EXHIBIT 1A 
ECM BioFilms | Biodegradable Plastic Additive | Biodegradable Plastic Resin | Biodegradable Plastic | Biodegradable Packaging | Biodegradable Plastic Products | Green Products | ...

http://www.ecmbiofilms.com/[8/9/2011 7:49:28 AM]

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Website design and development by 78 Design House

Transform any Plastic into Biodegradable Plastic!

ECM BioFilms, Inc. is a manufacturing company founded in 1998, which is dedicated to

developing and revolutionizing the plastics market by offering an additive to standard plastic

resins making them biodegradable. These biodegradable plastic products are priced

competitively with, and have the same mechanical characteristics as, traditional nondegradable products.

The revolutionary additive technology, when combined as a one-percent load to the most

widely-used plastic resins, renders the finished plastic products biodegradable while

maintaining their other desired characteristics. The potential uses of this technology are

limited only by the imagination.

ECM's mission is to constantly provide the best possible value to its customers and suppliers

while dedicating efforts towards eliminating disposal and environmental issues surrounding

the plastics industry.
Biodegradable Plastics Additive | Biodegradable Plastic: ECM BioFilms | ECM BioFilms Green Impact

http://www.ecmbiofilms.com/green-impact.html[8/9/2011 7:49:32 AM]

Green Impact READ MORE...

Many organizations (among them, Greenpeace and The Environmental

Research Foundation) have claimed that plastics and the consumer

acceptance of plastics is declining...mainly because businesses and

organizations don't know what to do with the plastics after use. In fact, the

Society of Plastics Industries' Larry Thomas has stated:

According to the Clean Air Council:

• In the U.S., 4.39 pounds of trash per day and up to 56 ton of trash per 

 year are created by the average person.

• Only about one-tenth of all solid garbage in the United States gets

recycled.

• Every year we fill enough garbage trucks to form a line that would 

 stretch from the earth, halfway to the moon.

• Each day the United States throws away enough trash to fill 63,000 

 garbage trucks.

• Almost 1/3 of the waste generated in the U.S. is packaging

• Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour.

• Every year, Americans make enough plastic film to shrink-wrap the 

 state of Texas.

• Seventy percent of U.S. municipal solid waste gets buried in landfills.

CLEAN AIR COUNCIL

Our waste, from paper and soda cans

to old refrigerators and television. . .

read more

ECO-PLASTIC

Every year US landfills receive tens

of millions of tons of plastic. . .

read more

BIODEGRADABLE CLOSE-UP

ECM is a relatively new firm that

tailors a range of biodegradable. . .

read more

DOWN TO EARTH SWITCHES

The biodegradable bags from Down

to Earth are made using. . .

read more
Biodegradable Plastics Additive | Biodegradable Plastic: ECM BioFilms | ECM BioFilms Contact Us

http://www.ecmbiofilms.com/contact-us.php[8/9/2011 7:49:40 AM]

 City State Zip Country

 What types of end-products & resins are you interested in for the use of ECM technology?

 Additional questions or comments:

Security Code: Please enter the words you see in the box, in order and separated by a space.

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Contact Us

Victoria Place - Suite 225

100 South Park Place

Painesville, Ohio 44077 U.S.A 

Phone:

Toll Free:

Fax:

440-350-1400

888-220-2792

440-350-1444

click here to contact by email
Biodegradable Plastics Additive | Biodegradable Plastic: ECM BioFilms | ECM BioFilms news

http://www.ecmbiofilms.com/big-news.html[8/9/2011 7:49:42 AM]

Big News READ MORE...

ECM LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE

ECM Biofilms, Inc. is proud to announce the launch of our completely

redesigned website. With a totally fresh appearance, the new website contains

important information about ECM and our exclusive MasterBatch PelletsTM.

The clean graphics paired with our cutting edge additive technology provides

an informative and visually appealing site for prospective customers.

www.ECMbiofilms.com

CLEAN AIR COUNCIL

Our waste, from paper and soda cans

to old refrigerators and television. . .

read more

ECO-PLASTIC

Every year US landfills receive tens

of millions of tons of plastic. . .

read more

BIODEGRADABLE CLOSE-UP

ECM is a relatively new firm that

tailors a range of biodegradable. . .

read more

DOWN TO EARTH SWITCHES

The biodegradable bags from Down

to Earth are made using. . .

read more
Biodegradable Plastics | Biodegradable Additives | Biodegradable ECM BioFilms Product Overview

http://www.ecmbiofilms.com/our-product.html[8/9/2011 7:49:47 AM]

Our Product

ECM BioFilms, Inc. markets additives to plastic product manufacturers

which produce biodegradable plastic products that can be priced

competitively with, and have the same mechanical characteristics as, their

traditional non-degradable products.

Plastic products made with ECM additives:

 · Fully biodegrade in 9 months to 5 years

 · Fully biodegrade when disposed of in a biodegrading environment,

 either anaerobically or aerobically:

 · in landfills

 · in compost (backyard compost or commercial facilities)

 · if buried or littered in the ground

 · in agricultural and erosion-control settings

 · Are recyclable

 · Can be made with recycled resins

 · Do not use heat, light or mechanical stress to break them down

 · Do not require special handling 

 (unlike PLA and oxodegradable products)

 · Do not contain heavy metals (unlike most oxodegradable products) 

 

MasterBatch PelletsTM is a

revolutionary additive, which when

combined as a one-percent load to

the most widely used plastic resins,

renders the finished plastic products

biodegradable while maintaining

their other desired characteristics.

Click topic below to download

PDF

• PRODUCT COMPARISON

• BIODEGRADATION MECHANISM

• OUR TECHNOLOGY

• PRODUCT LIFE EXPECTANCY
Biodegradable Plastics Additive | Biodegradable Plastic: ECM BioFilms | ECM BioFilms Company Overview

http://www.ecmbiofilms.com/about-ecm.html[8/9/2011 7:49:49 AM]

About ECM Strategic Partners

ECM BioFilms is an Ohio Corporation founded in 1998 to develop and

market a new technology which can be priced competitively with, and have

the same mechanical characteristics as, the traditional non-degradable plastics.

The potential uses of this technology are limited only by the imagination. 

ECM also nurtures and supports a healthy, creative, respectful and fun work

environment where employees are fairly compensated and encouraged to

respect its customers and support the continued quality of its products.

 

www.italcombiodegradabile.com

www.aiq.com.ar

www.return2green.com
Sitemap - ECM Biofilms - Biodegradable Plastic Additives

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EC M BioFilms Website Site map

HOME: ECM Biofilms Additive Makes Plastic Biodegradable - ECM

BioFilms Transform any plastic into Biodegradable Plastic. We offer an

additive to standard plastic resins making plastics biodegradable.

GREEN IMPACT: How ECM Biofilms is making a Green Impact - ECM

BioFilms MasterBatch PelletTM technology allows for the breakdown of

plastic without the use of light, heat or some form of mechanical sensitivity.

ABOUT ECM BIOFILMS: Our history and philosophy - ECM BioFilms is

an Ohio Corporation founded in 1998 to develop and market a new

technology to produce biodegradable plastic products which can be priced

competitively.

OUR PRODUCT: About ECM BioFilms' Additive that Creates

Biodegradable Plastic - ECM BioFilms, Inc. markets additives to plastic

product manufacturers which produce biodegradable plastic products that

can be priced competitively with, and have the same mechanical

characteristics as, their traditional non-degradable products.

ECM MasterBatch PelletsTM - Life Expectancy - The life
Comparison of Products Produced with ECM MasterBatch PelletsTM to Alternative Products

ECM OxoMasterBatchTM Degrader* Bioplastics

For Biodegradation

100% Biodegradable (on land, in land, in water) True False False

100% Biodegradable in landfill, as litter or backyard compost True False False

For Recycling

100% Recyclable at any time True False False

Compatible with the recycle stream True False False

For Properties

No special storage conditions required True False False

Shelf life is indefinite True False False

Not degraded by exposure to heat, light or external stresses during storage,

shipping, handling or use True False False

Does not fragment during degradation True False True

Degradation begins at the time of disposal - not before True False False

For Performance

When compared to the original material in the application, physical properties are

unchanged and no redesign of end product needed True False False

UV or anti-oxidant additives are needed, inhibiting product performance False True False

Performance not negatively affected by over loading True False n/a

For Processing

Can be processed with conventional equipment True True False

No changes to the process settings required True False False

Biodegradable with 1% loading in PE, PP, PVC, PS and PET True False n/a

For the Environment

No heavy metals, ecologically safe True False True

Degraded product returns to the environment not as small particles, but as biomass

and humus True False True°

For the Bottom Line

Cost effective True False False

* EPI Environmental Products Inc., Willow Ridge Plastics, Inc., Symphony Environmental, Inc., etc.

PLA, Mater-Bi®, PHB and combinations (NatureWorks LLC., Novamont S.p.A., et al.)

° Only in industrial/municipal composting facilities

ECM BioFilms, Inc.

Victoria Place - Suite 225, 100 South Park Place, Painesville, Ohio 44077 U.S.A.

Phone: 440.350.1400 · Toll Free in U.S.A.: 800.220.2792 · Fax: 440.350.1444

Email: biodeg@ecmbiofilms.com · Website: ecmbiofilms.com

+

+
ECM BioFilms, Inc.

Victoria Place - Suite 225, 100 South Park Place, Painesville, Ohio 44077 U.S.A.

Phone: 440.350.1400 · Toll Free in U.S.A.: 800.220.2792 · Fax: 440.350.1444

Email: biodeg@ecmbiofilms.com · Website: ecmbiofilms.com

We have determined, through years of testing both internally and

through independent laboratories, that plastic products that are

manufactured with at least a one percent (1%) load, by weight,

of our ECM MasterBatch Pellets will fully biodegrade once they

are placed in conditions wherein they are in constant contact

with other biodegrading materials.

Originally it was not known precisely what the threshold amount

of our material was necessary to initiate and sustain the process.

Much of the early testing was done with plastics manufactured

with five percent (5%) or higher loads of the additives but it has

been determined that all that is required is a minimum of a one

percent (1%) load. This amount will initiate the process and any

significant amount less than this amount will not permit the

process to begin or be sustained.

People often wonder whether significantly greater quantities of

our additive will reduce the biodegradation times. The answer is

yes, but so very marginally that it is rarely worth the potential

issues concerning other physical properties in the finished plastic

products and cost. To explain this more fully, it will be helpful to

understand the basics of the mechanism.

The presence of at least one percent of our additives in a plastic

product, which is in contact with other biodegrading organic

materials, structures communities of such organisms as are there

present on the surfaces of the plastic in such a way that their

interaction produces the ability to break down the long hydrocarbon chains of the “non-biodegradable” petrochemical plastics.

As most people are aware, an example of a biofilm would be the

scum that can form on the surface of a pond or on teeth, for that

matter. In the cases of most pond biofilms, the surface layers

with chlorophyllic, aerobic organisms can support layers of

anaerobic organisms in the deeper layers and the interaction of

all of the organisms makes for an ecosystem that in some cases

produce byproducts that would not be formed without the interaction. The same can be said of the biofilms formed by the interaction of our additive materials and the naturally existing biota.

Importantly, this structuring of communities of microorganism

proceeds in anaerobic as well as aerobic conditions.

Once there are the structured communities of microorganisms

interacting to produce schisms in the long hydrocarbon chains of

the polymers the process continues until all the hydrocarbons are

eventually transformed into the carbon dioxide and water (aerobic biodegradation) or carbon dioxide, methane and water

(anaerobic biodegradation).

This leads us back to the reason why greater quantities of our

additives do not significantly speed up the time for biodegradation. If you have four otherwise identical 100 kilograms of PE

products, one with no ECM (100% PE), one with a half a percent

of ECM (99.5% PE), one with one percent ECM (99% PE) and

one with seven percent ECM (93% PE) disposed of under the

same conditions you will see why this is.

The one with no ECM does not form the necessary biofilm and

thereby 100-kg of PE sits in the ground in that form for hundreds

or thousands of years or more. The one with a half a percent of

ECM does not form the biofilm with sufficient sustainability to

initiate and continue the biodegradation process so only the very

surface amounts of the ECM biodegrades and you will have

remaining all of the 99.5-kg of PE and most of the 0.5-kg of

ECM for hundreds or thousands of years in that form. The product that has the one percent of ECM will form and sustain the

biofilm that will continue to break apart the long chains of the

99-kg of PE until the entire quantity of PE is biodegraded. The

sample that has 7 percent ECM will do the same thing; the only

difference is that there will be only 93-kg of the difficult-tobiodegrade PE to degrade rather than 99-kg. The difference in

biodegradation time is not terribly dramatic but it is less.

As a method of concluding, I think that it may be helpful to

illustrate how the mechanism employed by this unique biodegradation technology is an important reason as to why the technology will continue the path it is on to become one of the world’s

leading technologies for the production of plastic products.

The fact that the mechanism is not based on photodegradation

or thermal degradation means that the shelf life and usable life

of the plastic products will be the same as they were without the

ECM additives. The fact that there is a threshold quantity necessary for the initiation and sustainability of the biofilms responsible for the biodegradation means that the plastics with the ECM

additive do not have to be segregated out of the plastics that

might be recycled into plastic products that are not meant to

biodegrade. And finally, the fact that the threshold quantity is so

low (one percent by weight) means that the manufacturer is able

to immediately make plastic products with all the same other

properties they had when they were not biodegradable and at

nearly the same cost.

Mechanism for the Biodegradation of Products Manufactured with ECM MasterBatch PelletsTM
The technology is an additive which, when combined in small

quantities with any of the popular plastic resins, renders the end

products biodegradable while maintaining their other desired

characteristics. It is sold as ECM MasterBatch Pellets and our

Company has developed the technology to the point where most

plastic products manufacturers can use the additive without having to modify their existing methods of production any more

than if they were changing the product’s color. The resulting

plastic products exhibit the same desired mechanical properties,

have effectively similar shelf-lives, and yet, when disposed of,

are able to be metabolized into biomass by the communities

of microorganisms commonly found almost everywhere on

this planet.

This biodegradation process can take place aerobically and

anaerobically. It can take place with or without the presence of

light. These factors allow for biodegradation even in landfill

conditions which are normally inconducive to any degradation

of other technologies. Our technology differs significantly from

other “degradable plastics” emerging in the market today because it does not attempt to replace the currently popular plastic

resin formulizations but instead enhances them by rendering

them biodegradable

Recognizing the environmental concerns related to plastics and

the market potential, the corporate and scientific communities

have long sought to develop degradable plastics. However, the

Company believes that degradable plastics introduced to date

possess several weaknesses that have prevented wide-spread

acceptance in the marketplace. Photo-degradable products, for

example, do not degrade in landfills due to the lack of sunlight

(they are typically covered with another layer of trash before the

degradation can occur). At the same time these photo-degradable

products present difficult circumstances for storage before use

due to their reactivity to light. Similarly, plastic products manufactured with PLA and such “renewable” replacement resins fail

to biodegrade as litter or in a landfill, are very expensive to

manufacture, and often do not achieve the requisite physical

properties.

ECM's technology is a process which enables the microorganisms in the environment to metabolize the molecular structure of

plastic products into humus that is beneficial to the environment.

Our process utilizes several proprietary compounds that are

combined into a masterbatch pellet that is easily added to plastic

resins using existing technology.

ECM BioFilms, Inc.

Victoria Place - Suite 225, 100 South Park Place, Painesville, Ohio 44077 U.S.A.

Phone: 440.350.1400 · Toll Free in U.S.A.: 800.220.2792 · Fax: 440.350.1444

Email: biodeg@ecmbiofilms.com · Website: ecmbiofilms.com

ECM engaged several renowned testing laboratories to independently establish the biodegradability of plastic products made

with ECM's additives. The tests concluded that the products

were fully biodegradable under both aerobic and anaerobic

conditions. In addition, the tests concluded that their biodegradation did not produce any toxic residue harmful to living organisms in land or water.

Technology Explanation

The plastic products made with our additives will break down

in approximately 9 month to 5 years in nearly all landfills or

wherever else they may end up. All sorts of factors determine the

amount of microbes available in the soil and the soil conditions

determine the rate of degradation. The plastic products made

with ECM technology basically rely on the microbes in the soil

to react with the additives and form communities, biofilms,

which create the enzymes and acids that can attack the longchain hydrocarbon molecules and break them down to the point

that the microbes’ natural acids and enzymes are then effective

and the microbes can metabolize the simple hydrocarbons with

CO2 and water or methane being the waste products. This

process continues until all the plastic product is full biodegraded.

Material treated with ECM has been tested and proved as

biodegradable and safe for the environment by using the

following:

• ASTM D5209 “Standard Test Method for Determining the

Aerobic Biodegradation of Plastic Materials in the Presence

of Municipal Sewage Sludge”;

• ISO 14855 / ASTM D5338 “Standard Test Method for

Determining Aerobic Biodegradation of Plastic Materials

under Controlled Composting Conditions”; and

• ASTM 5511 “Standard Test Method for Determining

Anaerobic Biodegradation of Plastic Materials Under HighSolids Anaerobic Digestion Conditions”.

Where will it biodegrade?

• Home composting

• Commercial composting

• Landfills

• Buried in, or in contact with the soil

• Erosion / Agricultural netting & film

• Litter

Where won’t it degrade?

• Warehouses

• Store shelves

• Offices & Home

Our Technology for the Biodegradation of Plastic Products
ECM BioFilms, Inc.

Victoria Place - Suite 225, 100 South Park Place, Painesville, Ohio 44077 U.S.A.

Phone: 440.350.1400 · Toll Free in U.S.A.: 800.220.2792 · Fax: 440.350.1444

Email: biodeg@ecmbiofilms.com · Website: ecmbiofilms.com

The life expectancy of plastic products that are manufactured

with at least a one percent (1%) load, by weight, of our ECM

MasterBatch Pellets can be explained through two types of life

expectancies. The first type of life expectancy is the life expectancy of the plastic when it is on the warehouse or store shelf,

in regular usage as packaging or other normal plastic usage. The

second type of life expectancy has to do with the situation when

the same plastic has been put in conditions wherein it has constant contact with other materials that are biodegrading.

Plastic products manufactured with ECM MasterBatch Pellets

will have the same life expectancy as the same plastic product

manufactured without our additives under all but the conditions

mentioned above wherein they are placed in constant contact

with other materials that are biodegrading (i.e. on or buried in

the ground). This is a major reason why our technology for

having biodegradable plastic products is so successful.

The principles concerned with the degradation of plastics that

make use of our additive technology are truly involved with

“bio”-degradation. Our technology does not rely on the use of

photosensitivity or thermal sensitivity to photodegrade or thermally break down the plastics. For this reason, a blow-molded

HDPE shampoo bottle or motor oil bottle manufactured with one

of our additives will last in the warehouse and on the store shelf

as long as it would without our additives. There is a considerable

amount of interest in our additives for the plastics for the automotive and aviation industries for this reason.

There is the real concern for the technologies that make use of

thermal or photodegradation that they are simply leaving smaller

particles of plastic in the soil rather than having the material

truly become the organic components of soil. This is especially

of concern in the agricultural industry and for those needing

erosion control products. Agricultural films, erosion control nettings, and other such products manufactured with our additives

will last long enough to get the required use but will completely

biodegrade into the soil; such plastic products completely biodegrade in a period of from 9 months to 5 years or less. It is not a

“poof, it’s gone” system but simply makes the plastic product

biodegrade as if it were a stick or a branch off a tree rather than

“sticking around” for hundreds of years.

To summarize the concept, the key to our technology is that the

right conditions for biodegradation are not those found when the

plastic product is in use, is on the store shelves or is being warehoused somewhere. Just like a wood bowl or a piece of wood

furniture, which can be used for a lifetime or more, a plastic

product with our additives can be used for essentially the same

period of time as the same plastic product without our additives

could be used.

Concerning the life expectancy of the plastic products manufactured with our additives once they are placed in constant contact

with other biodegrading materials, we certify the full biodegradation of most all plastic products manufactured with at least a

one percent load of our additives. We can certify this situation

due to the internal and external studies that have cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars. Our additives have been tested in

all of the types of polyolefins, EVAs, PVCs, PETs, PSs, PUs and

combinations thereof, with much of the testing having been performed using the various world-standardized tests in independent

laboratories by independent scientists. We have had the various

test data analyzed by independent scientists and their conclusions and some of the data have been sent to you in the presentation package and are what we base our certification on.

The basic concept is that biodegradation is a natural process that

occurs around the world but at various speeds due to various

conditions. Plastics with our additives behave like sticks,

branches or trunks of trees. Due to this fact, we do not guarantee

any particular time because the time depends on the same factors

that the biodegradation of woods and most other organic materials on earth depend - ambient biota and other environmental conditions - but the time frame of between nine months to five years

will give a good general idea for most conditions. Under specific

composting conditions with additional accelerants sprayed on

them, some customers have reported biodegradation in as little as

a couple of months. Under the more usual, commercial composting conditions using high heat processes, a time frame of around

one year is a reasonable expectation.

Petrochemical plastics would normally take hundreds or thousands of years or even longer to “biodegrade”; with our additives, these same plastic formulas biodegrade in a hundredth of

that time or less.

Do not be confused by the claims of some companies that say

that their resins fully biodegrade in 2 months or 3 months. They

are speaking of biodegradation under very specific conditions.

This has lead to some confusion when the plastic products are in

the end-consumers’ hands, such as in the Kassel project in Germany when the bags and other plastic products marked with a

“compostable” label were found not to be compostable by the

town’s citizens in their backyard compost heaps (they were only

“compostable” under the very specific commercial

Life Expectancy of Products Manufactured with ECM MasterBatch PelletsTM Page 1
ECM BioFilms, Inc.

Victoria Place - Suite 225, 100 South Park Place, Painesville, Ohio 44077 U.S.A.

Phone: 440.350.1400 · Toll Free in U.S.A.: 800.220.2792 · Fax: 440.350.1444

Email: biodeg@ecmbiofilms.com · Website: ecmbiofilms.com

composting standards where there is high heat, oxygenation,

moisture control and high levels of microorganisms). When I

spoke at the Biodegradable Plastics Conference in Frankfurt,

Germany a few years ago, I argued with the companies involved

in that project that they should be careful in not trying to confiscate generic terms for too specific conditions (i.e. they should

label items as “Commercially Compostable” rather than simply

“Compostable” when such conditions are required). As the use

of our technology continues to grow to become the world’s leading technology for the production of biodegradable plastics, our

viewpoint will continue to gain more and more adherents.

Plastics manufactured with our additives will fully biodegrade in

home compost heaps, commercial composting operations (both

high heat and low heat, or even in vermiculture, processes),

buried in the ground, buried in landfills, tilled into the soil, having been littered, etc. Most importantly, our process is by far the

least expensive, most widely applicable, proven technology for

the biodegradation of plastics in the world.

Again, we certify the biodegradation of polyolefins (any of the

polyethylenes and polypropylenes), EVAs, PVCs, PETs, PSs,

PUs and any combination of these resins, manufactured with at

least a 1% load of our additives. We base this certification on

more than ten years of testing worldwide by us, by universities,

by customers, by prospects and by competitors.

Life Expectancy of Products Manufactured with ECM MasterBatch PelletsTM Page 2
EXHIBIT 1B 
ECM BioFilms > additives for manufacturing biodegradable* plastics

http://www.ecmbiofilms.com/[3/21/2013 10:39:57 AM]

TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY BIODEGRADABLE* PLASTICS RECYCLABILITY LANDFILL GAS TO ENERGY

Call us toll-free in the USA at

1-888-220-2792

HOME ABOUT MASTERBATCH PELLETS BLOG EVENTS CONTACT

Tweet This

“This revolutionary additive

technology, when combined as a

1% load with the most widely-used

plastic resins, renders the resulting

plastic products biodegradable*

while maintaining their other

desired characteristics”

Cutting-edge additives for manufacturing

biodegradable* plastics

Forward-thinking, sustainable solutions for the plastics and landfill

gas-to-energy industries

ECM BioFilms is leading the sustainability movement within the plastics and landfill gas-toenergy industries with an additives for manufacturing biodegradable* plastics–creating an entirely new and

greatly desired end-of-life scenario for plastics–and simultaneously opening up exciting new opportunities

for energy generation and recycling the hydrocarbons of old plastic products into new plastic resin.

The plastic products made with ECM BioFilms’

technology are priced competitively with, and

have the same mechanical characteristics as,

traditional non-degradable products. Unlike other

degradable plastic technologies which require

very specific conditions, plastic products

manufactured with ECM MasterBatch Pellets will

biodegrade in any biologically-active

environment (including most landfills) in some

period greater than a year. This revolutionary

additive technology, when combined as a 1%

load with the most widely-used plastic resins,

renders the resulting plastic products

biodegradable* while maintaining their other

desired characteristics.

The potential uses of this technology are limited only by the imagination.

View the side-by-side Comparison of competing degradable plastic technologies.

NEWSLETTER SIGNUP

Sign up here to get the scoop on how truly

biodegradable* plastics work, and how they

have the potential to change our relationship

with the environment.

BIODEGRADABLE* PLASTICS BLOG

A sustainable vision for recycling

hydrocarbons from plastics

Who’s winning the war on plastics? Society or

plastics?

Name:

Email:

A sustainable vision for recycling

hydrocarbons from plastics
ECM BioFilms > additives for manufacturing biodegradable* plastics

http://www.ecmbiofilms.com/[3/21/2013 10:39:57 AM]

BIODEGRADABLE* PLASTICS QUALIFIER

* Plastic products manufactured with ECM

BioFilms' additives will biodegrade in any

biologically-active environment (including most

landfills) in some period greater than a year.

THIS SITE IS ABOUT...

Biodegradable Bags Biodegradable Pellets

Biodegradable Plastics

Energy Landfills lmop Methane Gas Plastic Bags Plastic

Products Plastic Resins Renewable Natural Gas Sustainable

Plastics

Return to top of page Copyright © 2013 ECM BioFilms | Additives for Manufacturing Biodegradable* Plastics · Log in
Sustainability Archives - ECM BioFilms

http://www.ecmbiofilms.com/category/sustainability/[3/21/2013 10:40:40 AM]

TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY BIODEGRADABLE* PLASTICS RECYCLABILITY LANDFILL GAS TO ENERGY

Call us toll-free in the USA at

1-888-220-2792

HOME ABOUT MASTERBATCH PELLETS BLOG EVENTS CONTACT

NEWSLETTER SIGNUP

Sign up here to get the scoop on how truly

biodegradable* plastics work, and how they

have the potential to change our relationship

with the environment.

BIODEGRADABLE* PLASTICS BLOG

A sustainable vision for recycling

hydrocarbons from plastics

Who’s winning the war on plastics? Society or

plastics?

Tweet This

“How do we practice Judo against

plastic, and start using plastic’s

energy to help, instead of hurt, our

society?”

Who’s winning the war on plastics? Society or

plastics?

Who’s winning the war on plastics? Is society winning?

Sure..., concerned citizens and activists might win a battle with a ban against plastic bags every once in

awhile.

But, while there are no hard and fast numbers, it’s estimated there’s somewhere between 250 to 300 million

tons of plastics manufactured every year. 10% of plastics get recycled; the rest of it–millions and millions of

tons go to landfills, or ends up as litter in the environment.

Plastics are clearly winning the war.

Should we capitulate?

Absolutely not! We just need to rethink our approach.

Maybe we need to approach plastics as if we

were practicing Judo. In Judo, you use your

opponent’s energy to defeat him, and/or to teach

him a lesson. The question is: How do we

practice Judo against plastic, and start using

plastic’s energy to help, instead of hurt, our

society?

If we, as a society, had the will to manufacture biodegradable* plastics, we could. The technology exists. But

it’s really going to be necessary to come together, and re-frame the conversation about plastics. Is the

plastics problem bad? Yes! There’s entirely too much waste. But when you start start thinking about

biodegradable* plastics, particularly in the context of landfill gas-to-energy, it becomes an entirely different

conversation.

A formula for sustainable plastics

1. Manufacturers add specially-formulated pellets to

create biodegradable* plastics

During the manufacturing process, additives to manufacture biodegradable* plastics are added to plastic

products.

A simple 1% load to the most widely-used plastic resins to render the finished plastic products

biodegradable* while maintaining their other desired characteristics.

[Read more...]

OCTOBER 29, 2012 BY ECM BIOFILMS LEAVE A COMMENT

Name:

Email:
Sustainability Archives - ECM BioFilms

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FILED UNDER: BIODEGRADABLE* PLASTICS, LANDFILL GAS TO ENERGY, RECYCLABILITY, SUSTAINABILITY TAGGED

WITH: BIODEGRADABLE PELLETS, BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS, ENERGY, PLASTIC BAGS, PLASTIC PRODUCTS, PLASTIC

RESINS, SUSTAINABLE PLASTICS

BIODEGRADABLE* PLASTICS QUALIFIER

* Plastic products manufactured with ECM

BioFilms' additives will biodegrade in any

biologically-active environment (including most

landfills) in some period greater than a year.

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Biodegradable Plastics

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Plastics

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Sign up here to get the scoop on how truly

biodegradable* plastics work, and how they

have the potential to change our relationship

with the environment.

BIODEGRADABLE* PLASTICS BLOG

A sustainable vision for recycling

hydrocarbons from plastics

Who’s winning the war on plastics? Society or

plastics?

RECYCLING HYDROCARBONS FROM PLASTICS

Tweet This

“Imagine garbage trucks in

communities around the world

propelled by bio-diesel engines

powered with renewable natural

gas derived in part by no-cost

degraded plastics from actively

managed landfills. ”

A sustainable vision for recycling hydrocarbons

from plastics

Recycling hydrocarbons from discarded plastics

into energy or new products would be an endof-life scenario that could benefit everyone.

Thinking outoud: “What if–all the discarded

plastics that were sent to landfills were

biodegradable and became a source of renewable

energy?”

It’s estimated there’s somewhere between 250 to

300 million tons of plastics manufactured every

year. 10% of plastics get recycled; the rest of it–

millions and millions of tons go to landfills, or

ends up as litter in the environment.

Imagine garbage trucks in communities around

the world propelled by bio-diesel engines

powered with renewable natural gas derived in

part by no-cost degraded plastics from actively

managed landfills.

Despite the best intentions, only 10% of plastics

get recycled. Practically everything else ends up

in landfills or in the environment; millions and

millions of tons of plastics every year.

The fact is that garbage itself emits methane gas,

so if municipalities–and we, the people who live

in them–desire to be good, socially responsible citizens, and do our part to reduce carbon emissions, it’s

important that our cities, towns, and hamlets implement modern landfills, whether public or private, to

capture these gases in landfill gas-to-energy programs.

Most modern landfill environments are either moist or actively managed; which means that the landfills

accelerate the biodegradation process to produce energy in the form of CO2 and methane, which can then be

used to produce renewable natural gas (RNG) energy to propel biodiesel engines or other such uses.

Instead of banning bags we should be biodegrading them

With this new scenario, instead of banning bags, communities would encourage merchants to use them. The

value of the energy from the biodegradable bags and other biodegradable plastics could quite possibly pay

for upgrading the landfill technologies, and create new jobs for the people who manage them.

Customers would enjoy the convenience of low-cost plastic bags and bottles. Merchants would enjoy a lowName:

Email:
Biodegradable* Plastics Archives - ECM BioFilms

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cost service that is eco-friendly and sustainable. The plastics industry would continue to operate with a

minimally disruptive technology and municipalities would expand a free source of renewable energy.

Why the world needs 

Biodegradable* 

Plastics 

Turn off your mind for a moment, and just 

magne 

Garbage trucks in communities around the world propelled 

by bio-diesel engines powered with renewable natural gas 

derived in part by no-cost degraded* plastics from actively 

managed landfills. If this were the case .. . 

"Instead of banning 

bags and bottles, we would 

biodegrade* them!" 

... the C02 and methane 

gases could be 

recycled or upcycled 

into new products. 

That's 225 to 270 

millions of tons of plastics 

that could be converted 

into energy in landfills, or .... 

• 

300 to 350 million tons 

of plastics produced 

annually. 

• 

10% gets 

recycled. 

The other 90% 

goes to landfills. 

where it could 

hinrlF!nr::.rlF! ~ 
Biodegradable* Plastics Archives - ECM BioFilms

http://www.ecmbiofilms.com/category/biodegradable-plastics/[3/21/2013 10:41:16 AM]

Recycle, biodegrade*, and energy capture with 

truly biodegradable plastics and landfill gas-to-energy 

#1 Win-win-win-win (I ) Customers would enjoy the convenience 

of low-cost truly biodegradable plastics (2) Merchants and 

manfucturers benefit by offering a low-cost service that is ecofriendly and sustainable (3) The Plastics Industry would continue to 

operate with a minimally disruptive technology, and (4) Municipalities 

would expand a free source of renewable energy. 

"Waste is Food" 

When it comes to truly biodegradable* plastics, it is not either/ 

or. Biodegradable* plastics are both a technical nutrient and 

a biological nutrient that can be made useful or harmless 

under any scenario; whether recycled, landfilled, or litter. 

End-of-life scenarios of types of 

Biodegradable* plastics 

in the context of "Cradle to Cradle" 

ECM MasterBatchTM Oxo·Oegrader 

Nutrient cycle 

If recycled => technical nutrient 

If landfill => bionutrient 

If litter => blonutrient 

~ EPI Enw"'menloll'>oclt..,lno .• Sy-yErHironmErliBI. oc • eiC 

+ PIA '-'"'er·Bi®. PHS•ro;l ~atiore {1131~n\Yorios LLC. Nc7<imonl S<>A .. el ol I 

" " " 

;tBioplasticS+ 

" " " 

RENEWABLE ENERGY 

l~ll TO 

MONITOR 

GROUND 

WATER 

AQUIFER 

MODERN LANDFILL 
Biodegradable* Plastics Archives - ECM BioFilms

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FEBRUARY 25, 2013 BY ECM BIOFILMS LEAVE A COMMENT

FILED UNDER: BIODEGRADABLE* PLASTICS, LANDFILL GAS TO ENERGY TAGGED WITH: BIODEGRADABLE BAGS,

BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS, LANDFILLS, LMOP, METHANE GAS, RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS

“How do we practice Judo against

plastic, and start using plastic’s

energy to help, instead of hurt, our

Who’s winning the war on plastics? Society or

plastics?

Who’s winning the war on plastics? Is society winning?

Sure..., concerned citizens and activists might win a battle with a ban against plastic bags every once in

awhile.

But, while there are no hard and fast numbers, it’s estimated there’s somewhere between 250 to 300 million

tons of plastics manufactured every year. 10% of plastics get recycled; the rest of it–millions and millions of

tons go to landfills, or ends up as litter in the environment.

Plastics are clearly winning the war.

Should we capitulate?

Absolutely not! We just need to rethink our approach.

Maybe we need to approach plastics as if we

were practicing Judo. In Judo, you use your

opponent’s energy to defeat him, and/or to teach

him a lesson. The question is: How do we

practice Judo against plastic, and start using

plastic’s energy to help, instead of hurt, our
Biodegradable* Plastics Archives - ECM BioFilms

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Tweet This society?”

society?

If we, as a society, had the will to manufacture biodegradable* plastics, we could. The technology exists. But

it’s really going to be necessary to come together, and re-frame the conversation about plastics. Is the

plastics problem bad? Yes! There’s entirely too much waste. But when you start start thinking about

biodegradable* plastics, particularly in the context of landfill gas-to-energy, it becomes an entirely different

conversation.

A formula for sustainable plastics

1. Manufacturers add specially-formulated pellets to

create biodegradable* plastics

During the manufacturing process, additives to manufacture biodegradable* plastics are added to plastic

products.

A simple 1% load to the most widely-used plastic resins to render the finished plastic products

biodegradable* while maintaining their other desired characteristics.

[Read more...]

OCTOBER 29, 2012 BY ECM BIOFILMS LEAVE A COMMENT

FILED UNDER: BIODEGRADABLE* PLASTICS, LANDFILL GAS TO ENERGY, RECYCLABILITY, SUSTAINABILITY TAGGED

WITH: BIODEGRADABLE PELLETS, BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS, ENERGY, PLASTIC BAGS, PLASTIC PRODUCTS, PLASTIC

RESINS, SUSTAINABLE PLASTICS

BIODEGRADABLE* PLASTICS QUALIFIER

* Plastic products manufactured with ECM

BioFilms' additives will biodegrade in any

biologically-active environment (including most

landfills) in some period greater than a year.

THIS SITE IS ABOUT...

Biodegradable Bags Biodegradable Pellets

Biodegradable Plastics

Energy Landfills lmop Methane Gas Plastic Bags Plastic

Products Plastic Resins Renewable Natural Gas Sustainable

Plastics

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TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY BIODEGRADABLE* PLASTICS RECYCLABILITY LANDFILL GAS TO ENERGY

Call us toll-free in the USA at

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Tweet This

“Our process enables microorganisms in the environment to

metabolize the molecular structure

of plastic products into humus that

is beneficial to the environment”

Additives for Manufacturing Biodegradable*

Plastics

ECM MasterBatch PelletsTM are a revolutionary additive technology for manufacturing biodegradable*

plastics.

This additive technology offers companies a practical way to take tangible, measurable steps towards

sustainability without interrupting or impacting their current production process whatsoever.

A major step towards greater sustainability

When combined as a 1% load with the most

widely-used plastic resins, they render the

resulting plastic products biodegradable*. Our

process enables micro-organisms in the

environment to metabolize the molecular

structure of plastic products into humus that is

beneficial to the environment. This process

utilizes several proprietary compounds that are

combined into a masterbatch pellet that is easily

added to plastic resins using existing technology.

The plastic products produced with ECM MasterBatch Pellets can be priced competitively with, and have the

same mechanical characteristics as, their traditional non-degradable products, but will be much more

sustainable and environmentally-friendly because of their preferred end-of-life.

THESE ADDITIVES MAKE STANDARD PLASTIC RESINS BIODEGRADABLE*

Impact on Operations

Plastic products made with ECM BioFilms’ additives:

ECM MASTERBATCH PELLETS

ECM MasterBatch PelletsTM, when combined

as a one-percent load to the most widely used

plastic resins, render the finished plastic

products biodegradable while maintaining their

other desired characteristics.

DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT

OUR PRODUCTS

Comparison of competing biodegradable plastic

technologies

ECM Technology for the Biodegradation of

Plastic Products

Mechanism for the Biodegradation of Products

Manufactured with ECM MasterBatch

PelletsTM

Life Expectancy of Products Manufactured

with ECM MasterBatch PelletsTM

HAVE SOMEONE CONTACT ME!

If you'd like more information about how you

can create environmentally-friendly plastic

products...
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Are recycleable

Can be made with recycled resins

Biodegrade* in any biologically-active environment in some period greater than a year

Biodegrade* when disposed of in a biodegrading environment, either anaerobically or aerobically:

in landfills

in compost (backyard compost or commercial facilities)

if buried or littered in the ground

in agricultural and erosion-control settings

Do not use heat, light or mechanical stress to break them down

Do not require special handling (unlike PLA and oxodegradable products)

Do not contain heavy metals (unlike most oxodegradable products)

ECM MasterBatch Pellets are used for extruding film and sheet (blown or cast), blow molding, injection

molding and rotomolding products and parts. The addition of MasterBatch Pellets allows your product to

retain its desired attributes without adversely effecting its integrity and cosmetics.

BIODEGRADABLE* PLASTICS QUALIFIER

* Plastic products manufactured with ECM

BioFilms' additives will biodegrade in any

biologically-active environment (including most

landfills) in some period greater than a year.

THIS SITE IS ABOUT...

Biodegradable Bags Biodegradable Pellets

Biodegradable Plastics

Energy Landfills lmop Methane Gas Plastic Bags Plastic

Products Plastic Resins Renewable Natural Gas Sustainable

Plastics

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Comparison of competing biodegradable plastic technologies - ECM BioFilms

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TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY BIODEGRADABLE* PLASTICS RECYCLABILITY LANDFILL GAS TO ENERGY

Call us toll-free in the USA at

1-888-220-2792

HOME ABOUT MASTERBATCH PELLETS BLOG EVENTS CONTACT

ECM

MasterBatchTM

Oxo-Degrader‡ Bioplastics+

For Biodegradation

• Biodegradable* (on land, in land, in water)

• Biodegradable* in landfill, as litter or backyard compost

For Recycling

• 100% Recyclable at any time

• Compatible with the recycle stream

For Properties

• No special storage conditions required

• Shelf life is indefinite

• Not degraded by exposure to heat, light or external stresses

during

storage, shipping, handling or use

• Does not fragment during degradation

• Degradation begins at the time of disposal – not before

For Performance

• Performance not negatively affected by over loading

• No UV or anti-oxidant additives are needed, improving product

performance

• When compared to the original material in the application,

physical properties are unchanged and no redesign of end product

needed

For Processing

• Can be processed with conventional equipment

• No changes to the process settings required

• Biodegradable with 1% loading in PE, PP, PVC, PS and PET

For the Environment

Comparison of competing biodegradable plastic

technologies
Comparison of competing biodegradable plastic technologies - ECM BioFilms

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• No heavy metals, ecologically safe

• Degraded product returns to the environment not as small

particles, but as biomass and humus

For the Bottom Line

• Cost effective

‡ EPI Environmental Products Inc., Symphony Environmental,

Inc., etc.

+ PLA, Mater-Bi®, PHB and combinations (NatureWorks LLC.,

Novamont S.p.A., et al.)

° Only in industrial/municipal composting facilities

ECM BioFilms, Inc.

Victoria Place – Suite 225, 100 South Park Place, Painesville,

Ohio 44077 U.S.A.

Phone: 440.350.1400 · Toll Free in U.S.A.: 888.220.2792 · Fax:

440.350.1444

Email: biodeg@ecmbiofilms.com ·Website: ecmbiofilms.com

BIODEGRADABLE* PLASTICS QUALIFIER

* Plastic products manufactured with ECM

BioFilms' additives will biodegrade in any

biologically-active environment (including most

landfills) in some period greater than a year.

THIS SITE IS ABOUT...

Biodegradable Bags Biodegradable Pellets

Biodegradable Plastics

Energy Landfills lmop Methane Gas Plastic Bags Plastic

Products Plastic Resins Renewable Natural Gas Sustainable

Plastics

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ECM Technology for the Biodegradation of Plastic Products - ECM BioFilms

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The technology is an additive which, when combined in small

quantities with any of the popular plastic resins, renders the end

products biodegradable* while maintaining their other desired

characteristics. It is sold as ECM MasterBatch Pellets and our

Company has developed the technology to the point where most

plastic products manufacturers can use the additive without having

to modify their existing methods of production any more than if

they were changing the product’s color. The resulting plastic

products exhibit the same desired mechanical properties, have

effectively similar shelf-lives, and yet, when disposed of, are able

to be metabolized into biomass by the communities of

microorganisms commonly found almost everywhere on this

planet.This biodegradation process can take place aerobically and

anaerobically. It can take place with or without the presence of

light. These factors allow for biodegradation even in landfill

conditions which are normally inconducive to any degradation of

other technologies. Our technology differs significantly from other

“degradable plastics” emerging in the market today because it

does not attempt to replace the currently popular plastic resin

formulizations but instead enhances them by rendering them

biodegradable*.Recognizing the environmental concerns related to

plastics and the market potential, the corporate and scientific

communities have long sought to develop degradable plastics.

However, the Company believes that degradable plastics

introduced to date possess several weaknesses that have prevented

wide-spread acceptance in the marketplace. Photo-degradable

products, for example, do not degrade in landfills due to the lack

of sunlight (they are typically covered with another layer of trash

before the degradation can occur). At the same time these photodegradable products present difficult circumstances for storage

before use due to their reactivity to light. Similarly, plastic

products manufactured with PLA and such “renewable”

replacement resins fail to biodegrade as litter or in a landfill, are

very expensive to manufacture, and often do not achieve the

requisite physical properties.ECM’s technology is a process which

enables the microorganisms in the environment to metabolize the

molecular structure of plastic products into humus that is

beneficial to the environment. Our process utilizes several

ECM engaged several renowned testing laboratories to

independently establish the biodegradability of plastic products

made with ECM’s additives. The tests concluded that the products

were biodegradable* under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions.

In addition, the tests concluded that their biodegradation did not

produce any toxic residue harmful to living organisms in land or

water.

Technology Explanation

The plastic products made with our additives will break down in

more than one year but less than a hundred plus years in nearly all

landfills or wherever else they may end up. All sorts of factors

determine the amount of microbes available in the soil and the

soil conditions determine the rate of degradation. The plastic

products made with ECM technology basically rely on the

microbes in the soil to react with the additives and form

communities, biofilms, which create the enzymes and acids that

can attack the longchain hydrocarbon molecules and break them

down to the point that the microbes’ natural acids and enzymes

are then effective and the microbes can metabolize the simple

hydrocarbons with CO2 and water or methane being the waste

products. This process continues until all the plastic product is

fully biodegraded.

Material treated with ECM has been tested and proved as

biodegradable* and safe for the environment by using the

following:

• ASTM D5209 “Standard Test Method for Determining

the Aerobic Biodegradation of Plastic Materials in the

Presence of Municipal Sewage Sludge”;

• ISO 14855 / ASTM D5338 “Standard Test Method for

Determining Aerobic Biodegradation of Plastic Materials

under Controlled Composting Conditions”; and

• ASTM 5511 “Standard Test Method for Determining

Anaerobic Biodegradation of Plastic Materials Under

High-Solids Anaerobic Digestion Conditions”.

Where will it biodegrade*?

• Home composting

• Commercial composting

• Landfills

• Buried in, or in contact with the soil

• Erosion / Agricultural netting & film

ECM Technology for the Biodegradation of Plastic Products
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proprietary compounds that are combined into a masterbatch pellet

that is easily added to plastic resins using existing technology.

• Litter

Where won’t it degrade?

• Warehouses

• Store shelves

• Offices & Home

BIODEGRADABLE* PLASTICS QUALIFIER

* Plastic products manufactured with ECM

BioFilms' additives will biodegrade in any

biologically-active environment (including most

landfills) in some period greater than a year.

THIS SITE IS ABOUT...

Biodegradable Bags Biodegradable Pellets

Biodegradable Plastics

Energy Landfills lmop Methane Gas Plastic Bags Plastic

Products Plastic Resins Renewable Natural Gas Sustainable

Plastics

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Mechanism for the Biodegradation of Products Manufactured with ECM MasterBatch PelletsTM - ECM BioFilms

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We have determined, through years of testing both internally and

through independent laboratories, that plastic products that are

manufactured with at least a one percent (1%) load, by weight, of

our ECM MasterBatch Pellets will biodegrade once they are

placed in conditions wherein they are in constant contact with

other biodegrading materials. Originally it was not known

precisely what the threshold amount of our material was necessary

to initiate and sustain the process. Much of the early testing was

done with plastics manufactured with five percent (5%) or higher

loads of the additives but it has been determined that all that is

required is a minimum of a one percent (1%) load. This amount

will initiate the process and any significant amount less than this

amount will not permit the process to begin or be sustained.People

often wonder whether significantly greater quantities of our

additive will reduce the biodegradation times. The answer is yes,

but so very marginally that it is rarely worth the potential issues

concerning other physical properties in the finished plastic

products and cost. To explain this more fully, it will be helpful to

understand the basics of the mechanism.The presence of at least

one percent of our additives in a plastic product, which is in

contact with other biodegrading organic materials, structures

communities of such organisms as are there present on the

surfaces of the plastic in such a way that their interaction produces

the ability to break down the long hydrocarbon chains of the

“non-biodegradable” petrochemical plastics. As most people are

aware, an example of a biofilm would be the scum that can form

on the surface of a pond or on teeth, for that matter. In the cases

of most pond biofilms, the surface layers with chlorophyllic,

aerobic organisms can support layers of anaerobic organisms in

the deeper layers and the interaction of all of the organisms makes

for an ecosystem that in some cases produce byproducts that

would not be formed without the interaction. The same can be

said of the biofilms formed by the interaction of our additive

materials and the naturally existing biota. Importantly, this

structuring of communities of microorganism proceeds in

anaerobic as well as aerobic conditions.

This leads us back to the reason why greater quantities of our

additives do not significantly speed up the time for biodegradation.

If you have four otherwise identical 100 kilograms of PE products,

one with no ECM (100% PE), one with a half a percent of ECM

(99.5% PE), one with one percent ECM (99% PE) and one with

seven percent ECM (93% PE) disposed of under the same

conditions you will see why this is.The one with no ECM does not

form the necessary biofilm and thereby 100-kg of PE sits in the

ground in that form for hundreds or thousands of years or more.

The one with a half a percent of ECM does not form the biofilm

with sufficient sustainability to initiate and continue the

biodegradation process so only the very surface amounts of the

ECM biodegrades and you will have remaining all of the 99.5-kg

of PE and most of the 0.5-kg of ECM for hundreds or thousands

of years in that form. The product that has the one percent of

ECM will form and sustain the biofilm that will continue to break

apart the long chains of the 99-kg of PE until the entire quantity

of PE is biodegraded. The sample that has 7 percent ECM will do

the same thing; the only difference is that there will be only 93-kg

of the difficult-tobiodegrade PE to degrade rather than 99-kg. The

difference in biodegradation time is not terribly dramatic but it is

less.As a method of concluding, I think that it may be helpful to

illustrate how the mechanism employed by this unique

biodegradation technology is an important reason as to why the

technology will continue the path it is on to become one of the

world’s leading technologies for the production of plastic

products.The fact that the mechanism is not based on

photodegradation or thermal degradation means that the shelf life

and usable life of the plastic products will be the same as they

were without the ECM additives. The fact that there is a threshold

quantity necessary for the initiation and sustainability of the

biofilms responsible for the biodegradation means that the plastics

with the ECM additive do not have to be segregated out of the

plastics that might be recycled into plastic products that are not

meant to biodegrade. And finally, the fact that the threshold

quantity is so low (one percent by weight) means that the

Mechanism for the Biodegradation of Products

Manufactured with ECM MasterBatch PelletsTM
Mechanism for the Biodegradation of Products Manufactured with ECM MasterBatch PelletsTM - ECM BioFilms

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Once there are the structured communities of microorganisms

interacting to produce schisms in the long hydrocarbon chains of

the polymers the process continues until all the hydrocarbons are

eventually transformed into the carbon dioxide and water (aerobic

biodegradation) or carbon dioxide, methane and water (anaerobic

biodegradation).

manufacturer is able to immediately make plastic products with all

the same other properties they had when they were not

biodegradable and at nearly the same cost.

BIODEGRADABLE* PLASTICS QUALIFIER

* Plastic products manufactured with ECM

BioFilms' additives will biodegrade in any

biologically-active environment (including most

landfills) in some period greater than a year.

THIS SITE IS ABOUT...

Biodegradable Bags Biodegradable Pellets

Biodegradable Plastics

Energy Landfills lmop Methane Gas Plastic Bags Plastic

Products Plastic Resins Renewable Natural Gas Sustainable

Plastics

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HOME ABOUT MASTERBATCH PELLETS BLOG EVENTS CONTACT

The life expectancy of plastic products that are manufactured with

at least a one percent (1%) load, by weight, of our ECM

MasterBatch Pellets can be explained through two types of life

expectancies. The first type of life expectancy is the life

expectancy of the plastic when it is on the warehouse or store

shelf, in regular usage as packaging or other normal plastic usage.

The second type of life expectancy has to do with the situation

when the same plastic has been put in conditions wherein it has

constant contact with other materials that are biodegrading.

Plastic products manufactured with ECM MasterBatch Pellets will

have the same life expectancy as the same plastic product

manufactured without our additives under all but the conditions

mentioned above wherein they are placed in constant contact with

other materials that are biodegrading (i.e. on or buried in the

ground). This is a major reason why our technology for having

biodegradable* plastic products is so successful.

The principles concerned with the degradation* of plastics that

make use of our additive technology are truly involved with

“bio”-degradation*. Our technology does not rely on the use of

photosensitivity or thermal sensitivity to photodegrade or

thermally break down the plastics. For this reason, a blow-molded

HDPE shampoo bottle or motor oil bottle manufactured with one

of our additives will last in the warehouse and on the store shelf

as long as it would without our additives. There is a considerable

amount of interest in our additives for the plastics for the

automotive and aviation industries for this reason.

There is the real concern for the technologies that make use of

thermal or photodegradation that they are simply leaving smaller

particles of plastic in the soil rather than having the material truly

become the organic components of soil. This is especially of

concern in the agricultural industry and for those needing erosion

control products. Agricultural films, erosion control nettings, and

other such products manufactured with our additives will last long

enough to get the required use but will completely biodegrade into

the soil; such plastic products completely biodegrade in a period

of from 9 months to 5 years or less. It is not a “poof, it’s gone”

system but simply makes the plastic product biodegrade as if it

were a stick or a branch off a tree rather than “sticking around”

Life Expectancy of Products Manufactured with ECM

MasterBatch PelletsTM

independent laboratories by independent scientists.We have had the

various test data analyzed by independent scientists and their

conclusions and some of the data have been sent to you in the

presentation package and are what we base our certification on.

The basic concept is that biodegradation is a natural process that occurs

around the world but at various speeds due to various conditions.

Plastics with our additives behave like sticks, branches or trunks of

trees. Due to this fact, we do not guarantee any particular time because

the time depends on the same factors that the biodegradation of woods

and most other organic materials on earth depend – ambient biota and

other environmental conditions – but the time frame of between nine

months to five years will give a good general idea for most conditions.

Under specific composting conditions with additional accelerants

sprayed on them, some customers have reported biodegradation in as

little as a couple of months. Under the more usual, commercial

composting conditions using high heat processes, a time frame of

around one year is a reasonable expectation.

Petrochemical plastics would normally take hundreds or thousands of

years or even longer to “biodegrade”; with our additives, these same

plastic formulas biodegrade in a hundredth of that time or less.

Do not be confused by the claims of some companies that say that their

resins fully biodegrade in 2 months or 3 months. They are speaking of

biodegradation under very specific conditions. This has lead to some

confusion when the plastic products are in the end-consumers’ hands,

such as in the Kassel project in Germany when the bags and other

plastic products marked with a “compostable” label were found not to

be compostable by the town’s citizens in their backyard compost heaps

(they were only “compostable” under the very specific commercial

composting standards where there is high heat, oxygenation, moisture

control and high levels of microorganisms).When I spoke at the

Biodegradable Plastics Conference in Frankfurt, Germany a few years

ago, I argued with the companies involved in that project that they

should be careful in not trying to confiscate generic terms for too

specific conditions (i.e. they should label items as “Commercially

Compostable” rather than simply “Compostable” when such conditions

are required). As the use of our technology continues to grow to

become the world’s leading technology for the production of

biodegradable* plastics, our viewpoint will continue to gain more and
Life Expectancy of Products Manufactured with ECM MasterBatch PelletsTM - ECM BioFilms

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for hundreds of years.

To summarize the concept, the key to our technology is that the

right conditions for biodegradation are not those found when the

plastic product is in use, is on the store shelves or is being

warehoused somewhere. Just like a wood bowl or a piece of wood

furniture, which can be used for a lifetime or more, a plastic

product with our additives can be used for essentially the same

period of time as the same plastic product without our additives

could be used.

Concerning the life expectancy of the plastic products

manufactured with our additives once they are placed in constant

contact with other biodegrading materials, we certify the full

biodegradation of most all plastic products manufactured with at

least a one percent load of our additives.We can certify this

situation due to the internal and external studies that have cost us

hundreds of thousands of dollars. Our additives have been tested

in all of the types of polyolefins, EVAs, PVCs, PETs, PSs, PUs

and combinations thereof, with much of the testing having been

performed using the various world-standardized tests in

more adherents.

Plastics manufactured with our additives will fully biodegrade in home

compost heaps, commercial composting operations (both high heat and

low heat, or even in vermiculture, processes), buried in the ground,

buried in landfills, tilled into the soil, having been littered, etc. Most

importantly, our process is by far the least expensive, most widely

applicable, proven technology for the biodegradation of plastics in the

world.

Again, we certify the biodegradation* of polyolefins (any of the

polyethylenes and polypropylenes), EVAs, PVCs, PETs, PSs, PUs and

any combination of these resins, manufactured with at least a 1% load

of our additives.We base this certification on more than ten years of

testing worldwide by us, by universities, by customers, by prospects and

by competitors.

BIODEGRADABLE* PLASTICS QUALIFIER

* Plastic products manufactured with ECM

BioFilms' additives will biodegrade in any

biologically-active environment (including most

landfills) in some period greater than a year.

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EXHIBIT2 
ECM BioFilms, Inc. sells additives to plastic 1-'u .. uu•~l l:rlan,ut:ictl.Iters 

which allow them to offer their customers biodegradable plastic 

products that can be priced competitively with, and have the same 

mechanical characteristics as, their traditional, non-degradable products. 

The revolutionary additive technology, when combined as a one-percent 

load to the most widely-used plastic resins, renders the finished plastic 

products biodegradable while maintaining their other desired 

characteristics. .. 

Plastic products made with ECM additives 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Fully biodegrade in 9 months to 5 years . 

Fully biodegrade wherever they are disposed of where 

other things are biodegrading (anaerobically and 

aerobically): 

o ln Landfills, 

o In Compost (backyard as well as commercial facilities), 

o Buried in the ground or littered, 

o Agricultural and erosion-control settings. 

Are recyclable . 

Can be made with recycled resins . 

Do not use heat, light or mechanical stress to break them 

down. 

Do not require special handling (unlike PLA and oxodegradable products). 

Do not contain heavy metals (unlike most oxodegradable products). 

Plastic Bag Film Samples Buried in Same Soil for a Month 

WithoutECM WithECM 

The process continues until the plastic 

products become part of the organic 

components of the soil just like 

biodegraded sticks or other pieces of 

wood become part of the soil.. 

CONFIDENTIAL 

ECM BioFilms, Inc. I I, I I"!" I"!!! t tIt I::! I!" !t !C t! t!'! 

Manufacturer of Additives That Make 

Standard Plastic Resins Biodegradable 

Additives for Manufacturing 

Biodegradable Plastic 

Packaging and Products 

BIOF-ILMS 

ECM Biofilms, Inc. 

Victoria Place- Suite 225 

100 South Park Place 

Painesville, OH 44077, U.S.A. 

Website: www.ecmbiofilms,com 

For Sales or Information, contact: 

Phone: 

Fax: 

E-mail: 

U.S. Toll Free: 

440-350-1400 

440-350-1444 

sales@ecmbiofiims.com 

888-220-2792 

PlasUc pmrueta bearing this logo are wholly biodegradable. 

Insist on It lor lhe products you use. 

ECM-FTC-000017 
EXHIBIT 3 
www.ecmbiofilms.com 

CONFIDENTIAL ECM

-FTC-000062 








EXHIBIT 4 
CERTIFICATE 

of 

the Biodegradability of Plastic Products Made by 

SL Plastic Co. LTD 

that Incorporate the 

ECM MasterBatch Pellet Technology 

·I hi.r i.r to certify that nttmerom pla.rtic sampleJ; sttbmitted ry ECM BioFilms, Int., have been tested by independent laboratones zn 

atwrdante witb .rtandard teJ! methods approved ry ASTM, ISO and otber s11ch standardization bodies to determine the mte and extent of biodegrad~t on.of plastic material.r. ' 

A Degradable Plastic is d~flned ( /I.5TM D 1991) as a plastic tbat iJ· designed to u11dergo a significant ,·!Jange in its c-hemical stmdure 

11nder spu!fic environmental condition.r resulting in a los.r qfsome properties that mqy vary as meas11red ry standard test methods appropriate to 

the plastic and tbe application in a period qj'time that determines its class!fication. A Biodegradable Plmtic is d~fined as a degradable plastic in 

tvhich the degradation results.JTom the adion qj'naturai!J oa·urring microorganisms such as baden·a, jimgi and algae. 

The biodegradation qfthe submittedplastic samples were tested usingASTM D5209-91, "Standard Test Met!Jodfor Determining 

the Aerobic Biodegradation of Plastic Materials in the Presem·e of Municipal Setvage Sludge'; ASTM D5338-98, '~S'tandard Test Method.for 

Determining Aero bit· Biodegradation of Plastic Materials under Controlled Composting Condi!ions '; tvhich is equivalent to CbN prEN WI 

261085, and the ISO 1485 5 method, "Evaluation oj'the Ultimate A erobic Biodegmdabiliry and Disintegration of Plc!Jtit:s ttnder Controlled 

Com posting Conditions", ASTM D 5 511, ':) tandard Test Method for Determining Anaerobit Biodegradation of Plastic Material.r Under HighSolids Anaerobic Digestion Conditions. " The rwrl!s of these tests and the related biodegradation and em logical impad experiment.r in various 

enviromnentJ· are contained in the Ecological AsJusmwt of hCM Plastic report dated February 16, 1999, whidJ artifies tiJat plastic products 

man4act!fred with ECM additives can be marketed as biodegradable, scife for the environment and comp!Jing with 94/62 bC.for the BU. 

Tbis Cert!Jicate and the Ecological /l.rse.ument q/ECM Plastic report, along with Stmming blectrott MicroHope a11d ot!Jer st11dies that 

hatJe been condut'fed since the publication oj'the Hcological Assessment, all oj'which use a one pertent loading ratefor the ECM MasterBatch 

Pellets rather than the big!Jer addititJe lwels used earlier, have been presented to SL Plastic Co. LTD, and mqy be used ry it to tJalidate 

Is claims m the biodegradabili!J and environmental sqfe!J qfplasticproducts that it manu factum that are made comistent with the manufaduring 

guideline.r for uses qfECM MastetBakh Pellets presented to it ry EG7vf BioFilm.r, Inc. 

Dated: February 8, 2011 

Certified by: 

Robert Sinclair, President 

ECM BioFilms, Inc.