ASTM D 6868 : 2011

1.1 This specification covers end items that include plastics or polymers where plastic film/ sheet or polymers are incorporated (either through lamination, extrusion or mixing) to substrates and the entire end item is designed to be composted under aerobic conditions in municipal and industrial composting facilities, where thermophilic temperatures are achieved.

1.2 This specification is intended to establish the requirements for labeling of end items which use plastics or polymers as coatings or binders, as “compostable in aerobic municipal and industrial composting facilities.”

1.3 The properties in this specification are those required to determine if end items (including packaging) which use plastics and polymers as coatings or binders will compost satisfactorily, in large scale aerobic municipal or industrial composting where maximum throughput is a high priority and where intermediate stages of plastic biodegradation should not be visible to the end user for aesthetic reasons.

1.4 The following safety hazards caveat pertains to the test methods portion of this standard: This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate health and safety practices and to determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

Note 1—There is no known ISO equivalent for this standard.