Certifications
GoZero has the DIN-Geprüft test mark for industrial compostability and the “seedling” compostability mark of the European Bioplastics Association. Both can be used individually, alternatively or simultaneously, and document the degradability of your products in industrial composting facilities.
GoZero also has obtained ASTM D 6400 specification. This specification covers plastics and products made from plastics that are designed to be composted under aerobic conditions in municipal and industrial aerobic composting facilities, where thermophilic conditions are achieved.
The properties in this specification are those required to determine if plastics and products made from plastics will compost satisfactorily, including biodegrading at a rate comparable to known compostable materials
Industrial composting facilities frequently complain that “compostable” packaging and cutlery do not compost at a rate “comparable” to food and yard waste.
Materials certified according to ASTM D6400 (or EN 13432) will disintegrate within 12 weeks and biodegrade at least 90% within 180 days in a municipal or industrial composting facility. Approximately 10% of solid material will be left at the end of the six-month-long process in the form of valuable compost, or biomass and water. These standards also ensure that the leftover compost will be free of toxins, so the compost will not cause harm when the facility sells it for gardening or agricultural applications.
Biodegradable and compostablePlastic that is compostable is biodegradable, but not every plastic that is biodegradable is compostable. Whereas biodegradable plastic may be engineered to biodegrade in soil. Ours is both.
What it means to be biodegradableBiodegradable means an item can be disintegrated into its base elements by bacteria, fungi, or some other biological process. Biodegradation = breaking down materials into their component parts.
What it means to be compostableThe official definition of compostable is organic material that can decompose into nutrient-rich soil or fertilizer over time.
Both biodegradable and compostable products break down over time, but the main difference is that each one requires different conditions in order for that process to work properly. Compostable products require a certain balance of factors to break down properly. They need moisture, soil, air, and a mix of other nitrogen and/or carbon-rich neighbors to feed the microorganisms that love munching on them. But the process is much faster under the right conditions.
Some competitors are saying they’re “biodegradable,” which sounds broader and perhaps better at first. But meeting compostable specifications is greener, and more honest: it is specific and has a (more) clear pathway to action.
When you're done with one of our tubes, place them in the compost—or your own garden—and they'll start to break down in about 12 weeks (they're not recyclable, so it's better to return them to the ground).
