Symphony Environmental T... Share Discussion Threads

[tsmith2] 20/7/2018 08:15

UNINVESTABLE

[jmf69] 20/7/2018 08:13

Biopastics with the correct industrial composting infrastructure is the way forward.

[runthejoules] 20/7/2018 08:10

Glad I decided not to invest here but wondering what the heck happened> Bad EU decision?

[jmf69] 20/7/2018 08:09

Their technology is massively flawed and does nothing to solve the plastic problem and just breaks down in to more dangerous particles.

[moneytree1] 20/7/2018 08:02

watched the news last nite

RUN FOR THE HILLS!

[mattjos] 20/7/2018 00:17

Neil .. back on filter. I do think you would benefit from some psychiatric help to help you move on in your life. Hope you will manage to do so.

[melody9999] 20/7/2018 00:01

The BBC article majored on oxo-biodegrable. But oxo-biodegradable products are widely used outside the EU. Its difficult to believe those countries have not carried out their own due diligence before adopting the technology.

I suspect oxo-biodegradable is part of the solution to the plastic issue but not where the plastic is likely to be submerged in water from day 1.

See extracts from recent RNS which indicate that the SYM generates little revenue from the EU and states what oxo biodegrable does do.


Trading Update / AGM 15 May
Europe
As reported on 14 March 2018 in our Preliminary Results, the EU Commission has requested the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to review the evidence on oxo-degradable plastics and to prepare a report to the Commission on whether any restrictions should be applied to this type of plastic. Our d2w plastic is not oxo-degradable, but oxo-biodegradable, as defined by the European Standards authority "CEN", but we are nevertheless providing substantial evidence to ECHA. We understand one key focus of their report will be on plastic fragments. Symphony can prove that oxo-biodegradable treated plastics does not cause persistent fragments but instead converts the plastic through a continuance process much more quickly into non-plastic biodegradable materials that naturally biodegrade in a similar way as a leaf in the open environment on land and in the oceans.

Prelim

"The year under review saw a continued improvement in the Group's financial performance - revenues, profits and cash generation have all increased and we are now free of debt. Throughout the year we have explained to governments, potential customers and NGOs the benefits of using our growing range of technologies, and in particular, d2w oxo-biodegradable plastic, which can help to solve the problem of persistent plastic pollution. Most of our revenues still derive from d2w and are earned mainly outside of the EU and the United States.

AND
Although Europe is not currently an important market for d2w, we note that the EU Commission have taken an interest in oxo-biodegradable plastic and have asked the European Chemicals Agency ("ECHA") to consider its environmental credentials. The Commission do not as yet understand that the purpose of oxo-biodegradable technology is not to produce microplastics but to ensure that if plastic does fragment in the open environment it will convert much more quickly into biodegradable materials. We therefore welcome the reference to ECHA. Symphony and the Oxo-biodegradable Plastics Association will be assisting ECHA with all necessary technical information, but we do not expect any conclusions for some time.

The EU has been slow to realise the importance of this issue, as countries in the Middle East and other parts of the world have already legislated to require the use of oxo-biodegradable technology. These countries want plastic fragments to be dealt with quickly and automatically, and not to be left as a problem for future generations.

In Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organisation ("SASO") started enforcing legislation requiring the use of oxo-biodegradable plastic for a range of locally manufactured and imported plastic products including carrier bags, packaging films and agricultural films. Symphony was the first company to be awarded the SASO Quality Mark for its d2w oxo-biodegradable additives and to achieve authorised-supplier status for the Saudi Arabian market.

[sikhthetech] 19/7/2018 23:27

BBC News video...

[mattjos] 19/7/2018 23:16

In large parts of the world, & often in the U.K. & EU, plastic packaging is simply dropped from hand & left to blow about the place ... anyone that has travelled to Middle East, India, China etc will have witnessed this .. there is negligible or zero recycling of plastics. The stuff just blows about & collects in places before it finally washes into water courses. In many counties that can take years before it occurs. Surely better that it biodegrades first as a result of SYM's additive?The company is not offering up the 'Ultimate' solution .. that would be a global ban on plastics .. they are simply offering a valid solution to help address the fact that the world, humanity and our way of dealing with one-time use plastics, is very imperfect.

[dparker86] 19/7/2018 23:00

Yep, news mirrors the written article.
There was a little more balance/presentation of their work abroad but the defense to the tests conducted by the UK university is a bit shakey. It performs better than non biodegradable plastic... this is obvious no?

[gimeabreak] 19/7/2018 22:50

Very negative reporting.on the 10 o'clock news this evening suggesting d2w may be band due to its length of time to degrade and then the polution caused by its break up taking so long.Not a good omen seriously consider your position relating to your holding in this company a tough time ahead is on the cards

[mattjos] 19/7/2018 22:48

The piece closes with the stats that 500 billion bags per year are made but, only 1-3% get recycled. That is a helluva lot of plastic bags that persist in the environment & a very large % of those will persist in the presence of oxygen, before reaching the oceans.. likely the vast majority. SYM's technology causes a % of those to disintegrate before they enter the oceans .... how can that be a 'worse' result than not using the additive in the first place? I don't see a global ban on plastic bags / plastic wrappings any time soon .. there is no current cost-effective alternative, when considering the functionality of plastic.Let's see the company response

[zimbtrader] 19/7/2018 22:45

Disastrous as far as publicity goes. Will have to rewatch the BeeB 10 o'clock news as I spent most of my time hiding behind the sofa during the report. I fear a seriously grim day tomorrow....

[nick_dunton] 19/7/2018 22:38

Hi Playful, I didn't see this, what did they say?

[mattjos] 19/7/2018 22:27

Neil, is that your measure of success? Whether another company tries to buy you out?I am an Investor in the company, whereas, as long term readers of this thread know, you have a very personal axe to grind against SYM management . Your view is so biased, your psyche so anchored in the past, that it will never change .. even if the share was trading at £5, you would still be bitter about the past. I cannot take your comments seriously because you will only be, transitorily, happy if the company were to fail. That is not a start-point from which you are capable of reasoned debate here. Move on, for goodness sake. Life is too short to harbour this grudge you have.

[playful] 19/7/2018 22:27

Well that was some publicity on the BBC 10pm news tonight. Whatever happened to those tyre recycling machines that they were involved with years ago.

[neilrr] 19/7/2018 22:03

Mattjos,

Rather than resort to ad hominem attacks have a stab at answering the question.


If d2w is such a great product & going to do so much to solve the world's plastic problems why hasn't any other company shown the slightest inclination to get involved, copy it or buy tiny little SYM out?

[bbmsionlypostafter] 19/7/2018 21:59

d2w doesn't work, has never worked & will never work. The only people who say it works are SYM or their bogus PR front, the OPA.

If it did work SYM would have years of huge sales of the stuff & be a hugely successful company instead of the tiny lifestyle company it clearly is.

[mattjos] 19/7/2018 21:49

If you consider the main areas for their revenue ie. outside the U.K. & EU & then consider the waste streams in those countries, I believe SYM's technology is entirely valid. No doubt the debate will go on in Europe but, Europe is not the world .. far from it.Whilst most only associate the company with oxy-biodegrade plastic bags, the reality is they have broadened their product range over last 10 years into other areas. You need to consider their total revenue mix.I am not suggesting this article is good news for them but, I am sure the company will quickly give a robust, evidence-based, defence & would be surprised if it affects revs for them.

[shrout] 19/7/2018 21:37

Didn't look good at all for SYM. This ain't the solution to the plastics crisis that's for sure.

Chris Packham came out of the piece looking a bit of a chump.. (though I'm a big fan in pretty much every other aspect of what he does).

[hydrus] 19/7/2018 21:35

Fair enough Mattjos. However, public perception is quite important with the whole plastic debate and really it's the issue with plastics in the oceans which has caught fire. My personal view is that retailers are much more likely to focus on recycling than on pushing bags that don't really degrade naturally in the sea. Might be hard for them to explain to customers?

[mattjos] 19/7/2018 21:29

Hydrus, the European Agri lobbyists are extremely active pushing a crop-starch based, plastic alternative. They have a vested interest in that land used to grow the feedstock for this will reduce land available for foodstuffs and therefore likely increase the price for food crops. This is an ongoing battle as many within the protectionist EU.Symphony's product requires oxygen to activate its destruction.I don't doubt that if you take one of their bags and keep it underwater, deprived of oxygen, it will not decline as stated.Please ask yourself: How many plastic bags will journey from shop issuance to the ocean, as a consequence of littering or inadequate waste collection, in the absence of oxygen?