TUV Austria is ‘normally speaking’ a certification organisation.

European Bioplastics is an association to promote compostable plastics but started as an German government workshop to promote bioplastics. BASF (German company) had invented PBAT and used their connections within the German government to help them market PBAT. They came up with the idea of a government workshop that eventually became a trade association.

European Bioplastics to promote and market BASF’ invention (PBAT) lobbied the EU for a biodegradable and compostable standard for plastics.

Then, European Bioplastics placed their lobbyists within the EU bodies who developed the practical and technical aspects of that standard.

Then, European Bioplastics designed a logo and asked and charged TUV Austria to do the certification of compostable plastics. In other words, TUV Austria verifies and tests if the plastic packaging of third parties comply to the (European Bioplastics) standards. If it does, the company who places the packaging on the market can use the (European Bioplastics) logo and claim that their packaging is compostable according to the (European Bioplastics) compostable standard.

Initially, the compostable certification lab and team within TUV Austria was owned by Vinçotte … a Belgian accredited inspection and certification organisation.

Vinçotte controls and certifies lifts and elevators for instance. You place a lift in a building. You ask Vinçotte to control and test the lift and if they believe your lift is safe, your receive a certification that your lift is safe and the lift is then authorised to be operational.

Vinçotte sold their compostable plastics testing and & accreditation business to TUV Austria because they didn’t believe in the business and it was not profitable.

However, over the years TUV Austria didn’t remain in the background like Vinçotte and other accreditation agencies do … they started to promote compostable plastics actively on social media creating some kind of conflict of interests.

TUV Austria regularly sponsors bioplastics events organised by European Bioplastics and on social media they’re doing the PR and Marketing for compostable plastics.

I think this is out of order…. literally.

It’s like if Vinçotte would start promoting lift’s and elevators. … That would never happen.

TUV Austria lost their objectivity and are too much about cashing in on compostable plastics.

TUV Austria is becoming a Buffalo Bill show and loosing their credibility in my eyes.

But this is just my opinion