Toolkit

Study of the Biodegrability of Degradable/Biodegradable Plastic Material in a Controlled Composting Environment

A scientific study done in Poland on the Biodegrability of Degradable/Biodegradable Plastic Material in a Controlled Composting Environment. The study was performed on plastic bags available on the market labeled degradable/biodegradable, or certified compostable. Click on full PDF to view the study.

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Bioplastics Sorting Project

A report sponsored by CalRecycle that provides the technical findings of the Future 500 Bioplastics Sorting Project on the research and analysis of discarded plastics sent to landfills in California, and the development of an optical sorting system to test removal of bioplastics from waste streams.

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Managing Compostable Bags At Anaerobic Digestion Plants

September 2012 BioCycle article that analyzes the best practices for treating residential food waste in Italy, as well as processing compostable bags in an AD (anaerobic digestive) system.

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Determining the Amount of Plastic and Compostable Plastic in Compost "Overs"

A report on a compostable plastics disintegration study and the contamination of compost "overs" from non-degradable plastics.

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Compostability Testing

Submission guidelines that tell compostable plastics vendors how to go about having their material tested by Cedar Grove Composting for a fee.

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Fundamental Principles and Concepts of Biodegradability — Sorting Through the Facts, Hypes, and Claims of Biodegradable Plastics in the Marketplace

This paper discusses biodegradability as an end-of-life option, how to measure biodegradability, and the requirement of the plastic to breakdown completely by the microbial food chain.

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Compostable Plastics Fact Sheet

A Compostable Plastics study sponsored by Calrecycle that includes information ranging from definitions and statutes to ongoing research, why compostable plastic is used, and its affect on the waste stream.

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Evaluation of the Performance of Rigid Plastic Packaging Containers, Bags, and Food Service Packaging in Full-Scale Commercial Composting

A CalRecycle (State of California) research report provides testing parameters as well as testing results for compostable rigid plastic packaging containers.

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Performance Evaluation of Environmentally Degradable Plastic Packaging and Disposable Food Service Ware — Final Report

The California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) in 2007 contracted with California State University (CSU), Chico to perfrom this study and report on the following: The designed-use performance and compostability of commercially available products and packaging that claim to be compostable and degradable; The degradability of several commercially available compostable plastics under laboratory conditions; How well degradable plastic products decompose in actual composting facilities and in a simulated marine environment; The potential for degradable plastics to contaminate conventional recycled plastics.

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Biodegradation of Compostable Plastics in Green Yard-Waste Compost Environment

A report from California on the biodegradation of compostable plastics in a common yardwaste compost environment.

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