D2W
Why degradable?
Go into any supermarket and what do you see? - Plastic.
Not just carrier-bags, but almost everything is wrapped or bottled in plastic – from frozen peas to fresh potatoes – from sandwiches to milk – beer cans to newspapers, televisions and even ironing boards. At the back of store there are acres of shrink-wrap, pallet-wrap and bubble-wrap used to deliver goods in bulk. Why? – because plastic is in most cases the best and most cost-effective way to protect goods from damage, contamination and wastage.
So why are people concerned about plastic? – Is it because plastic is made from oil or natural gas, or coal which are finite resources? – but this is a mistake, because it is actually made from a by-product of the refining process which will always be produced so long as the world needs this type of fuel, and it makes good economic and environmental sense to use the by-product instead of wasting it and using scarce land and water resources to grow crops to make plastic.
Because plastic waste is filling up the landfills? – another mistake, because plastic takes up a very small proportion of space in the average landfill.
Because it is symptomatic of a “throw-away” society? Well – life moves at a much faster pace whether we like it or not. We can no longer buy milk in a jug from the corner shop, and packaging has adapted to modern life. Of course we must recycle plastic where practical, but it is not enough just to use recycled plastic because, whether recycled or not, we will never collect it all, and some will inevitably find its way into the open environment, where it could lie or float around for decades.
This is the real problem – to which Symphony is supplying the solution in 92 countries worldwide.
Symphony has developed a formulation called “d2w” which is added to normal plastic at the manufacturing stage, and makes the plastic degrade at the end of its service life, by a process of oxo-biodegradation, leaving no harmful residues. We call it “Controlled-life” or “Intelligent” plastic – (for a video of d2w plastic degrading view this Video).
All plastic will in time fragment and completely biodegrade, but d2w controls the process, and turns plastic at the end of its useful life into a material with a completely different molecular structure. At that stage it is no longer a plastic so the fragments can be bio-assimilated in the open environment faster than straw and twigs and much faster than ordinary or recycled plastic. d2w has passed the usual eco-toxicity tests and does not contain “heavy-metals.” It is certified for direct food-contact.
Plastic made with d2w costs very little extra, because it is made with the same machinery as normal plastic, and it causes no loss of jobs in the plastics industry. There is no need to change suppliers, but Symphony can supply finished-products if required.
Symphony have examined the vegetable-based or “compostable” type of plastic and have decided not to supply it. It is far too expensive for everyday use, it has a worse Life-Cycle Assessment than ordinary plastic, and it emits methane deep in landfill. We agree with the packaging manager of Tesco who said on 20th October 2009 that they “do not see the value in packaging that can only be industrially composted” and that “local authorities do not want to touch it, as it can contaminate existing recycling schemes.” By contrast, d2w plastic can be safely recycled. Visit www.biodeg.org/position-papers/recycling/?domain=biodeg.org
d2w is a polymer-based masterbatch made with specially-developed IP. When d2w is placed inside the plastic product during manufacture it will control and shorten the degradation and biodegradation process. There is no need to stop using plastics – add just 1% of “d2w inside” your normal plastic product.
Products made with d2w Controlled-life Plastic Technology are re-usable many times during their useful life.
Products made with d2w can be found in more than 90 countries, made for a multitude of different applications for some of the world’s largest companies.
