The Albany Gazette - SMX Has Filled the Plastics Profit Gap that Cost Companies Billions

The recycled plastics market is full of claims without certainty. Suppliers insist their pellets contain 30%-50% recycled content, but they lack molecular evidence to support that claim. Brands reveal sustainability commitments, but they rely on third-party forms that don't reflect what happens across international recycling streams. Governments demand accuracy, but they're stuck reviewing documentation that's often outdated or fragmented. Companies lose money because they can't prove value. Buyers discount prices because they can't trust inputs. That cycle has held the entire sector back for years.

SMX changes that by embedding a molecular-level identifier into plastics that stays intact through every process. The identity doesn't wash out during shredding. It doesn't disappear during melting. It survives extrusion, molding, and reprocessing. When a batch of recycled pellets arrives at a manufacturer, identity confirmation verifies exactly what the plastic contains and where it originated. Suddenly, recycled content is no longer a claim. It's proof. And proof commands a premium.

Why Trust Drives Value in Plastics Markets

The plastics sector, more than almost any other, depends on trust because recycled feedstocks are inconsistent across regions, processors, and collection systems. Two suppliers may list the same grade on a sheet, but the actual material can behave differently in production. That uncertainty costs brands time, money, and credibility. When buyers can't verify recycled content, they reduce their bids. When manufacturers can't guarantee consistency, they overengineer products to compensate. When regulators can't validate reports, they add layers of reporting that slow down the entire system.

This is where strategic partnerships show the practical impact of material identity. SMX's collaboration with Tradepro in the United States proves how authentication changes market behavior. Manufacturers that used to hedge against uncertainty can, if all goes as planned, choose verified recycled plastics that carry embedded truth. The material isn't anonymous anymore. It arrives with evidence. That shift alone lifts margins for suppliers who previously watched their prices suppressed by doubt.

The REDWAVE collaboration in Austria shows another side of the advantage. High-speed optical sorting gains precision when the material entering the system carries its own identification. Instead of relying on shape or color, the line reads molecular identity. That allows more accurate separation, more consistent output, and higher-grade recycled plastics that fetch stronger pricing. Markets begin rewarding quality because quality becomes measurable.

When plastics tell the truth about themselves, the value follows the evidence. Buyers start paying more for verified content. Brands start meeting sustainability goals without fear of greenwashing allegations. Recyclers start commanding higher margins for authenticated outputs. Trust isn't a belief anymore. It's a property.

How Proof Rewrites Sustainability and Profitability

The plastics industry has spent a decade trying to balance sustainability with economic reality. Companies want to increase recycled content, but they can't expose themselves to risk. Regulators want accuracy, but they can't rely on reporting alone. Investors want transparency, but they need real data, not estimates. Every stakeholder wants the same thing. They want evidence without friction.

That's why the A*STAR program in Singapore became a breakthrough moment. When SMX's identity technology was deployed within national-scale circularity pilots, recycled plastics gained trackable lineage across collection, recovery, reuse, and manufacturing. The system didn't assume accuracy. It verified it. A plastic bottle didn't disappear into the system. It traveled through it with identity intact.

That level of truth gives governments a way to enforce recycling goals without slowing down industry. It gives brands a way to meet their commitments with confidence. It gives recyclers a way to get paid what their material is truly worth. The result is a plastics market that finally behaves like a real commodity market. Verified content sells at a premium because the risk disappears. Supply chains run cleaner because fraud becomes pointless. Regulators gain visibility without adding complexity. Investors see rising margins instead of structural discounts. Verification becomes the economic engine that the plastics market has been missing.

That closes the gap between what recycled plastics should be worth and what companies actually earn. SMX built the technology that transforms recycled plastics from a discounted material into a premium one. When the market knows the truth, the market pays for the truth. The companies able to prove it will redefine the economics of sustainability. And, more importantly, make money at the same time.

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

The information in this press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate," "believe," "contemplate," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intends," "may," "will," "might," "plan," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "would" and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this press release may include, for example: matters relating to the Company's fight against abusive and possibly illegal trading tactics against the Company's stock; successful launch and implementation of SMX's joint projects with manufacturers and other supply chain participants of steel, rubber and other materials; changes in SMX's strategy, future operations, financial position, estimated revenues and losses, projected costs, prospects and plans; SMX's ability to develop and launch new products and services, including its planned Plastic Cycle Token; SMX's ability to successfully and efficiently integrate future expansion plans and opportunities; SMX's ability to grow its business in a cost-effective manner; SMX's product development timeline and estimated research and development costs; the implementation, market acceptance and success of SMX's business model; developments and projections relating to SMX's competitors and industry; and SMX's approach and goals with respect to technology. These forward-looking statements are based on information available as of the date of this press release, and current expectations, forecasts and assumptions, and involve a number of judgments, risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing views as of any subsequent date, and no obligation is undertaken to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. As a result of a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, actual results or performance may be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Some factors that could cause actual results to differ include: the ability to maintain the listing of the Company's shares on Nasdaq; changes in applicable laws or regulations; any lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on SMX's business; the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations, and identify and realize additional opportunities; the risk of downturns and the possibility of rapid change in the highly competitive industry in which SMX operates; the risk that SMX and its current and future collaborators are unable to successfully develop and commercialize SMX's products or services, or experience significant delays in doing so; the risk that the Company may never achieve or sustain profitability; the risk that the Company will need to raise additional capital to execute its business plan, which may not be available on acceptable terms or at all; the risk that the Company experiences difficulties in managing its growth and expanding operations; the risk that third-party suppliers and manufacturers are not able to fully and timely meet their obligations; the risk that SMX is unable to secure or protect its intellectual property; the possibility that SMX may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; and other risks and uncertainties described in SMX's filings from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE: SMX (Security Matters) Public Limited

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

(S.Perez--TAG)