CERTIFICATIONS

European Standard UNI EN 13432

Packaging – Requirements for packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation – Test scheme and evaluation criteria for the final acceptance of packaging

In the bioplastics sector, the European standard UNI EN 13432 (Packaging — Requirements for packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation — Test scheme and evaluation criteria for the final acceptance of packaging) is the most important technical reference for material producers, public authorities, composting operators, certifiers, and consumers.

UNI EN 13432 defines four criteria that a compostable material must meet in order to be recovered through organic recycling (industrial composting):

Biodegradability

The ability of the material to be converted into carbon dioxide (CO₂), water, and biomass through the action of microorganisms, similarly to natural waste.

Disintegration

The material must fragment during composting until it is no longer visible in the final compost, avoiding visual contamination.

Absence of ecotoxic effects on compost

Assessment of the final compost (density, total dry matter, volatile solids, salt content, pH, and levels of nitrogen, ammonium, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium).

Virtually absence of heavy metals

Very low levels of heavy metals (below predefined limits) and no negative effects on compost quality (e.g., reduced agronomic value or ecotoxicological impacts on plant growth).

Each of these criteria is necessary to define compostability, but none is sufficient on its own. For example, a biodegradable material is not necessarily compostable, as it must also disintegrate during a composting cycle. Conversely, a material that breaks into micro-fragments during composting but is not biodegradable is not compostable.

The EN 13432 standard therefore specifies the requirements a material must meet to be defined as “compostable” and thus recovered through the composting of organic solid waste.

BPI Certification Scheme

Certain Mater-Bi grades, according to market requirements, are certified by BPI for industrial compostability and carry the reference number 890995.

The BPI certification mark has become a widely recognized reference symbol for compostability across the value chain. The BPI program is a third-party verification system based on ASTM standards for compostable products in North America and represents a starting point for companies wishing to claim compostability for products and packaging.

This scheme applies to compostable resins, intermediates, components, and finished products, and confirms compliance with ASTM D6400, and where applicable, ASTM D6868 and/or ASTM D8410.

More information: bpiworld.org