uk legislation
It is important to appreciate the difference between Standards and Laws in this context. Standards are, essentially, a guide to specification and compliance with a Standard is not legally enforceable. Sometimes, Laws are enacted which embody references to Standards in order to define products which do or do not meet specific criteria - clearly in those cases it does make a real difference if a product does or does not meet the Standard.

At the present time, d2w, and any other oxo-biodegradable products, do not meet the requirements of EU Standards for degradable packaging. The significance of this and how this is likely to change are detailed below.

Standards
UK Standards are normalised with those of the EU. Domestic Standards are created by the British Standards Institute (BSi) who also administers those of the EU. The current Standard for degradable packaging is the European Standard, EN13432. A key feature of this Standard is the measurement (using the Sturm Test) of the speed of emission of CO2 in the course of degradation in compost. Although d2w products totally degrade, the speed at which they emit CO2 does not meet the current Standard - indeed, based on this definition even a leaf cannot be called 'degradable'.

A BSI Working Group 2004/00862, reporting to Committee PKW/00, is currently formulating a new British Standard designed to recognise the functionality of oxo-biodegradable technology. This has been under way for some months and is titled at present BSi Standard PKW/00 Doc. 2004/00862.

Yeah, stuff happens mate!
Plastic Bertrand were rubbish as well. They went down.
Best to move on. :o)

Hunter Hall's Executive Chairman, Peter MacDonald Hall, said today: "We are
investing in Symphony because we want to see its cost-effective degradable
plastic technology used to reduce the appalling problem of plastic waste which
floats on the oceans and pollutes the rivers, fields and streets of the world.
We also support the work it is doing in the field of waste-to-energy.

Our generation of humanity has the responsibility to take up the struggle to
understand the issues and to use our rationality to change human behaviour to
re-create a sustainable and balanced world."

On a brighter note, Symphony Environmental Technologies continued to make progress, climbing 0.875 more to 4.875 following yesterday's news that the degradable plastics and waste-to-energy group will place up to 14 mln new shares with Hunter Hall's unit trusts and will raise gross proceeds of up to 700,000 stg.

Hunter Hall, an Australia-based leading international ethical fund manager, will hold a 19.13 pct stake in Symphony, or about 19.04 mln shares, if the placing is completed in full.

China has launched a surprise crackdown on plastic bags today by banning supermarkets and shops from handing out free carriers from June 1st.

China uses up to 3 billion plastic bags a day, the most in the world. But people fail to dispose of them properly, wasting valuable oil and littering the country, China's cabinet announced on the central government website.

"While providing convenience to consumers, they have also caused serious pollution, and waste of energy and resources, because of excessive use and inadequate recycling," the State Council said.

Late last year the town of Shenzhen unveiled draft regulations to ban free plastic bags in its shops.

Shopkeepers fretted that customers might be turned away and others accused the government of making residents shoulder the costs of environmental protection.

Part of the new rules seem similar to the Shenzhen plan, stating that from June shops, supermarkets and sales outlets would be forbidden to offer free plastic bags and all carriers must be clearly marked with their prices.

"We should encourage people to return to carrying cloth bags, using baskets for their vegetables," the notice said.

In addition the manufacture, sale and use of bags under 0.025 mm thick is banned from the same date, with fines and confiscation of goods and profits for firms that flout the rules.

Rubbish collectors were urged to separate plastic for reprocessing and cut the amount burnt or buried.

The move brings China in line with a growing international trend to cut back use of plastic bags. From Ireland to Uganda and South Africa governments have experimented with heavy taxes, outright bans or eliminating the thinnest bags.

BAGS OF MONEY TO BE MADE. AT LAST?

Cereplast, Inc. (CERP) Supplies Quickpoint with Bioplastic Resin for Coffee Mugs



The global plastics industry is estimated at 250 million tons and is growing 5% annually. According to BCC Research, the global market for bio-plastics was 541 million pounds in 2007 (0.25 million tons) and is expected to expand 17.3% annually and exceed 1.2 billion pounds (0.55 million tons) by 2012. Cereplast, Inc. (CERP), a bio-plastics manufacturing company, designs and manufactures proprietary bio-based, sustainable plastics which are used as substitutes for petroleum-based plastics in all major converting processes such as injection molding, thermoforming, blow molding and extrusions at a pricing structure that is competitive with petroleum-based plastics. On the cutting-edge of bio-based plastic material development, Cereplast now offers resins to meet a variety of customer demands.

In 2008, Plantic expects sales to increase, particularly in view of the distribution agreement with DuPont and the continuing projects with brand owners for rigid sheet material.

'Japan is a key market for biodegradable plastics and DuPont is ideally placed to provide Plantic with distribution in this important market,' the bioplastics company said in a statement.