Tag Archives: ASTM D6400

Compostable Plastics do not create compost

Compostable plastics do NOT create compost

If you are anything like me, you’ve no doubt heard about and thought about how wonderful the idea of compostable plastics sound. Plant based materials used as feedstock to make compostable plastics, that once used simply discard in the compost pile and voila, the plastics you just used has now become nutrient rich soil to help aid in the next generation of plant growth. It sounds so healthy and natural it must be good, right?

The major issue with “compostable plastics” is that they don’t make compost. What’s that, you say? That’s right, compostable plastics don’t breakdown and convert into compost or result in nutrient rich soil as the process and name would lead one to believe. This aspect of compostable plastics is extremely misleading. Let me explain.

The ASTM D6400 is the Standard Specification by which all compostable plastics strive to meet. Compostable plastics that claim to be certified compostable will no doubt have to pass the ASTM D6400 specification. Organizations like BPI (Biodegradable Products Institute) provide 3rd party certifications that a compostable plastic product meets the requirements of the ASTM D6400 standard specification. Even California has product labeling legislation that requires any plastic item claiming to be compostable must meet the ASTM D6400 Standard Specification in order to make such claims. But what exactly are the requirements for meeting the ASTM D6400 specification?

ASTM D6400 includes a handful of requirements that address things like soil toxicity, disintegration, heavy metals and biodegradation. To understand what is left after “composting” compostable plastics, (which is biodegradation in an environment that has oxygen readily available to micro-organisms) let’s take a look at the portion of the ASTM D6400 that addresses biodegradation the rate and extent required in order for a compostable plastic item to pass/fail.

The requirement for a material to pass ASTM D6400 and be considered “compostable” is that the material must reach or exceed 90% conversion of the carbon within the material into carbon dioxide (CO2). In other words, 90% or more of the material would need to be turned into CO2 (converted by micro-organisms) during the time-frame of the test – 180 days. Given this requirement to convert a minimum of 90% of the carbon within the sample compostable plastic item into CO2 (gas), simple math at this point would tell us that the remaining carbon (that’s part of what makes nutrient rich soil) would be equal to or less than 10% of the total carbon making up that compostable plastic item. So basically 90% of the item will simply go up into the atmosphere as CO2 gas, it will not remain behind as soil.

For those who are new to composting or compost, the purpose and result of a natural and healthy composting process is nutrient rich soil (compost). This soil is made up of various organic materials and nutrients; nitrogen, potassium, microorganisms, humus (a carbon rich material) and other forms of carbon. Carbon is arguably the anchor to having nutrient rich soil as it helps to retain moisture and provides a foundation for all other microbial processes for optimizing healthy plant growth. With less than 10% of the carbon in a “compostable plastic” remaining as soil, there is little to no value as nutrient rich soil. Even worse, 90% or more of it was converted to greenhouse gas and sent into the atmosphere.

Compostable plastics may “compost” (biodegrade by micro-organisms in an oxygen environment) if placed in the right composting environment, but they do not create compost (nutrient rich soil).

Consumers confused by ‘bio-based’ & ‘renewable’

Very recently there was an article posted on www.PlasticsNews.com titled  Expert: Consumers confused by terms like ‘bio-based’ and ‘renewable’ . On behalf of ENSO our president Danny Clark would like to give a response to the article.

 

Compostable or Biodegradable?


Mr. Mojo addresses some very crucial points for companies labeling their product or packaging as compostable or biodegradable .Technology companies which provide compostable or biodegradable solutions, brand owners, manufactures, and industry organizations should make every effort to better clarify claims being made.  One major point that Mr. Mojo did not address is that these businesses and industry organizations should be providing to the public any test data supporting such claims.

The topic of greenwashing is currently a significant issue for all industries and companies trying to “go green” or provide some kind of improvement to their products and packaging.  Unfortunately we do not have clear cut protocols or processes for this.  Most of us are working towards new standards, processes and protocols that will better clarify what certain claims mean.

It is important to note for the readers that Mr. Mojo, is the Executive Director of BPI (Biodegradable Products Institute), a non-profit industry organization for compostable plastics, which certifies many products labeled compostable and as passing the ASTM D6400.  The ASTM D6400 is a pass/fail testing protocol specifically designed to validate that such materials will appropriately compost in an industrial composting environment.  The ASTM D 6400 is designed to ensure that the compostable plastics entering into industrial composting facility will not negatively impact the business aspect of that facility; breaks down within 180 days, no toxic residue, etc.


The Great Debate


There is currently a great debate about claims of compostable and biodegradable plastics, many were addressed by Mr. Mojo in the article.  One that didn’t get touched on is the customary disposal methods (or end-of-life options) of products.  Mr. Mojo may argue that compostable plastics are “more greener” or “better” for the environment but if that product is labeled as compostable but the consumer has no way to dispose of it in an industrial composting facility, or worst yet, the composting facilities won’t accept it due to contamination or wanting to keep its organic certification, what then happens to the benefit of that “compostable” material?  The issue of customary disposal methods is currently a big area of greenwashing in the market today.

Another example is found in the Aug, 2010 issue of Biocycle Magazine where a published study initiated by the Environmental Services Department and performed at the Miramar Greenery Composting Facility evaluated 105 different compostable products.  The majority of the products selected met ASTM standards (either ASTM D6400 or D6868) and many had Mr. Mojo’s industry’s organization (BPI) certification.  All of the products tested were purchased in the market.  To read the full article click:  http://ensoplastics.com/download/CompostableReport.pdf

More than half of the 105 products did not biodegrade greater then 25 percent.  Quote: “None of the compostable cutlery showed any real sign of degradation”.  The test concluded that there was no conslusive evidence from this study to suggest that all certified products will fully degrade.  In fact, 15 items that were both ASTM and BPI certified (Mr. Mojo’s industry organization) showed almost no effects of biodegradation at all”.  The result of this study led to a decision to hold off accepting any type of compostable products.

My question would be how could products that were certified as compostable by Mr. Mojo and BPI, not actually biodegrade or compost when tested in a real world environment?


Shouldn’t test results be public?


This leads me to my original point of companies providing test data to the public.  Currently, both the FTC and CA Legislation requires companies making claims such as compostable or biodegradable to provide data within 90 days.  I personally have been asking for such data for over two years now without seeing a single test report from Mr. Mojo (BPI) or the companies claiming compostability.  What I do experience, is the companies selling these BPI certified products directly to Mr. Mojo and BPI for their test data, however BPI continually informing me that the data is confidential.

To date, I have not seen an ASTM D6400 test result from BPI on any product they have certified as compostable, and given the results of the ESD study it brings up a number of questions.  The top question being, how much is Mr. Mojo contributing to the greenwashing issue we have in the market?  ENSO Bottles, provides our test data right on our website for the whole world to see – we do not hide our data and we welcome anyone to test our products, as BPI has done and validated that bottles with the ENSO biodegradable blend do actually biodegrade (as per your NSF report) .

Our industries need to provide more accurate information and education to the public.  We don’t have to agree on approach or technologies but we must provide accurate information and education.  Consumers, businesses and legislators need to be properly educated and then given correct information.  This also includes the work many of us in this group participate in regarding ASTM standards.

 

Danny Clark

President

ENSO Plastics