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Testing of Biodegradable Products to Australian Standard 4736

EcoScientific Services undertakes scientifically rigorous testing of products against the performance requirements of AS 4736 .

Our process commences with a meeting with the client to establish what elements of the testing procedure is required. Very often a product will have satisfied some components of AS 4736 requirements already. We ensure that our clients do not undertake any necessary testing (i.e. incur unnecessary costs). Once we have established what needs to be done the client is provided with a detailed costing and timeline for the work. While standard costs apply to the different tests, savings can be made depending on volume of work and timeframes for completion.

The three major requirements of AS 4736 are biodegradation, disintegration and compost quality (including ecotoxicology). These components of the testing process can be run concurrently, as detailed in the below:

Product "Foot-printing"

Sustainable management starts with an understanding of how a product or service impacts on the environment. It must be recognised that any manufacturing process isgoing to cause some level of environmental impact. Sustainable management isconcerned with finding ways to reduce these impacts by developing more sustainableways of production.

The most widely accepted approach to understanding the environmental impacts of a product is to undertake a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). LCA's study the environmental aspects and potential impacts throughout a product's life from the cradle-to-grave. This includes the raw material acquired for the product, energy and other processes in the manufacture, use and final disposal of the product. LCA's are used to assist in identifying opportunities to improve the environmental aspects of products at the various points of their life cycle. An LCA measures particular “impact categories” such as greenhouse gas emissions, toxic compounds, water use, waste, acidification etc.

An LCA can help a business manage its product in the following ways:

  • By identifying any steps in the products life cycle which may be operating at lessthan optimal levels and in which efficiencies and cost savings may be made.
  • By providing detailed and accurate environmental information which can be used in marketing and promotion of a green product.
  • By providing environmental information that is increasingly required by product purchasers.
  • By providing information which would allow accurate offsetting of the products impacts. For example, an LCA provides the information needed to calculate the carbon emissions associated with a particular product and the amount of carbon credits that would be needed to achieve „carbon neutral status.

Eco Scientific Services undertakes LCA's on products and can also provide additional support for a business to develop their sustainability credentials and profile.

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Biological monitoring & Ecotoxicology

The impacts of a naturally occurring or synthetic chemical on living organisms in nature often does not correlate with observed concentration of that chemical. This is typically due to a range of chemical & environmental interactions which influence the bioavailability and toxicity of chemicals in the environment.

Therefore, predictions of biological impacts based on the concentration of a substance alone will often underestimate or overestimate actual biological impacts. For this reason biological monitoring is required to understand the interaction between a plant or animal and a chemical in the environment.
EcoScientific Services provides biological monitoring services across a range of environments and test organisms.

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Research

Eco Scientific Services undertakes commercial research services in areas related to compost quality, ecotoxicology and biological monitoring.

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