DIN CERTCO to certify biodegradable plastics to Australian Standard

The Australasian Bioplastics Association (ABA) has announced DIN CERTCO as its technical auditing partner for the Australian Standard AS 4736-2006, which covers biodegradable plastics suitable for industrial composting.

The partnership will also cover assessment of products and materials destined for home composting in compliance with Australian Standard AS 5810-2010 and, in future, the certification of products or materials claiming bio-based content.

Under the agreement, DIN CERTCO ensures the future assessment of applications according to the Seedling Australasia conformity mark, commonly known as the ‘looped seedling logo’, which is issued by the ABA.

“It is increasingly important to have an internationally recognised partner such as DIN CERTCO to collaborate with for the Australian and New Zealand markets for certified compostable products and materials,” Rowan Williams, ABA president, said.

“More and more countries are phasing out or banning non-biodegradable plastics, so having certification schemes that confirm a material’s compostability is paramount.”

DIN CERTCO has certified products made of compostable materials for nearly 20 years according to DIN EN 13432 and ASTM D 6400.

“Having such a partner as DIN CERTCO to work with in Australasia brings even more credibility to the association’s verification scheme for compostable and biodegradable materials,” Williams said.

“Stakeholders in this market can fully support our source separation of food waste programs using certified compostable materials such as food waste bags, garbage bags, compostable packaging and food service items to safely and hygienically divert this organic waste from landfills.

“This agreement is a very important and significant step forward for our organisations and can only credibly support compostable materials in our marketplace.”