Plastic will have to break down into organic matter and carbon dioxide in the open air within two years to be classed as biodegradable under a new UK standard being introduced by the British Standards Institute.
Ninety per cent of the organic carbon contained in plastic needs to be converted into carbon dioxide within 730 days to meet the new BSI standard, which has been introduced following confusion over the meaning of biodegradability.
The PAS 9017 standard covers polyolefins, a family of thermoplastics that includes polyethylene and polypropylene, which are responsible for half of all plastic pollution in the environment.
Polyolefins are widely used to make carrier bags, fruit and vegetable packaging and drink bottles.
"Tackling the global challenge of plastic waste requires imagination and innovation," said Scott Steedman, director of standards at BSI. "New ideas need agreed, publicly available, independent standards to enable the delivery of trusted solutions by industry," he added, describing the new standard as "the first stakeholder consensus on how to measure the biodegradability of polyolefins which will accelerate the verification of technologies for plastic biodegradation."
Standard will only apply to land-based plastic pollution
PAS 9017, titled Biodegradation of polyolefins in an open-air terrestrial environment, involves testing plastic to prove it can break down into a harmless wax in the open air.
The standard only applies to...