Symphony Environmental Technologies PLC (AIM:SYM) (Symphony Environmental Technologies PLC (AIM:SYM)) shares jumped 11% as its joint venture in India with Indorama Corporation was awarded a 'prestigious' sustainability award.
The group added its d2w technology is ready for manufacturing at a commercial level in India and the board “anticipates increasing sales volumes” in the second half of the year.
d2w is an additive that makes plastics bio-degradable at the end of their life cycle, meaning it is much more environmentally friendly and catches items that are not recycled.
Initial d2w sales have been made and distributed to customers in India, although on a small scale according to a statement, with manufacturing to ramp up in the second half of the year for commercial sales.
India is in the process of passing legislation that will ban single-use and non-biodegradable plastics, which might happen as early as this July.
Michael Laurier, chief executive of Symphony UK, said; "India is a country whose environment suffers seriously from plastic pollution, and we will do everything we can to support our colleagues in India to solve this problem.
"For the end-user, in this case, shops and hospitals that use single-use large volumes of single plastics, “the speed of entry into the market is much faster.”
“Our revolutionary masterbatch technology paves the way for an Earth free of plastic footprint, whether on land or the oceans,” added Arjun Aggarwal, chief executive of Symphony India.
Symphony India was awarded the sustainability prize in the category of “development of new materials contribution to sustainability through scientific innovation to the improvement of the environment.”
Shares rose 2p to 19.5p.