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Symphony Environmental Technologies PLC begins legal action against EU over


The plastics specialist said it has been advised by three barristers, all experts in EU law, that Article 5 of the SUPD is “confusing and illegal” over its failure to distinguish between oxo-degradable and oxo-biodegradable plastics

() has said it is commencing legal action against the Commission, Parliament, and Council of the European Union (EU) in relation to the bloc’s decision to adopt Article 5 of the Single Use Plastics Directive (SUPD).

The AIM-listed plastics specialist said it has been advised by three barristers, all experts in EU law, that Article 5 of the SUPD is “confusing and illegal” and that it is claiming “substantial damages”.

WATCH: Symphony Environmental Technologies hails antiviral glove and mask results as ‘game changer’

Symphony said the directive required EU member states to ban oxo-degradable plastic products that do not properly biodegrade and are not recyclable with ordinary plastics, however, it has not made the distinction between oxo-degradable and oxo-biodegradable plastic.

The company said its d2w plastic technology is oxo-biodegradable not oxo-degradable and it believes that the product “would achieve considerably better traction both within the EU and outside Europe if we could resolve this confusion”.

“The main purpose of the directive is to ban single-use plastics most often found on the beaches, but there is no evidence that oxo-biodegradable plastics have been found on the beaches or anywhere else”, Symphony said, adding that it has been advised that the SUPD is illegal as there has been “a failure to accord due process, and because it is disproportionate and discriminatory”.

The company also said the EU had failed to comply with procedures set out in the REACH Regulation 2006/1907, which are designed to determine whether substances should be banned in the bloc.

“The board has not taken this action lightly, but the way the EU has behaved and the resultant confusion and damage to our business is unacceptable. We will not accept restraint of trade without due process, non-discrimination, proportionality, and scientific justification”, Symphony chief executive Michael Laurier said in a statement.

“The EU fails to acknowledge that the billions of persistent microplastics in the open environment, including the oceans, are actually coming from the fragmentation of ordinary and bio-based plastics which have not been upgraded with oxo-BIOdegradable technology”, he added.

Symphony’s deputy chairman, Michael Stephen, said that the firm did not expect the legal case to be protracted, as it will “essentially be a point of law for the court to decide”. He also said most of the costs of preparing the case have already been paid.

The firm added that its d2p business, which focuses on anti-bacterial and anti-viral plastic technologies, is “not directly affected” by the SUPD.



Read More: Symphony Environmental Technologies PLC begins legal action against EU over

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