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More than 340 people took part in the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) recent workshop, "Toward Product Standards for Sustainability," in an effort to come to consensus on what's needed to improve and develop standards focused on sustainability issues.
The gathering in Arlington, Va., had 240 in-person attendees and more than 100 participating through a live webinar. Attendees represented government, industry, standards developing organizations, consortiums and consumers.
ANSI is working on a report to highlight the results of the conference, and has made all presentation materials available online.
Some of the key conclusions and take-aways include:
* One of the main needs is consistent and globally-recognized terminology so that consumers, standards developers, governments and industries all understand certain words to mean the same thing.
* Transparency is another main issue, with attendees agreeing that product labels or communication to consumers about the sustainable aspects of products need to be uniform and transparent. Also, standards need to be clearly written and easy to understand so that the standards can be viewed as reliable and product claims can be substantiated.
* Standards that address a single attribute and standards that address multiple attributes both found supporters. Those in favor of single-attribute standards said they reduce complexity and confusion; others said multiple-attribute standards could increase consumer confidence.
* Pros and cons exist for all type of standards development, whether it's by government regulation, consensus among stakeholders or some other method. One possible solution would be a combination of standards, with government regulations setting minimum requirements and voluntary standards providing higher goals.
ASTM standards for biodegradablility
Sometimes standards are abused, as has happened in California labeling law, where ASTM D6400-04, has been used to reserve the term biodegradable for PLA, which is made from corn, and which decays within 120 days in commercial (not home) composting facilities.
Unfortunately PLA decays so fast in an oxygen-free (anaerobic) environment (typical of landfills,) that it generates methane in landfills before they are capped to tap the methane. Generating methane quickly in landfills is undesirable because it is a potent greenhouse gas. If it is generated before the landfill is capped, it outgasses into the atmosphere, promoting global warming. A more sensible alternative for landfills would be ASTM 5511-94. ASTM 5511 is a standard for measuring anaerobic biodegradation, which better matches landfill conditions. Conventional plastics with biodegradable additives do not biodegrade so quickly that methane is released before landfills are capped, as PLA does, and they do not threaten the food supply needed by millions of hungry people in the third world.