Quality Control

• Quality controls are similar to other polymers. In sheet manufacture gauge is critical, along with visual standards. Sheet moisture is also a key parameter for Plantic® R1. Plantic® R1 must be kept in a stable humity environement between 30% to 70% which is essential when transporting , converting, and packing the material.
• Plantic® can be cut on high speed packaging lines much more readily than PET which tends to be subject to static electricity adhesion in the de-nesting process.
• Plantic's manufacturing operation in Australia is certified to ISO 9001 and has been successfully audited to the British Retail Consortium standards.
• The Plantic material combines some very substantial environmental credentials. It is a renewable resource of not genetically modified feedstocks that are fully biodegradable and compostable in household waste. While other biopolymers are also 'biodegradable' some only do so in a high-temperature environment, i.e. industrial composting plant, rather than in 'cold' compost, like back-garden environments.
• The European Standard DIN EN13432, Packaging - Requirements for packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation, defines requirements for packaging considered to be organically recoverable via either aerobic composting or anaerobic biogasification in municipal or biological waste treatment facilities. The standard addresses four characteristics of the packaging material, namely its biodegradability, the disintegration during composting, the effect on the biological treatment process and the effect on the quality of the resulting compost.
  Plantic® R1 has been extensively tested and is certified to comply with European Standards, some of the highest standards globally for waste, as being fully biodegradable and compostable in aerobic environments at temperatures of 21°C.
• Given its relatively high hydrophilicity, Plantic® also degrades in aqueous environments and is certified to be flushable/disposable in waste water to European Standards.
  A number of organizations in Europe certify accreditation according to the EN13432 standard, issuing licences to their logos for companies/materials that meet the standard. The main logos in use are those issued by AIB Vincotte and DIN Certco. The AIB logos are in use mainly in France and Belgium while the DIN Certco 'compostable' logo is recognized and valid in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the UK amongst others.

Quality standard certifications for Plantic® R1 sheet