ASTM International’s committee on plastics (D20) and the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) are cosponsoring a workshop on standards for degradable, biodegradable, and biobased products. The event takes place Wednesday, 5 April 2017, from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel in Canada alongside the biannual meeting of D20.

The goal of the workshop is to bring together standards development organizations (SDOs) from around the world to discuss how specifications, tests, and other standards in this area are used globally. Attendees will also discuss whether new or revised standards related to degradability, biodegradability, and biobased products are needed.

Topics will include testing, specification, and certification related to:
•    biobased and renewable-resource content;
•    aerobic (e.g., industrial composting) degradability and biodegradability;
•    anaerobic (e.g., digestion and landfill) degradability and biodegradability; and,
•    environmental (e.g., marine and soil) degradability and biodegradability.

Presentations include:
•    Maria Gustafsson, Swedish Standards Institute: “Biobased Standards Development in Europe – Sustainability, Life Cycle Assessments, and How to Communicate Them”
•    Ramani Narayan, Michigan State University: “Issues with the New European Biobased Content Certification Based on EN 16785”
•    Morton Barlaz, North Carolina State University: “Requirements of Anaerobic Biodegradation Test Methods”

Registration closes March 29. For more information, go here.  

About CEN
At CEN, we work with our 34 members from all of the EU member states, three EFTA countries (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland), Turkey and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and our stakeholders - SMEs, consumers and other societal stakeholder groups, public sector bodies, academics and researchers – to develop voluntary European Standards (ENs) and other standardization deliverables. European Standards play an important role in the creation of the European Single Market, making it easier for businesses to sell their goods or services to customers. These standards also help to protect the health and safety of workers, consumers and end-users of products and services, including children and older persons. Working in partnership with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), we coordinate our respective activities to support the alignment of European and international standards. Currently, over a third of CEN standards are identical to ISO standards. www.cen.eu

Media Inquiries: Dan Bergels, tel +1.610.832.9602; dbergels@astm.org
ASTM International Staff Contact: Alyson Fick, tel +1.610.832.9710; afick@astm.org
CEN-CENELEC Staff Contact: Justine Evans, tel +32 2 550 08 482; jevans@cencenelec.eu

Release #10267