What they claim is that their bag will compost in 12-16 weeks if it's buried in an aerobic composting pile that's active enough to maintain a steady temperature of 130+ degrees for at least the first two weeks. (The California standard calls for an active compost pile to maintain 122+ degrees.) If you tell them you are letting your chickens move it around and pick at it, they'll probably not even send you a form letter in reply.
As far as standards go, the ASTM already has clearly defined standards for compostable plastics: "capable of undergoing biological decomposition in a compost site as part of an available program, such that the plastic is not visually distinguishable and breaks down to carbon dioxide, water, inorganic compounds, and biomass, at a rate consistent with known compostable materials (e.g. cellulose). and leaves no toxic residue." In order for a plastic to be called compostable, three criteria need to be met:
1. Biodegrade - break down into carbon dioxide, water, biomass at the same rate as cellulose (paper). 2. Disintegrate - the material is indistinguishable in the compost, that it is not visible and needs to be screened out 3. Eco-toxicity - the biodegradation does not produce any toxic material and the compost can support plant growth.
They have some fancy white papers (which you have to buy from them if you want it to be official), but the gist of it is that if you meet their standard for a composting environment, you should expect plastic bags to be gone in about 3-6 months in a home pile, and 1-3 in in an industrial composting facility.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2010-10-27 06:20 pm (UTC)As far as standards go, the ASTM already has clearly defined standards for compostable plastics:
"capable of undergoing biological decomposition in a compost site as part of an available program, such that the plastic is not visually distinguishable and breaks down to carbon dioxide, water, inorganic compounds, and biomass, at a rate consistent with known compostable materials (e.g. cellulose). and leaves no toxic residue." In order for a plastic to be called compostable, three criteria need to be met:
1. Biodegrade - break down into carbon dioxide, water, biomass at the same rate as cellulose (paper).
2. Disintegrate - the material is indistinguishable in the compost, that it is not visible and needs to be screened out
3. Eco-toxicity - the biodegradation does not produce any toxic material and the compost can support plant growth.
They have some fancy white papers (which you have to buy from them if you want it to be official), but the gist of it is that if you meet their standard for a composting environment, you should expect plastic bags to be gone in about 3-6 months in a home pile, and 1-3 in in an industrial composting facility.