GB/T 38727-2020 in English

GB/T 38727-2020 is my country's first fully biodegradable packaging material standard specifically for the logistics and express delivery industry. It systematically regulates the technical requirements of 7 major categories of degradable packaging products for the first time. The standard innovatively assesses the biodegradability rate and mechanical performance indicators in parallel, requiring that the material must maintain the packaging function of traditional plastics while meeting a biodegradability rate of more than 90%.

Taking biodegradable self-adhesive film as an example, its thickness deviation control is stricter than that of ordinary plastic film. The film below 0.01mm is allowed to have a deviation of ±20%, and the right-angle tear strength is required to be ≥40N/cm, which reflects the balance between the strength and precision of the degradable material.

Biological activity verification is the key to testing: the standard requires the use of four international common methods such as GB/T 19277.1 to determine the biodegradability rate, and stipulates that the organic matter content is ≥51%. Manufacturers need to establish a microbial culture laboratory to regularly verify the degradation curve of materials under composting conditions.

Heavy metal control, the standard sets 17 element limits in reference to EU EN 13432, of which cadmium (Cd) ≤0.5mg/kg, lead (Pb) ≤50mg/kg, and requires raw material suppliers to provide element analysis reports.

1. E-commerce platforms should give priority to biodegradable express bags (thickness 0.03-0.08mm). The heat sealing strength needs to be graded according to the load-bearing capacity: those below 2kg require ≥2.0N/15mm, and those above 10kg need to reach 8.0N/15mm

2. For cold chain logistics, it is recommended to use biodegradable inflatable pillows. The standard stipulates that the compressive load of a 0.02mm thick product must be ≥200N and the leakage rate must be ≤5%.

The standard promotes the development of PLA/PBAT blending technology and requires that the biodegradability rate of each component in the multi-component material be ≥60%. The following challenges need to be addressed in the future:

• Improve the stability of starch-based materials in high humidity environments
• Optimize the heat sealing window of PHA materials (130-160°C)