Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 301 CMR - EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS › Title 301 CMR 4.00 - PROVISIONS FOR RECYCLING OF BEVERAGE CONTAINERS › Section 4.03 - Containers and Container Labelling

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1)
Holding Devices
. No dealer shall sell or offer for
			 sale in the Commonwealth containers connected to each other by a separate
			 holding device constructed of plastic rings or any other device or material
			 which is not photodegradable or biodegradable and which is not capable of
			 decomposing or otherwise breaking down to a degree whereby it does not pose a
			 threat to wildlife through entanglement within 60 days of continual exposure to
			 normal sunlight, microbial action, or other environmental forces.
(a)
Standards
. A
			 holding device shall be deemed to be capable of breaking down within sixty days
			 so that it does not pose a threat to wildlife through entanglement, within the
			 meaning of 301 CMR 4.03(1), if, after exposure to 60 days of continual exposure
			 to normal sunlight, microbial action, or other natural environmental forces, it
			 reaches the tensile brittle point,
i.e.
, exhibits 0 - 20%
			 absolute elongation at break.
(b)
Testing
.
1. A
			 natural weathering test shall be conducted in accordance with the American
			 Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), Standard Practice for Outdoor
			 Weathering of Plastics, ASTM Designation: D 1435-85.
2. The following test shall be used to
			 demonstrate loss of tensile strength: Standard Test Method for Tensile
			 Properties of Plastic, ASTM Designation: D 638-87b, or Standard Test Methods
			 for Tensile Properties of Thin Plastic Sheeting, ASTM Designation:
			 D882-83.
3. The material and
			 product made from the material shall not decompose, at any time during the
			 degradation process, into components containing hazardous materials as defined
			 in M.G.L. c 21E § 2. An extraction procedure (EP)Toxicity Test, Method
			 1310, shall be performed on the products of degradation.
4. An alternate product performance test may
			 be substituted for 301 CMR 4.03(1)(b)2 if the following conditions are met:
a. Test data sufficiently relates the
			 property to the rate of degradation.
b. It is the equivalent of what the rule test
			 requires; and
c. A standard ASTM
			 test exists for measuring the property.
5. Testing shall be performed on the
			 manufacturer's material or product, not on the additive used to make the
			 product degradable.
6. All testing
			 shall be performed on all printed and pigmented sections of the product.
a. Testing may be performed on the material
			 rather than the product if the product contains only the natural material and
			 does not contain any inks, pigments or other additives including, but not
			 limited to, plasticizers and stabilizers.
b. If more than one pigment or more than one
			 ink is used, specimens with each shall be tested.
7. All testing shall be performed on a sample
			 of equal or greater thickness than the thickest part of the product.
8. Test specimens shall be cut in the machine
			 direction, except when the material has little or no orientation.
(c)
Procedure
.
1. All
			 businesses desiring to have their holding devices approved for use in
			 Massachusetts shall submit test data as required by this section to the
			 Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Solid Waste.
2. Testing shall be performed by a third
			 party testing service.
3. The test
			 data shall be submitted in report form and shall include all the information
			 specified in the report section of the ASTM standard test method.
4. The Department shall maintain a list of
			 approved products.
(d)
Labelling
. Holding devices that have been approved for
			 distribution and sale in Massachusetts shall be embossed with a diamond shaped
			 symbol to indicate degradability.