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LEADING PLASTICS COMPANY WARNS AGAINST PLASTIC BAGS AND PACKAGING MADE FROM FOOD CROPS |
Symphony
Environmental Ltd Elstree
House, Borehamwood Hertfordshire
WD6 1LE +44
(0)20 8207 5900 Telephone +44
(0)20 8207 5960 Facsimile +44(0)7917
796444 www.degradable.net dc@degradable.net |
A British degradable plastics company is warning retailers against plastic bags and packaging made from crops such as corn, because of the environmental effects of demand for biofuels and crop-based plastics.
Symphony Environmental, which specialises in oxo-biodegradable plastic, commented today on Friday’s Report of the Environmental Audit Committee (Ladda ner hela PDF(2 223Kb) of the House of Commons which said that “the stimulation of biofuel production by the [UK] Government and EU is reckless in the absence of effective mechanisms to prevent the destruction of carbon sinks internationally” The Committee continued “A large biofuel industry based on current technology is likely to increase agricultural commodity prices and, by displacing food production, could damage food security in developing countries.”
Michael Laurier, Symphony’s Chief Executive, added that “although the Committee’s focus was on fuel made from crops, the same problems arise with plastics made from crops, which compete for scarce land and water resources and drive up the cost of food for humans and livestock. They are also much more expensive and cannot be recycled, and they emit methane in landfill.”
“Degradable plastics are a good idea, but Symphony produces oxo-bio bags made from naptha, a waste product of oil refining which would otherwise be wasted, and no crops are involved in its manufacture. Oxo-bio can be recycled and made from recyclate, but if not recycled it will self-destruct in a short time, leaving no fragments, no methane nor harmful residues. As it is made with the same machinery as normal plastic, oxo-bio has little or no extra cost.
The use of oxo-bio plastics could lessen dramatically cut the amount of plastic waste accumulating in the countryside, the rivers and the sea.”