For a full copy of the response document please see the attachment or go to http://www.d2w.net or http://www.biodeg.org

Leading international experts on oxo-biodegradable technology, Professor Gerald Scott, and Prof. Telmo Ojeda, have also commented - see http://www.biodeg.org

For videos of Symphony's d2w plastic degrading see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3TGqcpWJTM and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbxEu04t7xE

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:

    
    Max de Trense
    Carteret Communications
    Tel: +44(0)207-828-8598
    M: +44(0)7795 204078
    Email: trense@gmail.com