Seedling License
What is a Seedling license?
The ABA has launched the ‘seedling logo’ certification system throughout Australia and New Zealand. The seedling logo is used to clearly identify and differentiate packaging materials as biodegradable and compostable. To be certified compostable and carry the seedling logo, suitable biopolymer materials must undergo a stringent test regime outlined by AS4736 and carried out by recognised independent accredited laboratories to the AS4736 standard.
Once successful testing is complete, application for formal certification can be made to the ABA directly via your supplier of biodegradable products. In turn the ABA has enlisted an independent third party testing laboratory to evaluate applications. If successful then an invitation is sent by ABA to license the seedling by payment of nominal fee and signing a license agreement. Successful applicants will then be licensed to use the logo along with their unique certification number.
Therefore, the seedling logo is a symbol that the product’s claims of biodegradability and compostability as per AS4736 have indeed been verified.
How can I use the logo?
Use of the seedling logo is available for use by both packaging material producers and their customers. The seedling logo can be printed on the finished product (eg. films, injection mouldings and bags) to market the product’s compliance to AS4736. Use of the seedling logo will ultimately help the end consumer, customers and/or municipal authorities to recognise compostable packaging and dispose of it accordingly. Importantly, the seedling logo will communicate the authenticity and independent verification of claims of compliance to AS4736‐2006.
Australian Standard 4736:2006 Biodegradable plastics- Biodegradable plastics suitable for composting and other microbial treatmentgoverns the identification and performance expectations of bioplastic materials in Australia.
A range of international standards have been developed for testing and establishing the compostability and biodegradability of bioplastic materials. Of the various international standards that have been developed, the EN 13432 Requirements for packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation is the most widely recognised and referenced document and has been widely accepted throughout the European Union, the USA and Asia. AS 4736 draws heavily on this European Standard.
AS 4736 specifies requirements and procedures to determine the compostability, or anaerobic biodegradation, of plastics by addressing biodegradability, disintegration during biological treatment, effect on the biological treatment process and effect on the quality of the resulting compost.
AS 4736 establishes the Australian benchmark forplastic products to be sold as compostable or biodegradable, A principal difference between AS 4736 and EN 13432 is the additional requirement under the AS 4736 to complete an animal eco-toxicology test using earthworms.
In summary, AS 4736 requires demonstration of a product's characteristics and performance under the following tests:
Characterization is the determination of the various constituents of the test material. This is seen as important to ensure that no harmful (toxic, hazardous) compounds are released into the environment.
AS 4736-2006 requires that the test material is identified and characterized prior to testing as follows:
Disintegration in AS 4736-2006 is defined as the physical falling apart into minute fragments of the test material. Any product to be labelled a biodegradable plastic under Australian Standards® must disintegrate by over 90% into fragments < 2 mm in size in a 12 week pilot-scale composting bin under aerobic conditions. The disintegration test of the Test Material is performed under defined and standardized composting conditions and includes a control treatment with both test series replicated in duplicate. The test material is tested in a form and thickness comparable to that for its intended use. The test material used in the following disintegration experiment was a 130 μm plastic film.
Note: Due to the nature of the disintegration test, the test results cannot differentiate between biodegradation and abiotic disintegration in this test.Compost Quality and Ecotoxicology (Plants and Earthworms)
Any toxic effect of the test material in compost can have an adverse effect on biological organisms such as plants and animals that inhabit soil (e.g. earthworms). It is therefore necessary to assess any such affects on representatives of these species due to the presence of residues from the test material in compost.
Following the disintegration test, a number of parameters are measured on the compost with and without the addition of the test material (i.e. volumetric weight, total dry solids, volatile solids etc).Earthworm and plant ecotoxicology tests are then conducted on the compost in the following manner:
The earthworm eco-toxicity test follows that outlined in AS 4736-2006 and ASTM E1676-04. The species used is Eisenia fetida, a lumbricid earthworm (redworm). The standard 14-day toxicity test is applied. For successful completion of the earthworm eco-toxicity assay, a difference of less than 10% in the morbidity and mean weight of surviving worms must be found between the compost containing the test material and the control compost (without test material).
The plant ecotoxicity test is conducted using two higher plant species recommended by the OECD guideline 208 and follows the test outlined in AS 4736-2006.The compost produced from the disintegration test with and without the addition of the test materialis used to assess germination rate and plant biomass. Each replicate from the disintegration testis tested at two concentrations, 25% and 50% (m/m or v/v) of compost (mixed with the control compost from the disintegration tests). Each replicate from the disintegration test is used here to provide biologically independent replicates of the disintegration process.For successful completion of the plant eco-toxicity assay, the germination rate and the plant biomass of the compost containing the test material of both plant species should be more than 90% of those from the corresponding negative control compost.
Recognizability in AS 4736-2006 is concerned with ensuring that the bioplastic product is sufficiently labelled/branded that the end user recognizes that it is a biodegradable or compostable product and uses and disposes of the product in an appropriate manner.
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