This document provides an overview of compostable plastics, including definitions of key terms, standards, challenges, and issues. It discusses the history of bioplastics and differences between biobased, biodegradable, degradable, and compostable materials. While biobased content and compostability are desirable, sustainability requires considering additional factors like feedstocks, recyclability, and performance. Compostable plastics face challenges like inconsistent labeling, confusion with terms, and restrictions for use in organic programs.
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2012 0121 platt bioplastics101 uscc jan212
1. Compostable Plastics 101:
Overview & Issues
Brenda Platt
SBC Co-Chair
Institute for Local Self-Reliance
January 21, 2012
USCC Conference, Austin, TX
www.sustainablebiomaterials.org
2. Overview
Introduction to biobased products
Definitions:
biobased vs biodegradable
biodegradable vs. degradable
biodegradable vs compostable
Standards
Biobased content or compostability alone ≠ sustainable
Challenges and common points of confusion
Labeling
Compost for organic markets cannot process bioplastic
Compostable Plastics Task Force
www.sustainablebiomaterials.org
3. First Bioplastics
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object.cfm?key=35&objkey=18
Copyright Smithsonian National Museum of American History,
• Collodion (cotton-derived
cellulose nitrate)
– dentures and buttons
• Celluloid (cotton-based)
– photography/film
• Cellulose acetate – apparel
• Cellophane – first film
plastic
"Made in 1868 of Cellulose Nitrate,
Celluloid. The Year John Wesley Hyatt
Gutta Percha Discovered This First Plastics Resin."
Shellac
www.sustainablebiomaterials.org
4. • 1930s – 1st injection molding
machines made plastics from
cellulose acetate
• 1941 – Henry Ford’s biological
car
• late 1940s – crude oil drops to
>$1/barrel
• by 1975 – no ethanol in our fuel
tanks and bioplastics virtually
disappear
www.sustainablebiomaterials.org
6. The Good News on Biobased Products
• Variety of resins and products available
• Performance improving
• Experience and R&D growing
• Growth expected
• Programs such as the federal biobased
procurement will open up new markets
• Standards in place
• Price competitiveness improving
• Demand increasing
www.sustainablebiomaterials.org
7. Degradable Vs. Biodegradable
Degradable Biodegradable
– May be invisible to – Completely assimilated into food
naked eye and energy source by microbial
– Fragment into smaller populations in a short time
pieces period
– No data to document – Meet biodegradability standards:
biodegradability within ASTM D 6400 – biodegradation of
one growing season plastics in commercial composting
– Migrate into water table systems
– Not completely ASTM 6868 biodegradation of plastic-
coated paper in commercial
assimilated by microbial composting systems
populations in a short D 7081 – biodegradation in the 1989 Cover of Environmental Action
time period marine environment
D 5988 – biodegradation in soil
D 5511 – biodegradation in anaerobic
digesters
Source for definitions: Dr. Ramani Narayan, Michigan State Univ.
www.sustainablebiomaterials.org
8. Compostable Plastic
Plastic that undergoes degradation by biological
processes during composting to yield CO2, water,
inorganic compounds, and biomass at a rate
consistent with other known compostable materials
and that leaves no visible, distinguishable, or toxic
residue.
ASTM Standard D6400, 2004, “Standard Specification for Compostable
Plastics,” ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2004, DOI:
10.1520/D6400-04, www.astm.org
www.sustainablebiomaterials.org
9. Biodegradable Products Institute
238 certified products
130 global companies
Note:
Some BPI-certified
resins have zero
biobased content
www.sustainablebiomaterials.org
11. Biobased ≠ biodegradable
Mass of biobased carbon in the product
÷
Mass of total organic carbon in the product
Non-biodegradable biobased plastics are here
www.sustainablebiomaterials.org
12. USDA Biopreferred Program
Q. What are biobased products?
A. A biobased product is a product that is determined by the
USDA to be a commercial or industrial product (other than
food or feed) that is composed, in whole or in significant
part, of biological products, including renewable domestic
agricultural materials forestry materials, and marine and
animal materials. Biobased products do not include motor
vehicle fuels, heating oil, electricity produced from
biomass, or, since the program is designed to stimulate
markets for new biobased products, any "mature market"
products. Mature market products are those biobased
products that had significant national market penetration in
1972. Examples of mature market products include cotton
shirts or towels, paper plates, and wood furniture.
www.sustainablebiomaterials.org
13. Market drivers & new developments
Biobased content - The amount of biobased
carbon in the material or product expressed
as a percent of weight (mass) of the total
organic carbon in the material or product.
Biobased content is determined using
ASTM Method D6866, Standard Test
Methods for Determining the Biobased
Content of Natural Range Materials Using
Radiocarbon and Isotope Ratio Mass
Spectrometry Analysis.
www.sustainablebiomaterials.org
18. Path from Field to Producer
“The source product is from Brazil,
then turned into cornstarch in China,
then the starch is used in
our manufacturer’s facility.”
“Feedstocks grown in Midwestern US.
Manufacture the resin
in Hawthorne, CA today,
but plan to manufacture
in Seymour, IN shortly.”
www.sustainablebiomaterials.org
19. Challenges with Biobased Products
Concern over genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
Desire for sustainably grown biomass
Need to develop adequate composting programs
Concern with nanomaterials and fossil-fuel-plastic blends
Inconsistencies in and lack of
adequate labeling
Concern over contamination
of recycling systems
Confusion in terminology
ASTM may not reflect composters’ needs
www.sustainablebiomaterials.org
20. Sustainable Biomaterials Collaborative:
Market-based tools
Sustainable feedstocks /
Sustainable agriculture
Green Chemistry /
Clean Production
Closed Loop Systems /
Cradle to Cradle /
Zero Waste
“Just because it’s biobased, doesn’t make it green”
www.sustainablebiomaterials.org
21. Purchasing Specifications for Biobased
Compostable Foodservice Ware
• Bid specs for
purchasers
• Presents baseline
mandatory criteria
• Bidders can earn points
for products meeting
beyond baseline
desirable criteria.
www.sustainablebiomaterials.org
22. Common Points of Confusion
• False claims of compostability or
biodegradability: Many available products
carry misleading, deceptive or
unsubstantiated claims of biodegradability or
compostability. Buyer beware!
• Compostability of plastic-coated paper:
Research now shows that polyethylene-coated
paper products are bad for composting
operations and the quality of compost.
www.sustainablebiomaterials.org
29. Biobased content labeling
inconsistent too
Biobased content
based on ASTM
D6866 ~20%
www.sustainablebiomaterials.org
30. FTC Green Marketing Guide
Example 3:
A manufacturer makes an unqualified
claim that its package is compostable.
Although municipal or institutional
composting facilities exist where the
product is sold, the package will not
break down into usable compost in a
home compost pile or device. To avoid
deception, the manufacturer should
disclose that the package is not suitable
for home composting.
Source:
http://ftc.gov/bcp/grnrule/guides980427.h www.sustainablebiomaterials.org
33. CA AB 1972 and AB 2071
• AB 1972 (DeSaulnier)–Solid Waste: Plastic Bags: Food and
Beverage Containers (effective 1/1/09)
This bill modifies two chapters in current law: one on biodegradable
and compostable plastic bags and one on plastic food and beverage
containers. In both programs, the sale of an item labeled
"compostable" or "marine degradable" is prohibited, unless the
item meets specific ASTM Standard Specifications, or in some cases,
a standard adopted by CalRecycle. (Chapter 436)
• AB 2071 (Karnette)–Plastic Bags: Plastic Food and Beverage
Containers: Enforcement (effective 1/1/09)
This bill establishes penalties for failure to comply with labeling
requirements for compostable, biodegradable, and degradable
plastic bags and plastic food and beverage containers sold in
California. (Chapter 570)
www.sustainablebiomaterials.org
34. CA Senate Bill 567
The Truthful Environmental Advertising in Plastics Law
• SB 567 expands the scope of
current California law beyond
plastics bags and food
packaging to all plastics
products.
• Approved by Gov. Brown, Oct.
8th, 2011
• Effective January 1st, 2013
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35. Bioplastics and Organic Certified
Compost
• USDA’s National Organics Program ensures credibility of USDA
Organics label
• One rule requires compost feedstock to be free of non NOP-
authorized synthetics
• The Organic Materials Review Inst. determines which input
products are allowed for use in organic production/processing.
• OMRI has ruled that compostable and biodegradable products are
not acceptable.
• The Canadian Organics program and the European Organics
program both accept biodegradable plastic in their feedstock.
• BPI is developing and executing a plan to seek NOP approval for use
of plastics that meet ASTM D6400 and D6868.
• Meanwhile, composters will be bound by restrictions placed on
them by certification organizations.
www.sustainablebiomaterials.org
37. 2011 USCC
Compostable Plastics Track
1. Identification/Labeling
Challenges
2. Enforcement/Legislation
3. ASTM Standards Need
Refining
4. Consumer Education
5. National Organics Program
(NOP) Impacts
http://compostingcouncil.org/compostable-
plastics-symposium/
www.sustainablebiomaterials.org
38. Contact Info
Brenda Platt
SBC, Co-Chair
Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Co-Director
bplatt@ilsr.org
202-898-1610 ext 230
www.sustainablebiomaterials.org www.sustainablebiomaterials.org