On Wednesday, DIN CERTCO, an independent certification agency based in Berlin, Germany, gave Pregis, a leading global manufacturer of protective packaging, their industrial compostable certification in accordance with EN 13432 for its Flo-Pak Bio product line of loose fill products.
This means that the starch-based filling can be disposed of in an organic waste bin along with other compostable items such as food and garden waste. The product can also be reused multiple times. The certificate was given to the Bio One, the naturally-colored green loose fill, and the Clean Bio One, which are white chips.
Pregis’ Bio line obtained two internationally recognized certification marks: the Seedling compostability mark and the DIN-Geprüft test mark for industrial compostability, which are based on the EN 13432 standard.
“Because our Flo-Pak Bio loose fill products are made entirely from natural, non-genetically modified raw materials—air, water and vegetable starch—they completely break down making it an extremely sustainable packaging solution. Now with independent certification, packers can be confident that our Bio chips are 100% biodegradable, 100% compostable and/or reusable attributes. Using this void-fill product to protect their products will also help them meet sustainability objectives,” said Manon Canisius, product manager of Pregis.
The EN 13432 Standard requires the compostable plastics to disintegrate after 12 weeks and completely biodegrade after six months. That means that 90% or more of the plastic material will have been converted to CO2 and the remaining share is converted into water and biomass. Pregis’ Bio Line features products that are chemically inert, non-toxic and are lightweight to transport.
