European Bioplastics distances itself from oxo-degradables
Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 22 July 2009
Trade body European Bioplastics has waded into the heated oxo-degradable debate by calling for claims of biodegradability and compostability to be backed by international standards.
European Bioplastics said products that did not meet the standard requirements risked confusing the public, and it was important that items carrying the seedling logo, for compostable products, were not associated in anyway with oxo-biodegradable products.
Chairman Andy Sweetman said the environmental credentials of the bioplastic products were subject to close scrutiny. "If products that claim to be biodegradable or compostable are not proven to fulfil acknowledged standards, this is liable to impact negatively on our own members’ products, even though they fully comply," he said.
European Plastics Recyclers last month also said oxo-degradable additives could damage recycling rates.
Michael Stephen, deputy chairman of oxo-degradable additive producer Symphony Environmental, hit back at organisations that he said were providing misleading information about the additives.
"Just like normal plastics, oxo-degradable materials are not intended for composting but to self-destruct if they get into the environment," he told Packaging News.
Stephen said that the appropriate standard for oxo-degradable materials was the ASTM 6954 and not ISO 17088 or EN 13432. ASTM 6954 is for products that degrade initially by an oxidative process and subsequently biodegrade.
"It’s nonsense for organisations to say that oxo-degradable plastics have to comply with composting standards," he said.
