Compost composting standards

Various local regulations specify different maximum levels, so the appropriate authority must be consulted when formulating composts. For a summary of compost standards in Canada, visit the Composting Council of Canada website at ... 

NatureFlex film is available for lidding in a heat sealable bag or wrap format. This material is certified compostable to the European OK Home Compost standard as well as to ASTM D6400 and by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI). 

In particular, the parts that include information in a machine readable component, are currently manufactured using plastic and other similar materials which are incapable of breaking down imder an industry standard, such as International Compostable Standard, and thus are not environmentally friendly (6). 

A number of papers studied polyethylenes in PLA as deliberately phase-separated areas to provide better toughness [24], But without compatibility with the PLA, these are likely to be sources of weakness rather than strength. Hence, there is a trend to use block copolymer compatibiUzers such as PLA/PE. As long as the PE is at a low level [25], although if the PE is above 1% the polymer cannot claim to be to composting standards, merely that it is bio-based. ... 

Hogg D., Barth J., Favoino E., Centemero M., Caimi V, Amlinger F., Devlieger W, Brinton W, Antler S. Comparison of compost standards within the EU, North America and Australasia, The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), June 2002, Oxon, UK. 

BAK 1095, commercial polyesteramide based on caprolactam, butanediol and adipic acid was fonnd to be completely biodegradable according to German compostability standard DIN 54900 [113], Biodegradability of laboratory synthesized poly(esteramide) was studied in the controlled composting test according to EN 14046 standard [114], It was found that poly(esteramide) meets the biodegradation criteria of the standard. 

The test materials used are all commercially available plastics that are made from corn, namely, polylactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxyalka-noate (PHA). PLA and PHA materials have passed the ASTM D6400 compostability standard and biodegraded in a simulated industrial compost environment in 180 days. ASTM standards are applicable for plastic molded products and not plastic pellets. The samples for the ASTM D6691 test included the following ... 

Table 5.2 Overview of (industrial) compostability standards related to material and geography ...

In the UK, the lack of industrial composting infrastructures has promoted the compliance of bags with home composting standards such as OK Compost Home developed by Vingotte. 

Degradable polymers destined for composting should, therefore, be modelled on the behaviour of lignin as far as possible [12]. Oxo-biodegradable polyolefins, particularly the polyolefins and polystyrene, have been shown to be particularly suitable for this application. They cannot, because of their chemical structures, ultimately produce any products other than carbon dioxide and water. The practical applications of these materials are the main focus of this Chapter and composting standards for degradable polyolefins will be discussed in Section 9. 

There have been numerous communications on the subject of biodegradation test methods, including aerobic compost (30), anaerobic bioreactor (31), general methodology and future directions (32—34), and a fine review article (24). ASTM (22) and MITI (35) have also set forth standard testing protocols for plastics, as shown in Table 2, whereas OECD test methods (29) are more suited to water-soluble polymers. 

The Cantagalo Waste Separation and Composting Center receives an average of 280 tonnes of solid urban waste per month, besides Class 2A residues (according to the NBR 1004/2004 standard), the latter wastes generated by factories [1],... 

Silva et al. (2007) characterized a municipal solid waste compost (MSWC) based on standardized European Methods (ECN) for soil improvers and growing media and found that MSWC presents a lower C/N ratio (15) than peat and composted pine bark. 

The German Federal Compost Association (BGK) has defined general quality standards comparing the following elements (Siebert 2008) ... 

---