ASTM 6400 EN13432 CERTIFICATION
Biopla materials are certified "biodegradable and compostable" under the EN13432 and EN14995 standards for Europe and under the ASTM D-6400 standard for the United States.
ASTM 6400
Compostable plastic materials must have the following characteristics:
Biodegradability meaning a material’s capacity to be converted into carbon dioxide (CO2) through the action of microorganisms, under the same process occurring in natural waste. Disintegrate ability, namely fragmentation and invisibility in the final compost (absence of visual contamination). Absence of negative effects on the composting process. Almost complete absence of heavy metals and the absence of negative effects on compost quality. Each of these requirements must be met simultaneously for a material to be defined as compostable. For example, biodegradable material is not necessarily compostable because it must also disintegrate during the composting cycle. On the other hand, a material that disintegrates into microscopic particles during a composting cycle is not compostable if these parts are not totally biodegradable. ASTM 6400 and Standard EN 13432 is a harmonized technical standard, meaning it has been published in the Official Gazette of the US and European Community and must therefore be implemented in Europe by national standardization bodies. In addition, materials that comply with this standard are presumed to comply with European Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste.
