On 11 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, a British public company quoted on the London Stock Exchange, developing and supplying Oxo-biodegradable plastic technology under its d2w trademark.
However, 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.
Loughborough University did not do any experiments itself, and none of the professors in other universities with specialised knowledge of oxo-biodegradable plastics were chosen to peer-review the report.
The oxo-biodegradable plastics industry wasn’t 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, go to d2w.net.
Source: Symphony Environmental Technologies
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