DIN?CERTCO?operates?a?certification?scheme?for?compostable?products?made?of?biodegradable?materials?and?licenses?the?use?of?the?corresponding?Mark?developed?by?European?Bioplastics?(the?former?IBAW?Interest?Group?for?Biodegradable?Materials).

Certification?is?here?an?integral?part?of?an?industrial?recycling?system.?It?enables?compostable?products?to?be?identified?by?a?unique?mark?and?channelled?for?recovery?of?their?constituent?materials?in?specially?developed?processes.?The?Compostability?Mark?thus?conveys?product?information?to?waste-disposal?plant?operators?and?product?image?to?consumers.

A?certfication?can?be?conducted?according?to?the?following?well?international?accpeted?standards:

★DIN?EN?13432?"Packaging?-?Requirements?for?packaging?recoverable?through?composting?and?biodegradation?-?Test?scheme?and?evaluation?criteria?for?the?final?acceptance?of?packaging"

★ASTM?D?6400?"Standard?Specification?for?Compostable?Plastics"

Scope?of?Testing

Depending?on?the?properties?and?composition?of?the?materials,?intermediates,?biodegradable?additives?or?final?products,?the?following?tests?may?be?necessary:

●Chemical?testing?

●Laboratory?testing?of?total?biodegradability

●Disintegration?under?composting?conditions

●Ecological?non-toxicity

These?tests?ensured?that,?among?other?things,?no?heavy?metals?enter?the?soil?and?the?compost?quality?is?not?adversely?affected.

Registration

Materials,?additives?and?intermediates?can?be?registered.

Certification

Any?products?that?enter?the?market?can?be?certified.?For?example,?they?may?consist?of?materials?that?have?already?been?registered.?The?right?to?use?the?Compostable?Mark?will?be?granted.?It?is?ensured?that?compostability?is?tested?in?an?economically?efficient?manner.?By?structuring?the?certification?system?in?registration?and?certification,?testing?costs?are?kept?to?a?minimum.

Control?Test

Product?samples?are?regularly?checked?to?ensure?the?product’s?conformity?with?the?originally?certified?components.

Assessment?and?Certification

After?successful?assessment?by?DIN?CERTCO?a?certificate?and?the?right?to?use?the?respective?DIN?certification?mark?together?with?an?individual?registration?number?for?a?fixed?period?of?time?specified?in?the?certification?scheme?is?awarded.