SISTERS packaging under home compostability assessment and validation

The SISTERS project is developing packaging solutions with reduced potential negative impacts in the environment thanks to their HOME-COMPOSTABLE performances.

What is home compostable material / packaging?

It’s a plastic material or a packaging product compliant with specific requirements defined by certification schemes and standards to guarantee consumers the complete compostability in their own backyards. Biodegradable products are experiencing increasing demand and request a high level of trust. As a manufacturer or retailer of compostable packaging and products, you can strengthen this trust: you can receive the certification for your product through two important certification bodies, TÜV Austria and DIN CERTCO, with the use of the “OK compost HOME” and / or “DIN Tested – Garden Compostable” marks, respectively. These provide credible and verifiable proof that your materials are safe for home and garden composting.

How can home compostability be verified?

Thanks to several experimental trials performed within SISTERS project, our Partner ARCHA (as a recognised lab by TÜV Austria and DIN CERTCO) is carrying on the biodegradability in compliance with ISO 14855-1 and disintegration according to ISO 16929 standards, both at ambient temperature (between 20°C and 30°C) and the final ecotoxicity following OECD 208 method.

The biodegradation test is a chemical process that allows us to quantify to what extent and how fast specific microorganisms are available to convert organic materials into natural substances such as water, carbon dioxide and other substances in a composting substrate. This process of biodegradation depends on the surrounding environmental conditions (location or temperature), the specific material (polymer and components) and the application.

In SISTERS, some initial materials were tested and graphs of the percentage of biodegradability were obtained. These graphs are indicated in the image: all tested samples reached and exceeded 90% biodegradability within 1 year as prescribed by the scheme.

In relation to the disintegration test, the thickness of the final packaging is the main characteristic which affects the result. More than 90% of the final packaging must be reduced into pieces smaller than 2 mm within six months at ambient temperature. If the test passes, the packaging is certified for the tested thickness and lower.

BARLEY PLANTS

Finally, also ecotoxicity test is conducted in order to evaluate the potential toxicity of residuals in the final composted material of disintegration tests: these can potentially inhibit the germination or growth of the plant. In the pictures, the plant toxicity test is shown by using Barley and Cress as representative plants.

CRESS PLANT

More packaging samples and final demonstrators are going to be analysed to achieve the certification of these SISTERS food packaging… stay tuned!