Symphony confident despite court ruling on oxo-degradable plastics

(Sharecast News) - Symphony Environmental Technologies updated the market on Friday on the judgement of the General Court of the European Union, delivered on 31 January, around an EU directive prohibiting oxo-degradable products that do not properly biodegrade. The AIM-traded firm said the court concluded that the defendants had not exceeded discretion limits, leading to Symphony not being awarded compensation.

It said the judgement did not assess the effectiveness of Symphony's d2w technologies, nor did it consider subsequent studies supporting the technology's efficacy or expert evidence regarding the formation of microplastics.

Symphony said its stance, supported by legal counsel, was that d2w should not fall under the EU prohibition.

Despite the legal proceedings, the impact on Symphony's business was said to be minimal, as d2w technology had not been extensively used in the EU in recent years.

The directors attributed the limited use of d2w in the EU to confusion stemming from the wording of the EU directive, which failed to distinguish between oxo-degradable plastic and the oxo-biodegradable technology employed by d2w.

Symphony said its inability to amend the directive prompted the pursuit of compensation.

The court's reference to the CEN definition TR15351, which distinguishes between oxo-degradable and oxo-biodegradable plastics, supported Symphony's position, the board asserted.

"We firmly believe that we were right to challenge this amendment to the draft directive, and maintain that we should have received compensation for the confusion caused," said chief executive officer Michael Laurier.

"We will continue our communications programme to explain the value of d2w biodegradable technology to protect the environment around the world from persistent plastic litter.

"Symphony is heavily invested in a number of exciting territories around the world for our d2w and d2p technologies, and whilst it is frustrating that this judgement makes it more challenging to sell d2w in the EU, the group has a good pipeline of global opportunities for d2w, and we remain confident of communicating further progress in the coming months."

At 1146 GMT, shares in Symphony Environmental Technologies were up 5.08% at 3.42p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.