Compostable plastic   

Compostable plastic is made from organic materials such as cornstarch and can be composted with no harmful impact to the soil or wider environment.^{[verification needed]}

By breaking down, it:

• reduces the buildup of litter in rivers and drains, thus reducing flood risk.
• reduces marine pollution
• reduces air pollution
• potentially reduces waste management dilemmas, if other packaging material also changes to compostable forms - see Compostable packaging.

Contents 1 Biodegradable versus compostable 2 Standards 3 Notes and references 4 See also 5 Interwiki links 6 External links

[edit] Biodegradable versus compostable

Some plastics may biodegrade to small fragments of petrochemical-based plastic, reducing but note eliminating their negative impact on the environment.^{[verification needed]}

True compostable materials break down completely.

[edit] Standards

ASTM International,^W an international standards organization, defines testing methods for biodegradable plastic, in anaerobic and aerobic conditions and marine environments.^[1]. There are three ASTM standard specifications addressing biodegradable plastics in composting environments:

• ASTM D6400-04 Standard Specification for Compostable Plastics,^[2]
• ASTM D6868 - 03 Standard Specification for Biodegradable Plastics Used as Coatings on Paper and Other Compostable Substrates,^[3]
• ASTM D7081 - 05 Standard Specification for Non-Floating Biodegradable Plastics in the Marine Environment.^[4]

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] See also

• Composting

[edit] Interwiki links

• Wikipedia:Biodegradable plastic
• Wikipedia:Oxo Biodegradable - polyolefin plastic with small (catalytic) amounts of metal salts to enhance breakdown (biodegrable but not compostable).

[edit] External links

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