EN 14806:2005

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-september-2005
Embalaža – Predhodno vrednotenje razkroja embalažnih materialov v simuliranih
pogojih kompostiranja z laboratorijskim sejalnim preskusom
Packaging - Preliminary evaluation of the disintegration of packaging materials under
simulated composting conditions in a laboratory scale test
Verpackung - Vorbeurteilung des Auflösens von Verpackungsmaterial unter simulierten
Kompostierungsbedingungen im Labormaßstab
Emballage - Evaluation préliminaire de la désintégration des matériaux d'emballage dans
des conditions simulées de compostage dans le cadre d'un essai a l'échelle du
laboratoire
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN 14806:2005
ICS:
13.030.99 Drugi standardi v zvezi z Other standards related to
odpadki wastes
55.040 0DWHULDOLLQSULSRPRþNL]D Packaging materials and
SDNLUDQMH accessories
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EUROPEAN STANDARD
EN 14806
NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
July 2005
ICS 55.040; 13.030.99
English Version
Packaging - Preliminary evaluation of the disintegration of
packaging materials under simulated composting conditions in a
laboratory scale test
Emballage - Evaluation préliminaire de la désintégration Verpackung - Vorbeurteilung des Auflösens von
des matériaux d'emballage dans des conditions simulées Verpackungsmaterial unter simulierten
de compostage dans le cadre d'un essai à l'échelle du Kompostierungsbedingungen im Labormaßstab
laboratoire
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 13 June 2005.
CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European
Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national
standards may be obtained on application to the Central Secretariat or to any CEN member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation
under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the Central Secretariat has the same status as the official
versions.
CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION
EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG
Management Centre: rue de Stassart, 36  B-1050 Brussels
© 2005 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN 14806:2005: E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents
Page
Foreword .3
Introduction.4
1 Scope .5
2 Normative references .5
3 Terms and definitions.5
4 Principle.6
5 Synthetic solid waste.6
6 Composting reactor .7
7 Procedure .7
8 Monitoring the composting process .9
9 Chemical analysis.10
10 Termination of the test .10

11 Calculation of degree of disintegration.11
12 Validity of the test .11
13 Test report .12
Annex A (informative) Synthetic Waste Composition.13
Annex B (informative) Test Set-up .14
Annex C (informative) Final Compost Characterisation after Sieving.15
Annex D (informative) Water Addition and Turning of Composting Mass .16
Annex E (informative) Degree of Disintegration.17
Bibliography.18

Foreword
This European Standard (EN 14806:2005) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 261
“Packaging”, the secretariat of which is held by AFNOR.
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an identical
text or by endorsement, at the latest by January 2006, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn at
the latest by January 2006.
According to the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations of the following
countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
and United Kingdom.
Introduction
The method does not require special bioreactors and it is well suited to be run at laboratory scale in any
general purpose laboratory. It requires the use of a standard, homogeneous synthetic waste. The synthetic
waste components are dry, clean, safe products which can be stored in the laboratory without any problem
neither of smell nor of health. The synthetic waste is of constant composition and devoid of any undesired
packaging material, which could be erroneously identified as test material at the end of testing, altering the
final evaluation. The bioreactors are small, the amount of synthetic waste to be composted is also very small
(about 3 L) and, likewise, the amount of test material’s specimens is very limited, with an overall simplification
of the test procedures. The test method is not aimed at determining the biodegradability of packaging
materials under composting conditions and does not cover environmental safety and ecotoxicity issues.
Further testing is necessary for claiming compostability.
1 Scope
This laboratory scale test method using synthetic waste aims at simulating the environmental conditions found
in industrial composting plants. Packaging materials exposed to this environment can be preliminary assessed
for disintegrability. A negative result does not necessarily mean that the test material is not disintegrating
under industrial composting conditions. This test does not replace the acceptance disintegration test as
specified in EN 14045, in accordance with EN 13432.
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this European Standard. 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, Test sieves — Technical requirements and testing — Part 1: Test sieves of metal wire cloth.
EN 13193:2000, Packaging — Packaging and the environment — Terminology.
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this European Standard, the terms and definitions given in EN 13193:2000 and the
following 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
potential of a material to be biodegraded in a composting process
3.3
composting
aerobic process designed to produce compost
3.4
disintegration
physical falling apart of a material into very small fragments
3.5
dry mass
mass of a sample measured after drying. It is expressed as a percentage of the mass of the wet sample
3.6
total dry solids
amount of solids obtained by taking a known amount of test material or compost and drying at about 105 °C to
constant weight.
3.7
volatile solids
amount of solids obtained by subtracting the residue of a known amount of test material or compost after
incineration at about (550 ± 10) °C from the total dry solids content of the same sample
NOTE The volatile-solids content is representative for the amount of organic matter present.
4 Principle
The test method evaluates the degree of disintegration of test materials at laboratory scale under conditions
similar to an intensive aerobic composting process. The solid matrix used consists of a synthetic solid waste
inoculated with compost derived from a composting plant. Specimens of the test material are co-composted
with the synthetic solid waste. 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 not disintegrated residues of test material. The
missing mass of the test material is considered as disintegrated and used to calculate the degree of
disintegration.
5 Synthetic solid waste
A synthetic waste, whose composition is described in Table 1, is needed in order to perform the test.
Table 1 — Composition of synthetic solid waste
Material dry mass %
Sawdust 40
rabbit-feed 30
compost 10
starch 10
saccharose 4
cornseed oil 4
urea 2
Total 100
Sawdust of untreated wood shall be used. The sawdust shall be sieved with a 5 mm sieve before application.
NOTE Wood from deciduous trees should preferably be used.
The rabbit-feed shall be a commercial product based on alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and vegetable-meals. If a
product with a different composition is used, it shall be mentioned in the test report. The protein content of the
rabbit-feed shall be of about 15 % and the cellulose content of about 20 %.
Well aerated compost from a properly operating aerobic composting plant should be used as the inoculum.
The compost inoculum should be homogeneous and free from large inert objects such as among others glass,
stones or pieces of metal. Remove them manually and then sieve the compost on a screen of about 0,5 cm –
1 cm. It is recommended that compost from a plant composting the organic fraction of solid municipal waste is
used in order to ensure sufficient diversity of micro-organisms. If such a compost is not available, compost
from plants treating of farmyard waste or mixtures of garden waste and solid municipal solid waste may be
used. The compost shall not be older than 4 months.
Synthetic waste is manually prepared by mixing the different components listed in Table 1. The allowed
tolerance on the mass measurements of the synthetic waste components, water included, is of 5 %. Water is
then added to the mixture to adjust its final water content to about 55 % by weight in total. This operation
should be performed before start-up. The synthetic waste shall have a carbon:nitrogen (C/N) ratio preferably
comprised between 20-30. The urea concentration can be changed to adjust the C/N value to the prefixed
range. In this case the concentration of the other components shall be proportionally adjusted in order to bring
the total sum to 100.
6 Composting reactor
The composting reactor is a box made with a suitable inert material which does not affect the composting
process, having preferably the following dimensions: 30 cm × 20 cm × 10 cm (l, w, h). In the series the
container chosen shall not vary more than 5 % in dimensions. The box shall be provided with a lid assuring a
tight closing to avoid an excessive evaporation. Additionally the closing between box and lid may be sealed
with an adhesive tape. In the middle of the two 20 cm wide sides, a hole of 5 mm in diameter shall be applied
at a height of about 6,5 cm from the bottom. The two holes provide gas exchange between the inner
atmosphere and the outside environment.
NOTE Attention should be paid not to cover the holes with the adhesive tape, or in any other way.
Other containers with a volume between 5 L and 20 L may also be used, provided that it is preliminary verified
that unfavourable anaerobic conditions are not produced. The container should be closed in a way to avoid
excessive drying out of the content. At the same time openings shall be provided in order to enable gas
exchange and ensure aerobic conditions throughout the composting phase.
7 Procedure
7.1 Sample preparation
The test material shall be cut in order to get specimens with the fixed dimensions defined in Table 2, based on
the test material’s thickness.
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