Singapore’s A*STAR and SMX Lead Drive for World’s First Plastics Passport Program

Flagship programme will demonstrate molecular‑level traceability from waste collection to high‑value recycled resin, advancing Singapore’s Zero Waste Masterplan and reinforcing regional circular‑economy leadership.

NEW YORK, NY AND SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE / ACCESS Newswire / September 2, 2025 / Security Matters PLC (NASDAQ:SMX; SMXWW), the pioneer of “physical‑to‑digital” supply‑chain solutions, and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore’s lead public sector research and development (R&D) agency, today announced a strategic collaboration to pilot a national plastic circularity platform in partnership with leading brands, producers, manufacturers, waste collectors, recyclers and retailers.

This partnership combines SMX’s chemical molecular marking technology, patented reader and blockchain-based traceability platform with A*STAR’s cutting-edge digital, advanced chemical spectroscopic detection and profiling research capabilities, creating an intelligent system to permanently mark, track and analyse plastics through their entire lifecycle-from manufacturing to recycling. By enabling every plastic item to carry a secure digital record of its origin, composition, and reuse cycles, the initiative aims to greatly enhance transparency and efficiency in recycling – supporting Singapore’s vision of a sustainable, circular economy

This multi‑year partnership will integrate SMX’s invisible molecular markers, readers and blockchain ledger with blockchain, AI, advanced chemical spectroscopic detection and material profiling research capabilities from A*STAR, creating an auditable digital twin and AI system for post‑consumer plastic flows across Singapore’s collection, sorting and recycling ecosystem.

Collaboration Highlights

Phase 1 will launch the first nationwide “digital passport” for plastics, dynamically tagging and tracing more than 5 000 tonnes of postconsumer flexible and rigid waste in real time. Semi-industrial integration starts in Q1 2026, and a full scale commercial showcase is slated for Q2 2027-deliberately timed to provide industry with a turnkey compliance pathway ahead of impending extended producer responsibility mandates, with an end-stage capacity to tag and trace more than 5,000 tonnes of post-consumer plastics annually.

The full-scale commercial tagging and tracing stage is envisioned to be powered by a coalition of global and local brands, regional retailers, resin producers, converters and recyclers – unlocking high‑value, mechanically recycled feedstock and demonstrating that true circularity is mission‑critical to economic resilience.

Strategic Value & Market Context

Singapore currently incinerates 94 % of the 957 000 tonnes of plastic it generates each year, recycling just 6 % – a costly gap that burns value as well as waste. If only one-third of that stream were captured in an SMX-verified loop, the nation would avoid roughly S$27 million in annual incineration fees and create a further S$75 million in saleable, certified post-consumer resin (PCR) – a compliance dividend worth more than S$100 million every year.

The partnership between SMX and A*STAR is designed to flip that equation at scale. By embedding chemical molecular “barcodes” in every pellet and logging each hand-off on blockchain, the partners aim to lift regional recycling rates by more than 30 % and halve landfill or ash-fill volumes by 2030. When replicated across ASEAN, the same architecture unlocks an addressable market of ≈ S$4.2 billion a year in certified recycled material and platform fees – turning waste into a bankable commodity.

Plastic Cycle Token – Turning Data into Value

Each SMX-verified kilogram of recycled plastic will also be wrapped in a Plastic Cycle Token (PCT), a tradeable digital asset backed one-for-one by the molecular marker and its on-chain audit trail. The Plastic Cycle Token (PCT) is engineered to supersede traditional carbon credits – enabling recyclers to monetise verified recycled output, brands to hedge compliance risk, and investors to back measurable circularity

Demand signals are loud and cross-sectoral. FMCG, food-grade packaging, electronics and automotive brands across China, India, Indonesia, Japan and Singapore are already specifying minimum-PCR thresholds and treating traceability as insurance against compliance shocks and brand-equity risk. In markets with real enforcement, verified PCR now commands a 5-15 % premium over virgin polymer, a spread expected to widen as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes tighten.

Against that backdrop, Phase 1 of the collaboration will create a nationwide digital passport for plastics, tagging and tracing thousands of tonnes of flexible and rigid waste in real time. The data stream will give producers a turnkey path to comply with Singapore’s Mandatory Packaging Reporting rules and forthcoming recycled-content mandates, while supplying recyclers with higher-value, mechanically recycled feedstock. In short, true circularity is no longer a nice-to-have – it is mission-critical to economic resilience and regional competitiveness.

Haggai Alon, Founder & CEO, SMX: “As Singapore marks 60 years of independence, it continues to prove that long-range planning, turns constraints into catalysts for growth.

Together with A*STAR and our industry partners, we are building a bridge from Semakauto Jurong Island – transforming what was once a disposal endpoint into a high-value feedstock stream. This programme adds a new layer to Singapore’s leadership in technology and sustainability and places a powerful tool in the region’s master toolbox as Asia drives global growth.

True circularity is driven by smart execution and adaptability. This is the first stage of a long-term plan-anchored by molecular traceability that converts waste into a verified commodity, and through the Plastic Cycle Token, a market instrument engineered to supersede traditional carbon credits with something measurable, auditable and economically useful.”

Professor Lim Keng Hui, Assistant Chief Executive Officer of the Science & Engineering Research Council, A*STAR: “This collaboration exemplifies A*STAR’s mission to translate cutting‑edge research into impactful, sustainable solutions. Together with SMX, we will harness science and engineering to close the plastics loop and strengthen Singapore’s position as a global circularity hub.”

References

1. National Environment Agency (NEA). Waste & Recycling Statistics 2014 – 2023. Singapore: NEA; 2024.

2. Shunpoly.com. “How Much Plastic Is Wasted Each Year in Singapore?” Accessed 5 August 2025.

3. National Environment Agency (NEA). Waste-Statistics & Overall Recycling (interactive dashboard). Updated 2024; accessed 5 August 2025.

4. National Environment Agency (NEA). Mandatory Packaging Reporting portal. Accessed 5 August 2025.

5. Singapore Statutes Online. Environmental Public Health (Public Cleansing) Regulations – Incineration gate-fee schedule; revised 2024.

6. National Environment Agency (NEA). “New Licensing Regime for General Waste Disposal Facilities.” Technical brief & dialogue-session slides; 2024.

7. Nasdaq.com. “SMX Announces Planned Launch of World’s First Plastic Cycle Token.” Press release; 2024.

8. Yahoo! Finance. “SMX Plastic Cycle Token Is a Functional Market-Driven Solution…” News article; 2024.

9. Los Angeles Tribune. “Carbon Credits Had Their Day… Now the SMX Plastic Cycle Token…” Feature article; 2025.

10. National Environment Agency (NEA). Refuse Collection Fees for Households. Revised 2024; accessed 5 August 2025.

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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 (Security Matters)

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