Government ‘to set standards for biodegradable plastics’

The national standards agency is moving to implement standards for the labelling and testing of compostable plastics as the island continues to build out its green energy space, officials said Wednesday.

Lynn Sealy, Technical Officer with the Barbados National Standard Institution (BNSI), told a workshop that the new standards should be in place for the new year.

“These standards are in the process of being adopted and by the end of the year the process should be complete and they should be adopted as Barbados national standards,” said Sealy.

The standards being adopted by Barbados are based on the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM International) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards, which define terms used in the plastics industry.  The standards being proposed to be adopted as voluntary national standards are ASTM D883 and ISO 427.

Sealy said: “BNSI, in our work with the Ministry of Maritime and the Blue Economy and stakeholders here in Barbados … would have identified the first set of standards that are relevant to the content of the Control of Disposable Plastics Act, and what we would be trying to do is to give you the necessary information in moving forward to meet the requirements of the implemented legislation.”

The standards are expected to cover general labelling of items, testing and environmental labelling.

Sealy explained that the labelling standards specify procedures and requirements for the identification and labelling of plastics while the environmental labelling standards describe the terms and symbols commonly used in environmental claims.

The standards being adopted for labelling include ISO 17088 (specification for compostable plastics), ASTM D6400 (standard specification for labelling of plastics designed to be aerobically composted in municipal and industrial facilities) and ASTM D6868 (standard specification for labelling of end items that incorporate plastics and polymers as coatings or additive with paper and other substrates designated to be aerobically composted in municipal and industrial facilities).

“There are several approaches to environmental labelling and we can see in the plastics industry there is a need for clarity in the terms and symbols used so that you don’t cause confusion to consumers,” the BNSI official explained.

“And because there is so much interest out there in composting or biological organic recycling, it is necessary to correctly identify plastics and products made from plastics that will disintegrate and biodegrade satisfactorily under compost conditions and will not leave any toxic residues in the environment.

“So what the standards are proposing for the environmental labelling, ISO 14020, ISO 14021 and ISO 14024? These three standards are part of the ISO 14020 series of standards, which deal with different aspects of environmental labels and declaration. They provide rules and guidelines to ensure that claims made on labels can be trusted and they are aimed at preventing misleading and vague claims.”

In relation to testing methods, Sealy said the standards to be adopted include ISO 16929, ASTM D6954 and ASTM D7475, adding that these standards should especially be of interest to those operating in laboratories.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy Sonia Foster said while progress has been made in Barbados to reduce the use of single-use plastics, “we are painfully aware that there is a need for change in behaviour, habit and tradition”.

“We are cognizant of the fact that we cannot completely erase decades of established practice in a matter of two years,” she said, recalling that the legislation was implemented in 2019.

“What we are working towards is a cleaner environment, cleaner oceans, a beautiful nation and improved outcomes.”
(MM)