Designation: D 6400 - 04 INTERNATIONAL Standard Specification for Compostable Plastics1 This standard is issued under the fixed designation D 6400; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A superscript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval. 1. Scope* 2.2 Organization for Economic Development (OECD) 1.1 This specification covers plastics and products made Standard:3 OECD Guideline 208 Terrestrial Plants, Growth Test from plastics that are designed to be composted in municipal 2.3 Comite Europeen de Normalisation (CEN):4 and industrial aerobic composting facilities. EN 13432: 2000, 2000-CEN/TC 261/SC 4 N 99 1.2 This specification is intended to establish the require- PackagingRequirements for Packaging Recoverable ments for labeling of materials and products, including pack- through Composting and Biodegradation-Test Scheme aging made from plastics, as “compostable in municipal and and Evaluation Criteria for the Final Acceptance of industrial composting facilities." Packaging (EN 13432) 1.3 The properties in this specification are those required to EN 13432 Requirements for Packaging Recoverable determine if plastics and products made from plastics will through Composting and BiodegradationTest Scheme compost satisfactorily, including biodegrading at a rate com- and Evaluation Criteria for the Final Acceptance of parable to known compostable materials. Further, the proper- Packaging ties in the specification are required to assure that the degra- 2.4 ISO Standard:4 dation of these materials will not diminish the value or utility ISO 14855 Evaluation of the Ultimate Aerobic Biodegrad- of the compost resulting from the composting process. ability and Disintegration of Plastics under Controlled 1.4 The following safety hazards caveat pertains to the test Composting Conditions-Method by Analysis of Evolved methods portion of this standard: This standard does not Carbon Dioxide purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated ISO 16929 Plastics—Determination of the Degree of Dis- with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard integration of Plastic Materials under Defined Composting to establish appropriate health and safety practices and to Conditions in a Pilot-Scale Test determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to 2.5 U.S. Government Standard:5 use. 40 CFR Part 503.13 Standards for the Use or Disposal of NoTe 1No equivalent ISO specifications exist for this standard. Sewage Sludge 2.6 Canadian Government Standard:6 2. Referenced Documents Trade Memorandum T-4-93 Standards for Metals in Fertil- 2.1 ASTM Standards: 2 izers and Supplements D 883 Terminology Relating to Plastics D 5338 Test Method for Determining Aerobic Biodegrada- 3. Terminology tion of Plastic Materials Under Controlled Composting 3.1 Definitions-Definitions appearing in this specification Conditions are found in Terminology D 883, unless otherwise noted. D 6002 Guide for Assessing the Compostability of Environ- 3.1.1 biodegradable plastica degradable plastic in which mentally Degradable Plastics the degradation results from the action of naturally occurring microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and algae. 1 This specification is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Commitee D20 on 3 Available from Organization for Economic Development, Director of Informa- Plastics and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee D20.96 on Environmen- tally Degradable Plastics and Biobased Products tion, 2 rue Andre'Pascal, 75775 Paris Cedex 16, France. Current edition approved Sept. 1, 2004. Published September 2004. Originally approved in 1999. Last previous edition approved in 1999 as D 6400 - 99. 4th Floor, New York,NY 10036 5 Code of Federal Regulations, available from U.S. Government Printing Office, For referenced