Metabolix, Inc. announced that Mirel bioplastic resins produced by Telles, its joint venture with Archer Daniels Midland Company, have been certified compostable by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI), an independent North American certifier of compostable material. BPI certification shows that Mirel base resins comply with the specifications established in the American Society for Testing and Materials standard ASTM D6400 for composting in a professionally managed composting facility.
“Mirel bioplastic resins are now certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute to be compostable in industrial composting systems,” said Steve Mojo, Executive Director of BPI. “Resin manufacturers are encouraged to use the BPI’s compostable logo in their marketing efforts to demonstrate their compliance to ASTM D6400 based on independent testing.”
Last month Mirel resins received certifications from Belgium-based Vinçotte of “OK Compost” for industrial composting and “OK Compost HOME” for home composting.
“Materials certification is an important process for the bioplastic industry to embrace,” said Bob Findlen, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Telles. “Product manufacturers, brand owners, and their customers need to have confidence that the biodegradability and compostability claims of materials suppliers are substantiated by scientific data and third party validation.”
The BPI’s certification covers Mirel’s base resins. These will be further compounded into specific grades for use in injection molding, film, sheet, and thermoforming by manufacturers of products and packaging.
About Mirel Bioplastics
Mirel is a family of bioplastic materials with the physical properties of petroleum-based resins, yet with a unique combination of being biobased and biodegradable when disposed in natural soil and water environments, home composting systems, and in industrial composting facilities in areas where such facilities are available. The rate and extent of Mirel’s biodegradability will depend on the size and shape of the articles made from it. However, like nearly all bioplastics and organic matter, Mirel will not biodegrade in conventional landfills.
Mirel bioplastics are available for injection molding, blown and cast film, and cast sheet applications. The first commercial-scale plant to produce Mirel bioplastic resins is being constructed adjacent to ADM’s wet corn mill in Clinton, Iowa.
About Metabolix
Founded in 1992, Metabolix, Inc. is an innovation driven bioscience company focused on providing sustainable solutions for the world’s needs for plastics, chemicals and energy. The Company is taking a systems approach, from gene to end product, integrating sophisticated biotechnology with advanced industrial practice. Metabolix is now developing and commercializing Mirel™, a family of high performance bioplastics which are biobased and biodegradable alternatives to many petroleum based plastics. Metabolix is also developing a proprietary platform technology for co-producing plastics, chemicals and energy, from crops such as switchgrass, oilseeds and sugarcane.
Source: specialchem4polymers.com
