TIDMSYM
RNS Number : 2510J
Symphony Environmental Tech. PLC
21 December 2020
The information communicated within this announcement is deemed
to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market
Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this
announcement, this information is considered to be in the public
domain
21 December 2020
SYMPHONY ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES PLC
("Symphony", the "Company" or the "Group")
Legal challenge to EU on plastics
Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc (AIM: SYM), global
specialists in supplying and developing technologies that make
plastic "smarter, safer and sustainable", announces that it is
today commencing a legal action against the Commission, Parliament,
and Council of the European Union ("EU") in relation to their
decision to adopt Article 5 of the Single Use Plastics Directive
2019/904 ("the Directive"). Symphony has been advised by three
Barristers, all experts in EU law, that this part of the Directive
is confusing and illegal, and substantial damages are being
claimed.
CONFUSION
As reported in the Group's half year results on 14 September
2020 "The ... Directive adds to the confusion as it requires EU
members to ban oxo-degradable products that do not properly
biodegrade and are not recyclable with ordinary plastics. We
continue to explain the difference between oxo-degradable and
oxo-BIOdegradable plastic" but the Directive has not made this
clear. Symphony's d2w plastic is oxo-BIOdegradable not
oxo-degradable. "We believe that Symphony's d2w technology would
achieve considerably better traction both within the EU and outside
Europe if we could resolve this confusion." It should be noted that
due to Brexit, the UK need not implement the Directive at all
unless it wishes to do so.
Symphony's d2w technology causes ordinary plastic to degrade if
it gets into the open environment and to biodegrade in the same way
as nature's wastes. It can be recycled if collected during its
useful life. It has been validated for degradability,
biodegradability, non-toxicity, and recyclability by 40 years of
research, most recently by scientists at Queen Mary University,
London and at LOMIC (Laboratory of Microbial Oceanography) in
France, in February and October 2020 respectively.
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.
ILLEGALITY
Symphony is advised that the ban is illegal because there has
been a failure to accord due process, and because it is
disproportionate and discriminatory.
The EU has a well-established procedure, set out in the REACH
Regulation 2006/1907, for determining whether substances should be
banned. This procedure was designed to avoid the kind of arbitrary
action which has occurred in this case.
In December 2017, in compliance with the procedure, the EU
Commission requested the European Chemicals Agency ("ECHA") under
Article 69 of REACH to investigate its concerns regarding
microplastics. Symphony submitted scientific evidence to ECHA on
oxo-BIOdegradable plastic and on 30 October 2018 ECHA said that
they were not convinced that it created microplastics.
The Commission then made the extraordinary decision on 8 May
2019 to terminate ECHA's investigation and the EU proceeded to
impose a ban effective from 3 July 2021, citing microplastics as a
reason. In doing so, they ignored the advice of ECHA, their own
scientific experts - never before has an ECHA investigation been
circumvented by legislation.
Only if ECHA had recommended a restriction, supported by the
detailed dossier prescribed by Annex XV of REACH, the
recommendation would have had to be considered by two committees
under Articles 70 and 71 of REACH, and also by a stakeholder
consultation under Article 71(1), before any restriction could be
proposed under Article 73. None of these procedures prescribed by
EU law have been complied with.
THE COURT CASE
Symphony's CEO, Michael Laurier said: "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.
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."
Symphony's Deputy Chairman, Michael Stephen, a former Barrister
and MP, said "Symphony has decided to commence an action in the
General Court of the EU for compensation pursuant to Article 340 of
the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU by reason of the adverse
effect on its business caused by the reference to "oxodegradable"
in Article 5 of the Directive. Although we cannot dictate the
timetable, the facts of the legislative process are clear and we do
not expect the case to be protracted, as it will essentially be a
point of law for the court to decide. Most of the costs of
preparing the case have already been paid."
ANTIMICROBIAL TECHNOLOGY
It is important to note that Symphony's d2p business is not
directly affected by the Directive. d2p is a wide range of
products, which include technologies that give plastic, rubber, and
silicon anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties, and is an
increasingly important part of Symphony's overall business. These
are among the few materials commonly used which can themselves (as
distinct from painting and spraying) be made to destroy viruses on
contact within one hour - before they can enter the human body. The
demand for antiviral plastic is growing at a rapid rate all around
the world, and making it biodegradable with d2w will help to
protect the environment as well.
NOTES:
Symphony is represented in this case by Josh Holmes QC and Jack
Williams, Barristers of Monckton Chambers, Grays Inn, London - the
UK's leading experts in EU law, and by Keystone Law, Solicitors of
Chancery Lane, London. Symphony has also been advised by Professor
Sir Alan Dashwood QC, the author of "Wyatt & Dashwood's
European Union Law."
Symphony Environmental Technologies is a UK technology company
listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, and
celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. The Company is based in
Hertfordshire and operates worldwide through 67 distributors.
The Company has focussed on two problems of the modern age -
protecting people from attack by COVID and other dangerous
microbes, and protecting the environment from plastic litter.
Symphony's d2p technology www.d2p.net gives antimicrobial
properties to plastic, rubber, and silicon items. Symphony's d2w
oxo-biodegradable technology www.d2w.net and www.biodeg.org causes
ordinary plastic to biodegrade if it gets into the open
environment.
Enquiries
Symphony Environmental Technologies Plc
Michael Laurier, CEO Tel: +44 (0) 20 8207 5900
Ian Bristow, CFO
www.symphonyenvironmental.com
Zeus Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser and Joint
Broker)
David Foreman / Nick Cowles / Kieran Russell (Corporate Tel: +44 (0) 161 831 1512
Finance)
Dominic King / Victoria Ayton (Sales) Tel: +44 (0) 203 829 5000
Hybridan LLP (Joint Broker)
Claire Louise Noyce Tel: +44 (0) 203 764 2341
The person responsible for arranging the release of this
information is Michael Laurier, CEO of the Company.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms
and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information
contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an
anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services.
For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange
use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy
Policy.
END
MSCVBLFLBLLFFBB
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 21, 2020 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)
Symphony Environmental T... (LSE:SYM)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Symphony Environmental T... (LSE:SYM)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024