ASTM D6400-23 Standard Specification for Labeling Plastics Intended for Aerobic Composting in Municipal or Industrial Facilities

The "ASTM D6400-23 Standard Specification for Labeling of Plastics Designed for Aerobic Composting in Municipal or Industrial Facilities" standard, developed by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), describes the requirements for plastics and products made from plastics designed to be composted under aerobic conditions in municipal and industrial aerobic composting facilities where thermophilic conditions are provided.

This standard aims to establish requirements for labeling materials and products, including packaging made of plastic, as compostable in aerobic municipal and industrial composting facilities.

The specifications in this standard are those required to determine whether end products (including packaging) using plastics and polymers as coatings or binders will compost satisfactorily in large-scale aerobic municipal or industrial composting facilities. Maximum yield is a high priority for composters and the intermediate stages of plastic degradation and biodegradation are not visible to the end user for aesthetic reasons.

The safety hazard warnings described in this standard relate to the test methods section of this standard. This standard is not intended to address all safety concerns, if any, regarding its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety, health, and environmental practices and to determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

This standard is equivalent to the “ISO 17088 Plastics - Organic recycling - Specification for compostable plastics” standard.

Unless otherwise stated, the terms and definitions used in this standard are included in the "ASTM D883-00 Standard Terminology for Plastics" standard. In addition, the following definitions apply:

• Biodegradable plastic refers to degradable plastic in which degradation occurs through the action of naturally occurring microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and algae.
• Compostable plastic refers to plastic that breaks down by biological processes during composting, producing carbon dioxide, water, inorganic compounds, and biomass at a rate consistent with other known compostable materials, and leaving no visible, discernible, or toxic residue.
• Composting refers to the managed process of controlling the biological decomposition and transformation of biodegradable materials into a humus-like substance called compost. This process involves the aerobic mesophilic and thermophilic breakdown of organic matter to make compost, and the transformation of biodegradable material by a controlled bio-oxidation process that passes through the mesophilic and thermophilic phases and results in the production of carbon dioxide, water, minerals and stabilized organic matter (compost or humus).
• Degradable plastic refers to a plastic that has been designed to undergo a significant change in its chemical structure under certain environmental conditions, resulting in a loss of properties as measured by standard test methods appropriate to the plastic and its application over a time period that determines its classification.
• Plastic is a material containing one or more organic polymeric substances of large molecular weight as the main component, which is solid in its finished form and can be shaped by flow at some stage during its processing or processing into finished products.
• A polymer is a substance composed of molecules characterized by the repetition of one or more types of monomeric units (ignoring ends, branch connections, other minor irregularities).
• Volatile organic solids is the amount of organic matter present determined as the ratio of the difference between the dry mass of the test sample and the mass remaining after burning at 550 degrees to the dry mass of the test sample.

To compost satisfactorily, a product or material must exhibit each of the characteristics defined and quantified in this standard. A plastic product or material is broken down during composting so that the remaining plastic residues cannot be readily distinguished from other organic materials in the finished product. In addition, the material or product should not be present in significant quantities during screening prior to final distribution of the compost. A level of biodegradability for plastic products is determined by tests under controlled conditions.

The tested materials must not adversely affect the ability of the compost to support plant growth when compared to composts derived from biowaste without the addition of the tested product or reference materials. Additionally, the polymeric products or materials must not introduce unacceptable levels of regulated metals or hazardous substances into the environment during sample decomposition.

Our organization has a strong staff that closely follows the developments in the world in the field of science and technology and constantly improves itself. Among the numerous test, measurement, analysis and evaluation studies provided for businesses in various sectors, there are also testing services in accordance with the standard "ASTM D6400-23 Standard specification for labeling plastics designed for aerobic composting in municipal or industrial facilities".