CEN/TC 249/WG 17 - Biopolymers

This Technical Specification specifies a template for reporting and communication of characteristics covering bio-based carbon content and recovery options (i.e. organic recycling, material recycling and energy recovery) of a given item in commercial business-to-business transactions by means of a specific data sheet for biopolymers and bioplastics. This Technical Specification also gives the relevant methods for the evaluation and verification of the claims.
This Technical Specification provides the principles and requirements for the communication of selected claims in the field of environmental performance and characteristics to be used with reference to items such as biopolymers, bioplastic materials, semi-finished bioplastic products and finished bioplastic products, including composites, before it is available to the end-user or consumer.
This Technical Specification is not intended for use in communicating biobased-content and recovery options in business to consumer communications
Biocompatible polymers and plastics for medical applications, covered by specific provisions, are out of the scope of this document.
NOTE   This Technical Specification does not override, or in any way change, legally required information, claims or labelling, or any other applicable legal requirements.

This Technical Specification provides requirements for the declaration, including statements and labels, of the bio-based carbon content of items, such as polymers, plastic materials, semi-finished plastic products and finished plastic products, including composites.
NOTE 1   This document does not override, or in any way change, legally required environmental information, claims or labelling, or any other applicable legal requirements.
NOTE 2   This document addresses the bio-based content of plastic items, expressed as a fraction of the total organic carbon content. The declaration of biomass content, i.e. the total amount of raw materials of biogenic origin contained in a plastics item, expressed as a percentage of the total mass, is out of scope of this document, as there is currently no well established method to determine the biomass content of polymers or plastics materials.
NOTE 3   Since bio-based polymers can be biodegradable or non-biodegradable, and the origin of the materials renewable or non-renewable, (see CEN/TR 15932), the declaration of the bio-based carbon content is not an indication of the biodegradability of an item.

This Technical Specification specifies a calculation method for the determination of the bio-based carbon content in monomers, polymers and plastic materials and products, based on the 14C content measurement.
It also specifies three test methods to be used for the determination of the 14C content from which the bio-based carbon content is calculated:
-   Method A: Proportional scintillation-counter method (PSM);
-   Method B: Beta-ionisation (BI);
-   Method C: Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS).
The bio-based carbon content is expressed by a fraction of sample mass, as a fraction of the total carbon content or as a fraction of the total organic carbon content.
This calculation method is applicable to any polymers containing organic carbon, including biocomposites.
NOTE   This Technical Specification does not provide the methodology for the calculation of the biomass content of a sample.

This Technical Teport gives recommendations for bioplastics and biopolymers related terminology.  These recommendations are based on a discussion of commonly used terms in this field.
This Technical Report also briefly describes the current test methods state of the art in relation to the characterization of bioplastics and products made thereof.