SMX Announces Planned Launch of World's First Plastic Cycle Token

THE NEXT GENERATION OF CARBON CREDITS

NEW YORK and DUBAI, UAE, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SMX (Security Matters) PLC (NASDAQ:SMX; SMXWW), a pioneer in digitizing physical objects for a circular economy, has announced today the planned launch of a groundbreaking plastic cycle token, scheduled for release in Q2 2024. Amidst a global context where only an estimated 9% of plastic is recycled¹ (OECD, 2022) in a market valued at over $40 billion² (Statista, 2021), this initiative is being designed to present a reliable, ethical digital credit platform, aiming to capitalize on billions of dollars in recyclable plastics credits in a newly created market.

The contemplated collaboration is expected to amalgamate a diverse array of partners and sponsors, each contributing distinct skills and expertise to create the Plastic Cycle Token. Consortium members are being identified and would be selected to provide deep domain knowledge and technology to ensure best practices and technical proficiency.

This tradeable plastic cycle token is being designed to enable companies to transition towards sustainable practices, encouraging entities within and outside the plastic ecosystem, including oil producers and waste management firms, to increase recycled content utilization.

This initiative is also expected to position the SMX Plastic Cycle Token as a next-generation alternative to carbon credits, creating a new paradigm in the Impact ESG investment landscape. Each token is being designed to represent a quantifiable amount of recycled plastic using SMX's technology to physically mark the plastics, potentially offering a tangible impact on environmental circularity.

SMX believes that the goals of its Plastic Cycle Token project aligns with the European Union's ongoing efforts to address the limitations of the current carbon credit system³ (CarbonBrief 2023), including the adoption of a strict mass balance definition⁴ (CEFIC, 2023). The proposed EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation⁵ (European Commission 2023) aims for at least 50% of all EU plastic waste to be recycled by 2025.

Mass balance, a chain of custody model under ISO standard 22095, is already utilized in sectors like biofuels and fair-trade commodities. However, SMX believes that this is still not sufficient. Some major corporations have formally advocated a strict mass balance measurement with chemical and physical traceability⁶ (Perstorp 2023). SMX's technology enables physical traceability, supporting this Plastic Cycle Token model, and SMX believes will incentivize genuine plastic recycling.

SMX's technology can precisely tangibly identify the origins and composition of raw materials in consumer products and packaging, promoting efficient recycling and reuse. It comprises a chemical marker, reader technology, and blockchain data storage, facilitating a global system for grading and certifying plastic recycled content.

Footnotes:

1. OECD, Global Plastics Outlook (2022), https://www.oecd.org/environment/plastic-pollution-is-growing-relentlessly-as-waste-management-and-recycling-fall-short.htm
2. Statista, Market value of plastic recycling worldwide from 2021 to 2031 (2021) https://www.statista.com/statistics/987522/global-market-size-plastic-recycling
3. CarbonBrief, In-depth Q&A: Can 'carbon offsets' help to tackle climate change? (2023) https://interactive.carbonbrief.org/carbon-offsets-2023/
4. CEFIC, New European Commission Study Confirms Chemical Recycling Is Better Than Incineration Of Plastic Waste (2023) https://cefic.org/media-corner/newsroom/new-european-commission-study-confirms-chemical-recycling-is-better-than-incineration-of-plastic-waste/
5. European Commission, Packaging waste, (2023) https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/waste-and-recycling/packaging-waste_en
6. Perstorp, Partnering with IKEA, Velux, and the LEGO Group regarding mass balance (2023) https://www.perstorp.com/en/news_center/news/2023/october/partnering_with_ikea_and_lego_regarding_mass_balance

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About SMX 
As global businesses face new and complex challenges relating to carbon neutrality and meeting new governmental and regional regulations and standards, SMX is able to offer players along the value chain access to its marking, tracking, measuring and digital platform technology to transition more successfully to a low-carbon economy.

Forward-Looking Statements
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SOURCE SMX