Taiwan revised Green Mark standard for “biodegradable plastic products” 
On January 20, 2021, the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration released the revision of the Green Mark standard for “biodegradable plastic products”. The revised version of the standard will take effect immediately. The revised parts are as follows.
Provisions for products with different colors
- The following provisions have been added.
If the composition and proportion of products with different colors are the same except for the masterbatch powder, and if the content of different masterbatch powder is less than 1% of the total weight of the product, there is no need to test the biodegradability, disintegration degree and non-toxicity of each product.
Content limits of regulated substances
- In addition to the addition of items to be regulated, the units of limit values were changed from PPM to mg/kg, etc. For details, please refer to the table below.
| Regulatory Items | limit value | Test and Measurement Methods |
|---|---|---|
| biodegradability | ≥90%. | CNS14432-1
ISO 14855-1 |
| disintegration degree | ≥90%. | CNS 15262
CNS 15362 CNS 14432-1 ISO 16929 |
| molybdenum (Mo) | ＜1mg/kg | US EPA 3050 |
| selenium (Se) | ＜0.75mg/kg | US EPA 3050 |
| fluorine (F) | ＜100mg/kg | NIEA M402
EN 14582 |
| zinc (Zn) | ＜150mg/kg | US EPA 3051 |
| copper | ＜50mg/kg | US EPA 3050
US EPA 3051 |
| nickel (Ni) | ＜25mg/kg | US EPA 3050
US EPA 3051 |
| cadmium (Cd) | ＜0.5mg/kg | CNS 15050
US EPA 3050 US EPA 3051 US EPA 3052 |
| lead (the metal) | ＜50mg/kg | CNS 15050
US EPA 3050 US EPA 3051 US EPA 3052 |
| mercury | ＜0.5mg/kg
※ In the test report, it shall be proved that the test limit value by the method described in the right column is 1/3 or less of the regulatory limit value. |
CNS 15050
US EPA 3050 US EPA 3051 US EPA 3052 |
| chromium (Cr) | ＜50mg/kg | US EPA 3050
US EPA 3051 |
| arsenic (As) | ＜5mg/kg | US EPA 3050 |
For the original text of the above standards, please refer to the following URL (in traditional Chinese).
https://greenliving.epa.gov.tw/greenlife/affair/criteria/FileDownLoad.ashx?t=c&n=84
