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Symphony Environmental lifted by showcase at United Nations HQ

Published: 17:53 09 Apr 2018 AEST

Gull on a mound of plastic waste
For decades to come there is still going to be a huge amount of plastic in the environment

Bob Wigley, a non-executive director of Symphony Environmental Technologies plc (LON:SYM) addressed the 2018 Economic and Social Council Partnership Forum last week on plastic pollution.

Wigley noted that 11 countries have adopted oxo-biodegradable plastic technology, with the most recent convert being Saudi Arabia.

READ Saudi Arabia gives Symphony Environmental's future a big boost

Wigley noted that some governments have recently moved on from encouraging the recycling and reuse of plastic – treating the symptoms – to reducing the among of plastic used in the first place – treating the cause of the symptoms.

“There is another option, which is removing plastic from the environment. The problem is that more than half of waste plastic ends up in the environment and we are not doing anything about it. That, in turn, causes the problem in the oceans as well as problems for politicians, because litter is lying around and citizens, understandably get cross about it,” Wigley told attendees of the forum, which was held at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

“There is a technology available today, called oxo-biodegradation, which has one, utterly unique, characteristic. Plastic is not water absorbent, it is water resistant. Oxo-biodegradation makes plastic water absorbent. When the plastic absorbs water, it basically absorbs organisms, which bio-assimilate that plastic back into the environment as harmless carbon molecules,” Wigley explained, before going to express exasperation that more governments have yet to adopt this technology.

“This technology is available. It works. It is not expensive and does not interrupt the supply chain. Again, if any member state is interested to learn more, we will share the experiences and how you can adopt it and use it in your own member states," Wigley told the attendees.

Shares in Symphony were up 4.4% at 23.5p in early deals.

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