The association has spoken out less than two weeks after the Working Group responsible for plastics and packaging sectors within CEN (the European Committee for Standardisation) ruled out a request by promoters of additive technologies to change the current industry standard covering compostable plastics packaging – EN13432 – to include a longer decomposition period.

Chairman of the board of European Bioplastics Andy Sweetman said it is vital that claims of biodegradability or compostability are backed by internationally recognised standards.

“We just cannot allow that the public, who are generally very sensitive to ecological issues, to be further confused by claims on biodegradability and compostability resulting from conflicting approaches,” he said. “If certain products that claim to be biodegradable or compostable are proven not to fulfil acknowledged standards, this is liable to impact negatively on our own members’ products.”

Sweetman is concerned that packaging products carrying the association’s seedling mark of compostability – indicating compliance with the EN13432 standard – may be harmed by association with products marketed as “oxo-biodegradable.”

This situation is made more likely because there is no standard that specifically defines biodegradability – both the EN13432 and the ISO 17088 standards used in the bioplastics sector focus on composting. ISO 17088 requires that total biodegradation must be achieved within six months.

In a position paper on degradable plastic, European Bioplastics says that the use of the term “oxo-biodegradable” is misleading because the primary degradation process is one of fragmentation.

“The term ‘oxo-biodegradable’ is an appealing marketing term which is, however, misleading because it cannot be verified due to the absence of a standard specification,” the association states.

“Fragmentation is not the result of a biodegradation process but rather the result of a chemical reaction. The resulting fragments will remain in the environment 
 plastics fragments would be spread around the surrounding area. As ultimate biodegradability has not been demonstrated for these fragments there is substantial risk of accumulation of persistent substances in the environment,” the association says.

European Bioplastics also points out its concerns over the additives contained in degradable plastics - which typically use a combination of cobalt, managanese, nickel or zinc containing pro-degradant catalysts in combination with rate-determining antioxidants - as well as the potential negative impact on both the developing organic waste and more developed mechanical recycling industries.

In the paper, the association draws hope for clarity of the use of the term “biodegradable” in the United States, at least, saying that the National Advertising Division of the Federal Trade Commission has recommended that advertisers stop using the term “100 percent oxo-biodegradable.”

FTC’s Green Guide advises advertisers that unqualified biodegradable claims are acceptable only if they have scientific evidence that their product will completely decompose within a reasonably short period of time under customary methods of disposal.