Certification - University tested |
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Rigorous standards have been developed in the US, Europe, Japan and now Australia specifying appropriate methods for testing those claims of biodegradability. Any product that meets these standards can claim justifiably to be environmentally acceptable.
naturegirl™ bioplastic polymer resin (BF-90) has been tested extensively by the Environment and Biotechnology Centre of Swinburne University in Melbourne. It was tested specifically for compliance with Australian Standard AS4736 - 2006 which in turn was developed from rigorous European standards for biodegradeability. The specific guidelines of the standard measure the test subject, in this case our polymer, against a cellulose reference material. A 90% degradation is required within 90 days in a range of settings which mimic landfill, litter and composting environments with a mix of aerobic and anaerobic decomposition. |
Degradation must be by genuine microbial action to organic components, rather than mere structural decomposition to small or microscopic pieces as with regular degradable plastics.
To this point, our polymer resin products have met and surpassed all the requirements of the test procedure easily, achieving biodegradation rates comparable with cellulose controls. The European standard (BSEN 13432:2000) requires a greater than 50% level of volatile solids - our polymer is 99%, far in excess of the requirement and indicating almost total potential degradation in the waste stream. Our polymer has achieved independent biodegradablity certification in compliance with Australian and European standards. |
