Safe to handle, but beware the biodegradable label
What this tab covers How it is regulated and what could disrupt supply: hazard classification, rules in the EU, US and India, anti-dumping duties and other trade measures, and supply-risk notes.
Hazards
Classification
UN number
Key risks
not classified
none
Low hazard. Main risk is misleading biodegradability claims.
Main rules
Where
Rule
Effect
EU
Single-Use Plastics Directive 2019/904 (PHA counted as plastic); EN 13432; TUV OK compost HOME and OK biodegradable MARINE labels
PHA items are not exempt from single-use rules, removing part of their advantage.
US
ASTM D6400, D6691 (marine); state compostable labelling laws
Enables compostable and marine claims.
Global
ISO 17088 and ASTM standards for biodegradation
Certification basis.
India
Rule
Effect
Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules 2021 and 2024 on compostable and biodegradable plastics (CPCB certification, indicative)
Compostable items permitted where single-use plastic is banned; biodegradable claims need certification
Trade measures
None found in sources reached
Supply risk
Very few producers and financially fragile; buyers face real counterparty risk, as Danimer's customers found in 2025.