Special Report: Security Matters has signed on with a global forum to set a standard for fire-retardant chemicals.

 Security Matters (ASX: SMX) is on fire — or not, if their new client has anything to do with it.

It’s just signed Bromine Science and Environmental Forum (BSEF) and its member companies to use Security Matters’ technology to create a new industry standard for bromine flame retardants.

As part of its global Circular Economy Action Plan, BSEF and its member companies are engaged in several projects and studies to improve end of life recycling of plastics containing brominated flame retardants (BFRs).

BSEF member companies, via the North American Flame Retardant Alliance, are supporting a new approach to sorting and separating legacy brominated flame retardants.

They’ll use technology pioneered by Security Matters, a company focused on digitising physical objects on the blockchain to enable a circular and closed loop economy, using its chemical-based barcode system, alongside a unique reader to identify these codes.

These codes will enable a blockchain record to be developed to store and protect ownership data.

Security Matters’ marking technology will be used to differentiate current and new BFR technologies from the old, legacy BFR chemistry.

“Developing a technology that can differentiate new BFRs from old BFRs and establish a new industry standard mechanism to reclaim those materials contributes to circular economy goals,“ said BSEF Board Member Joel Tenny.

“This is a great opportunity to be an enabler on the journey of transforming base chemical production from a linear model to a circular model. This project is part of our belief that sustainability will be led by the industrials sector,” says Security Matters founder and CEO Haggai Alon.

 

Fighting waste

BSEF itself has also recently commissioned consultants SOFIES to develop an authoritative review and quantification of the effect of BFRs on the recycling of technical plastics from Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment (WEEE) in the EU.

The main objectives of the work are to assess the volumes of BFR in WEEE plastics in the EU, review treatment processes, and evaluate the impact of BFR-containing plastics on recyclability of plastics.

“With their strong knowledge of the legal landscape and operational aspects of e-waste management in various EU countries, network of primary contacts and unique datasets on EEE waste, we are confident SOFIES will deliver a quality and authoritative assessment,” said BSEF Secretary General Dr Kevin Bradley.

This article was developed in collaboration with Security Matters, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.