Compostable plastics that are tested and certified according to the European standard for industrial composting EN 13432 are required to disintegrate after 12 weeks and completely biodegrade after six months. That means that 90 percent or more of the plastic material will have been converted to CO2. The remaining share is biomass, which [...]
Using biodegradable and compostable plastic products such as biowaste bags or fresh food packaging increases the end-of-life options. In addition to recovering energy and mechanical recycling, industrial composting (organic recycling) becomes an available end-of-life option. Compostability is a clear benefit when plastic items are mixed with biowaste. Under these conditions, mechanical recycling is [...]
Industrial composting is an established process with commonly agreed requirements concerning temperature and timeframe for biodegradable waste to metabolise to stable, sanitised products (biomass) to be used in agriculture (humus/fertiliser). This process takes place in industrial or municipal composting plants. These plants provide controlled conditions, i.e. controlled temperatures, humidity, aeration, etc. for a [...]
Biodegradation is a chemical process in which materials are metabolised to CO2, water, and biomass with the help of microorganisms. The process of biodegradation depends on the conditions (e.g. location, temperature, humidity, presence of microorganisms, etc.) of the specific environment (industrial composting plant, garden compost, soil, water, etc.) and on the material or [...]
No. Bioplastics are a large family of materials that can be either biobased, biodegradable or both. Biobased, non-biodegradable (durable) materials have a share of 47.9 percent. The largest share (52.1 percent) of bioplastics currently on the market are biodegradable materials. Biodegradability is an inherent property of certain polymers that can be preferable for specific [...]
Compostable plastics that are tested and certified according to the European standards for industrial composting EN 13432 (for packaging) or EN 14995 (for plastic materials in general) fulfil the technical criteria to be treated in industrial composting plants. These plants provide controlled conditions, i.e. controlled temperatures, humidity, aeration, etc. for a quick and [...]
Organic recycling is defined by the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive 94/62/EC (amended in 2005/20/EC) as the aerobic treatment (industrial composting) or anaerobic treatment (biogasification) of packaging waste. The EU Directive refers to the harmonised European standard for the industrial compostability of plastic packaging: EN 13432. An equivalent standard has been approved [...]
As with conventional plastics, bioplastics need to be recycled separately (by stream type). Available sorting technologies such as NIR (near infrared) help to reduce contamination. Bioplastic materials for which a recycling stream already exists (e.g. biobased PE and biobased PET) can easily be recycled together with their conventional counterparts. Other bioplastics for which [...]
If a separate recycling stream for a certain plastic type exists, the bioplastic material can simply be recycled together with their conventional counterpart – e.g. biobased PE in the PE-stream or biobased PET in the PET stream – as they are chemically and physically identical in their properties. The post consumer recycling of [...]
Bioplastics are a diverse family of materials. Depending on the material and the application, recycling in existing waste streams is certainly an option. Drop-in solutions such as biobased PE or biobased PET can easily be recycled in existing recycling streams together with their conventional counterparts. Innovative materials such as PLA can also be [...]