GENERAL INFORMATION OWS

In general, compostability encompasses three factors - biodegradability, disintegration and ecotoxicity. Biodegradability shows quantitatively the inherent nature of the material to be consumed by microorganisms. Biodegradability protects the environment by showing that the material will not accumulate. Disintegration measures whether the material breaks down and falls apart, thereby protecting the compost plant operator. It may or may not be biodegrading. Finally, ecotoxicity testing determines whether the material after composting shows any inhibition on plant growth or the survival of soil or aquatic fauna.

You do not need to commit at once to the entire testing program. We typically recommend that the characteristic which may present the highest hurdle be tested first. All of the testing for certification is performed under Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) conditions, which provides the full documentation (replication, QA/QC documentation and final report) needed to support marketing claims. We also offer testing under screening conditions, which provides essential information for internal research and decision purposes. In either case the test methodology is the same.

To introduce you to our company, OWS is an international testing company with extensive experience in the field of assessing the biodegradability, compostability and ecotoxicity of polymers, lubricants, paper products, chemicals, and other materials. The tests are performed at our laboratory in Ghent, Belgium. We also have a partner in Japan and an affiliate company in the US.

Our clients include major chemical, plastics, paper and consumer products manufacturers from the USA, Europe, and Japan (see reference list in annex). Through our active participation in such organizations as ASTM (subcommittees on lubricants, plastics and environmental fate), CEN (the European standards committee) and DIN (the German standards organization), OWS has been at the forefront of developing test methodology for determining the biodegradability of materials in various environments (see list in annex). We offer a full range of aqueous and solid-based tests. We also offer the testing needed to obtain the label for "Compostable" initiated by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) and the US Composting Council, as well as the testing needed to satisfy the requirements for the two European logos: OK Compost and DIN-Certco.

In a typical case for certification, we will perform all the testing required under GLP conditions and write a full report. Assuming the results are positive, the customer takes this report to the certification bureau who will give a certificate and the right to use the logo. For this service an extra charge will be asked by the certification bureau.

OWS is not involved in the development of materials, only the testing. Therefore the confidentiality of your formulations is strictly protected.

If you want to market the material in Europe it is advisable to follow the EN 13432 standard (which in any case is very similar to the ASTM norms).

It is useful that you give us some insight in the nature and the composition of your material. We do not have a standard form but if you could give us some general information this would be good enough (e.g. x% polymer or fiber, y% binder of which nature, z% ..., etc + also thickness and physcial from).Often we sign a secrecy agreement first. I have added a standard secrecy agreement in annex