BS EN ISO 20200:2005 pdf download.Plastics — Determination of the degree of disintegration of plastic materials under simulated composting conditions in a laboratory-scale test.
1 Scope
This International Standard specifies a method of determining the degree of disintegration of plastic materials when exposed to a laboratory-scale composting environment. The method is not applicable to the determination of the biodegradability of plastic materials under composting conditions. Further testing is necessary to be able to claim compostability.
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 3310-1:2000, Test sieves — Technical requirements and testing — Part 1: Test sieves of metal wire cloth
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
3.1
compost
organic soil conditioner obtained by biodegradation of a mixture consisting principally of vegetable residues,
occasionally with other organic material and having a limited mineral content
3.2
compostability
ability of a material to be biodegraded in a composting process
NOTE To claim compostability it must have been demonstrated that a material can be biodegraded and disintegrated in a composting system (as can be shown by standard test methods) and completes its biodegradation during the end-use of the compost. The compost must meet the relevant quality criteria. Quality criteria are e.g. low heavy-metal content, no
ecotoxicity, no obviously distinguishable residues.
3.3
composting
aerobic process designed to produce compost
3.4
disintegration
physical breakdown of a material into very small fragments
4 Principle The method determines the degree of disintegration of test materials on a laboratory scale under conditions simulating an intensive aerobic composting process. The solid matrix used consists of a synthetic solid waste inoculated with mature compost taken from a commercial composting plant. Pieces of the plastic test material are composted with this prepared solid matrix. The degree of disintegration is determined after a composting cycle, by sieving the final matrix through a 2 mm sieve in order to recover the non-disintegrated residues. The reduction in mass of the test sample is considered as disintegrated material and used to calculate the degree of disintegration.
5 Synthetic solid waste The composition of the synthetic waste used in this method is described in Table 1. Well aerated compost from a commercial aerobic composting plant shall be used as the inoculum. The compost inoculum shall be homogeneous and free from large inert objects such as glass, stones or pieces of metal. Remove any such objects manually and then sieve the compost on a screen of mesh aperture between 0,5 cm and 1 cm. It is recommended that compost from a plant composting the organic fraction of solid municipal waste be used in order to ensure sufficient diversity of microorganisms. If such a compost is not available, then compost from plants treating farmyard waste or mixtures of garden waste and solid municipal waste may be used. The compost shall not be older than 4 months.BS EN ISO 20200 pdf download.