In an article from FoodProductionDaily.com, the Oxo-Biodegradable Plastics Association (OPA) stated that the standards it uses to verify the biodegradability of its products are legitimate and that claims made by the oxo-bio industry are founded on solid science.

The statement of the industry’s claims from Gerald Scott, Professor Emeritus in Chemistry and Polymer Science of Aston University and OPA Chairman, came as a response to a series of charges laid against the sector by European Bioplastics (EB). (See related article “European Bioplastics distances itself from ‘oxo-bio’ industry.”)

In its position paper on the oxo-bio segment, EB said the American Standard ATSM D-6954-04 was not an acknowledged standard. Furthermore, it questioned the validity of citing the test because it had no pass/fail criteria but simply described how to operate tests in the laboratory.

But Scott, who is also chairman of the British Standards Institute Committee on Biodegradability of Plastics, said EB’s accusation was incorrect. “It is impossible to say that ATSM D-6954 is not an acknowledged standard,” he told FoodProductionDaily.com. “It not only provides detailed test methods but also provides pass/fail criteria.” (See response from Steve Mojo, the executive director of the Biodegradable Products Institute, at "BPI clarifies standards statement by oxo-bio industry.")

EB had also criticized use of the standard as it did not comply with EN 13432, used by its own members, that sets a deadline for this to occur within 180 days. But Scott said there was no requirement for the 60% conversion to be achieved in this time because, while timescale was critical in an industrial composting process, it was not critical for biodegradation in the environment. He said that for EB to compare the two standards did not make sense as they tested for different things; compostability in the case of EN 13432, while ASTM checked biodegradability.

Read the full story at “Oxo-bio industry says product claims valid.”