Wirtschaftsbetrieb Ludwigshafen (WBL), the public works department of the city of Ludwigshafen, has approved the use of organic waste bags made of BASF’s compostable plastic ecovio FS for disposal in the organic waste bins in the city.
Made in coordination with GML, the waste management company, as the operator of the organic composting plant, WBL's recommendation is restricted to ecovio bags.
According to BASF, the bags can be identified by the ecovio logo, which is flower-shaped and the numerous small seedling symbols.
The seedling symbol indicates that the bags meet the stringent statutory requirements of European standard EN 13432, which defines the requirements for packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation.
The organic waste bags made of ecovio make collecting and disposing of organic waste cleaner and hygienic, and prevent unpleasant odors and pest infestations. They possess wet strength and avoid leakage of liquid from teabags or fruit leftovers.
According to a series of tests conducted by the company at the end of 2009 at Germany's organic composting plant in Grünstadt, the bags are suited for the short cycle times of professional composting installations.
BASF Ludwigshafen head of the global business with biodegradable plastics Jürgen Keck said, "Among the plastic bags tested in the experiment, only the organic bags made of ecovio actually degraded completely and quickly."
The ecovio FS is made of the partially bio-based ecoflex FS and polylactic acid (PLA). Due to this combination, the bags consist mainly of renewable raw materials and with the aid of enzymes they are completely broken down by microorganisms.
