We Need More than Bans to Solve the Plastic Pollution Problem

Jun 26, 2020

Legislation on the usage of single-use plastics is changing our opinions of plastic products. A number of countries and states are leading the way in plastics legislation, implementing bans and regulations on a variety of plastic products and materials. The star of the plastics ban movement is the plastic bag, but the plastic straw has also become a rising star, as both of these products can (in theory) easily be replaced or removed from everyday life. And while bans have done an incredible job reducing our plastic usage, they alone cannot solve the worldwide plastic pollution crisis. Innovation must go hand-in-hand with bans, and the bans in place must provide room for companies to create and implement creative solutions to the problem.

In the United States, there are no federal bans or regulations on plastics. However, many states, cities, and local municipalities have moved ahead of the federal government and implemented bans on plastic bags, plastic straws, or even both. The two biggest states to highlight are California and Florida. Both of these states have miles and miles of coastlines and beaches, many of which are directly and negatively affected by plastic pollution. California became the first state to ban plastic bags, and Florida has the most cities with plastic straw bans in place. Other states should take note of their actions, and begin introducing bills and legislation to help curb the plastic consumption and production in this country.

One city leading the way in our home state with straw bans is Somerville, Massachusetts. They are one of the only cities in the state of Massachusetts to institute a plastic straw ban, and are leading the way to help the state reduce the amount of plastic it uses. However, it also raises some questions on what materials should be covered under a plastic straw ban. Somerville’s ban encompasses all plastic materials, including compostable bioplastics. Straw bans face a lot of backlash for 2 main reasons: many in the disabled community need a straw to drink a beverage, and because humans simply want the convenience and sanitation that comes with a straw. Compostable bioplastic options provide convenience, a positive customer experience over paper straws, an option for the disabled community, and most importantly, are of no harm to the planet. It’s important to understand the potential alternatives, so bans don’t accidentally eliminate something that can be an innovative and complete solution to the problem.

The world recognizes that plastic pollution is a problem we need to come together to solve. Of the 192 recognized countries in 2018, 127 have bans on plastic bags, 27 have bans against some kind of single-use plastic products or materials, and 63 have regulations in place for manufacturers to be responsible for the end-of-life of plastic products in some way. Clearly, we know this is a problem and are working to solve it. Bans and legislation regulating plastic usage and production is an incredibly efficient first step in the process. But we need to keep in mind that single-usage is not the problem, the material is. The idea of using a product once and throwing it away is fine, we just need to make those products from a more environmentally-friendly material that can still provide the experience a customer expects. UrthPact finds the solution quite simple: home compostable bioplastics. They check every box for the best alternative material: healthy beginning of life, healthy end of life, positive customer experience, and easy proper disposal. The home compostable revolution is only just beginning.

Certified Compostable – Breaking Down Compostable Certifications So You Don’t Have To

Jun 5, 2020

As our society continues our mission to help save our planet from plastic pollution, many organizations are making the switch to compostable packaging. At UrthPact, we truly believe that home compostable materials are the true solution to the single-use plastics problem. While bans are great for the short term, we can’t realistically continue living as we do without single-use products. We require them constantly in our everyday lives, whether it be rubber gloves, drinking straws, or to-go containers. Compostables provide a much more circular option that is healthier for the planet all throughout their lifecycle. The problem? How do you know which products are certified for what? There are multiple types of compost, different certifying bodies in different countries…how are you supposed to keep it all straight?

Let’s start simple. There are two types of compostables: commercial (also called industrial) and home. Commercially compostable products require transport to a municipal composter where they can break down at high temperatures in specific microbial communities. Home compostables are certified to break down in your own backyard compost pile. They will break down at ambient temperatures in a natural microbial community. Each type of compost has its own test standards and certifications. Let’s take a look at commercial compost first.

There are two main commercial compost test standards: ASTM D6400 and EN 13432. These two standards are complete equals. They require the same timelines, materials, and test setup. The only difference is D6400 is the norm in America, while 13432 is the norm in Europe. In terms of certifying bodies, BPI (Biodegradable Products Institute) certifications are the most recognized in the US. BPI certifies based on results from D6400 tests. In Europe, it’s TUV Austria’s OK compost INDUSTRIAL certification, which is based on, you guessed it, EN 13432. Therefore, BPI and OK Industrial are equivalent certifications. If you are looking for BPI and find OK Industrial, you can rest assured that you are getting the same value you would expect from BPI.

Home compost is slightly different. There is only one certifying body worldwide dealing with home compost, which is based mainly on an Australian test standard, AS 5810. The product is then certified for home compost by TUV’s OK compost HOME protocol and certification. So, if you find a product marked with OK compost HOME, you know that your product is certified home compostable. And keep in mind, home compost is a step FORWARD from industrial compost, so if a product is marked with OK compost HOME, you can know that the product meets requirements for ASTM D6400, BPI, and OK compost INDUSTRIAL. It goes without saying that all home compostables will also break down safely in industrial settings.

There are a number of great certifying bodies out there that are working to help make our planet a better place. As we continue to expand the compostables industry, more test standards will be written, and more certifications will appear. It’s important to understand the certifications backing your products so that you can provide accurate background information to your customers. Our goal is to provide as many resources as possible to our customers to help them convey the environmental benefits provided by our products. Our goal at UrthPact is to keep 25 billion plastic pieces from reaching oceans and landfills. And we want to do it the right way: with certified products, education, and integrity.

Certified Compostable Products: What to Look For and What It Means

Jun 2, 2020

As plastic pollution on our planet continues to spread and worsen, a variety of organizations have taken steps to reduce the amount of plastic used in their products. Companies like Nestle and Coca-Cola have committed to reducing the amount of plastic used in their bottles, as well as to use more recycled-content materials in their packaging. Recyling was a good plan to start with, but we cannot rely solely on the recycling industry to handle plastic pollution. We need a long-term, widespread solution. Plastics cannot be recycled an infinite number of times, so we need to consider what happens at the end of the material’s life. A new class of bio-materials have been introduced in the bioplastics industry in the past 10 years: compostable bioplastics. These materials provide the same necessary characteristics of traditional plastics, but will biodegrade and compost at the end of their life. There are a wide range of compostable bioplastics, mainly divided into two classes: industrially (or commercially) compostable, and home compostable.

INDUSTRIALLY (COMMERCIALLY) COMPOSTABLE

A product that is labeled as industrially or commercially compostable requires increased temperatures and specifically formulated microbial conditions in order to be converted into useful compost. This is where materials like PLA (polylactic acids) fall. Made from a corn-starch or sugar-cane base, these materials retain many of the necessary characteristics of traditional petroleum-based plastics, but can be composted at the end of their lives. In the proper facility and under the right conditions, this process can occur in as little as 180 days.

In order to be labeled as “industrially compostable” or “commercially compostable,” there are certain tests and certifications that products must pass. In the US, commercially compostable products are tested via ASTM D6400 protocols and criteria. ASTM is the American Society for Testing and Materials. Standard D6400 is the Standard Specification for the Labeling of Plastics Designed to be Aerobically Composted in Municipal or Industrial Facilities. This standard provides a timeframe in which both disintegration (physical breakdown) and biodegradation/compost production (chemical breakdown) must occur: 180 days. And it also requires that, in the end, the final product is of no harm to the surrounding ecosystem (ie: is non-toxic). The equivalent standard in Europe and other parts of the world is EN 13432, which requires the same timelines and results.

Once a product passes testing, the results can be sent to a 3rd-party organization for certification. There are a variety of 3rd-party certifiers worldwide. In the US, the most well known is the Biodegradable Products Institute, or BPI. In Europe, the most known governing body is TUV Austria. They offer their OK compost INDUSTRIAL certification, which is the equivalent of a BPI certification in America. So, when examining a product that is industrially or commercially compostable, keep a look-out for ASTM D6400, EN 13432, BPI, and TUV Industrial logos. Products marked with these logos are certified compostable, and you can rest assured knowing that, if you dispose of them properly, they will live a completely circular lifecycle.

A key factor to address when considering industrial compost is the number of commercial compost facilities in the US. There are much fewer composting facilities than there are landfills or recycling plants. Most small and local communities don’t support a commercial composter. This is important to consider when choosing products to use and dispose of. The United States currently only has 185 full-time commercial composting facilities. So before choosing an industrially compostable product, be sure to confirm that your community has the means to properly dispose of it.

HOME COMPOSTABLE

Home compost is the next step forward from industrial compsot. Home compostable products and materials are designed to break down and compost in a home compost environment, at ambient temperatures and with a natural microbial community. This is what sets these products apart from their commercially compostable counterparts. One of the newest and yet most common home compostable bioplastics is called PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoates), and is made from a canola-oil base. When combined with other home compostable components, it also retains all of the necessary characteristics of petroleum-based plastics, while being able to compost at the end of its life.

The requirements for labeling a material as home compostable are much newer than those for industrial compost, as the need for these certifications has only come about in the past 5 years. Currently, ASTM does not provide a test standard for home compost, and BPI has not evolved to include home compostables in their certification schemes. Home compostable tests are based mainly on an Australian standard called AS 5810, entitled Biodegradable plastics suitable for home composting. This standard requires disintegration in 6 months, and biodegradation and compost formation in a year. Based on this test standard–as well as NF T 51800 from France and prEN 17427–TUV Austria provides their OK compost HOME certification. The marking signifies that a product is certified to compost in a home compost environment in under a year. Currently, there is no equivalent certification to OK compost HOME in the US, as BPI solely certifies for industrial compost. Therefore, when evaluating a compostable product choice, OK compost HOME is the best possible certification to look for.

WHAT ABOUT MARINE AND LANDFILL DEGRADATION?

The final area of certification to address is marine and landfill environments. It’s important to remember here the difference between composting (providing nutrients and fertilizer to the Earth) and biodegrading (breaking down to innocuous elements). In a marine environment, a material cannot become compost due to the liquid medium. In a landfill environment, there is no oxygen to convert innocuous elements into usable compost. Therefore, materials in these environments can have the ability to biodegrade, but not to compost.

In a landfill setting, ASTM D5526 tests for plastic materials that are suitable for anaerobic biodegradation under accelerated landfill conditions. This process not only reduces the volume of waste in landfills, but can also increase the feasibility of economic landfill-gas recovery. There currently is no equivalent to this test standard in other parts of the world. Therefore, products that indicate having passed testing for ASTM D5526 can be classified as certified landfill biodegradable.

In a marine setting, ASTM D6691 outlines the test standards for materials to be labeled as “marine degradable.” These test standards require physical breakdown in 3 months and biodegradation in 6 months. Other test standards surrounding marine biodegradability include OECD 306 from France and ISO 16221, an international standard. There currently is no certifying body for marine degradation in the US, but TUV Austria provides an OK biodegradable MARINE certification that works off of the test results of D6691. Ok biodegradable marine is based greatly off the since-withdrawn ASTM D7081, which outlined the pass-fail criteria for products tested via ASTM D6691. However, there is a key disclaimer when certifying a product as marine degradable. In order to avoid consumers simply tossing trash into the oceans because they know it will eventually safely biodegrade, the certification can only be issued to products that are meant for use in a marine environment (for example, fishing gear).

HOW TO KEEP IT ALL STRAIGHT

It’s a lot to process and keep track of. Due to past issues of greenwashing, compostable and biodegradable products have to abide by a multitude of regulations in order to communicate their environmental benefit to customers. Here’s a quick summary to help:

Compostable bioplastics provide a phenomenal solution to the single-use plastics problem. However, being educated on the certifications required for these products allows for us all to be informed businesses and informed consumers. Compost certifications are complicated. Different countries have different certifications and test standards, there are multiple standards worldwide that test for the same thing. However, by breaking it down simply, we can make educated choices in our packaging, and do our part to help solve the single-use plastics problem.