TDPA™ has been tested according to the American Standard ASTM D6954 (Standard Guide for Exposing and Testing Plastics that Degrade in the Environment by a Combination of Oxidation and Biodegradation) and the British Standard BS 8472.
Bioplastics proponents have promoted the use of composting standards (ASTM D6400 and EN13432) as indicators of plastics being biodegradable. However, these composting standards only require 90% biodegradation within 6 months in an industrial composting facility, whose controlled temperature, oxygen and humidity settings are unattainable by home composting. Thus, plastics that fulfil these composting standards are frequently not biodegradable under real-world open environment or home composting conditions. Consequently, composting standards are not good measures of whether a plastic is biodegradable.
The term ‘bio-based plastics’ relates to the source of the plastic feedstock, rather than its end-of-life characteristics. It does not indicate that the plastic is biodegradable at its end of life.
Bio-based plastics come from crops (such as corn and cassava etc), whose production consumes valuable food supplies, limited land resources and is associated with environmental pollution from intensive commercial agricultural methods.
Compostable plastics are degradable under industrial composting conditions, which offer controlled temperature, oxygen and humidity conditions – notably, these are not attainable under home composting conditions. Claims of 90% biodegradation within 6 months only pertain to industrial composting conditions, and compostable plastics will not biodegrade to the same extent if they end up in the open environment, or if composted at home.
TDPA™ does not contain any heavy metal. The raw materials used for making TDPA™ comply with all known regulations relating to heavy metal content in products. The compliance to these regulations has been independently verified by third party laboratories.
Plastics with TDPA™ can be used for direct food contact applications, as TDPA™ is compliant with the relevant US Food and Drug Administration and European Food Safety Authority regulations.
TDPA™ plastics pass all eco-toxicity tests in accordance with OECD Guideline 208, including seed germination, plant growth and organism (i.e. daphnia & earthworms) survival. Upon completion of biodegradation, TDPA™ plastics become carbon dioxide, water and biomass, without leaving any harmful residues in the environment.