Biodegradability Tests on Materials and Products

In recent years, the concept of sustainability has come to play a key role in different areas, including packaging such as shopping bags, envelopes and sacks.

Biodegradability is one of the requirements most commonly associated with sustainability and certainly contributes to it.

Biodegradation consists in the transformation of an organic compound, carried out through reactions caused by microorganisms. This process is essential for the purification of the environment: the microorganisms in fact eliminate otherwise polluting substances from the earth and water.

Not everything has the same degree of biodegradability: substances of natural origin generally decompose completely; while those of synthetic origin (plastics, rubber, etc.) can withstand the attack of microorganisms even for tens of years or centuries.

The Food Packaging Materials laboratory has equipment to carry out biodegradation tests in water and soil, and disintegration and ecotoxicity tests according to the EN 13432 standard.

Italian legislation on the marketing of non-biodegradable and compostable single-use shopping bags has triggered fines for the marketing of plastic shopping bags and sacks, with the exception of shoppers, bags and pouches that are biodegradable and compostable according to EN 13432.

Various regulatory steps have taken place over the years. In particular, the Decree of the Minister of the Environment and of the Protection of the Territory and the Sea and of the Minister of Economic Development of 18 March 2013 specifies the technical characteristics of the marketable bags, clarifies the concept of marketing (which also includes the provision of free of bags), introduces the methods of informing consumers (the wording on the bags themselves) and confirms the penalties already provided for.

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