ISO 20200:2004 pdf download

ISO 20200:2004 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
3.5 dry mass
mass of a sample measured after drying
NOTE Dry mass is expressed as a percentage of the mass of the wet sample.
3.6 mesophilic incubation period
incubation at 25 °C to allow the development of microorganisms growing at room temperature
3.7 thermophilic incubation period
incubation at 58 °C to allow the development of microorganisms growing at high temperature
3.8 total dry solids
amount of solids obtained by taking a known volume of test material or compost and drying at about 105 °C to constant mass
3.9 volatile solids
amount of solids obtained by subtracting the residue obtained from a known volume of test material or compost after incineration at about 550 °C from the total dry solids content of the same sample
NOTE The volatile-solids content is an indication of the amount of organic matter present.
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.