EN 17428:2023

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-februar-2024
Embalaža - Določevanje stopnje razkroja v simuliranih pogojih kompostiranja
doma
Packaging - Determination of the degree of disintegration under simulated home
composting conditions
Verpackung - Bestimmung des Zersetzungsgrades unter simulierten
Heimkompostierungsbedingungen
Emballage - Détermination du degré de désintégration dans des conditions simulées de
compostage domestique
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN 17428:2023
ICS:
13.030.99 Drugi standardi v zvezi z Other standards related to
odpadki wastes
55.020 Pakiranje in distribucija blaga Packaging and distribution of
na splošno goods in general
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EN 17428
EUROPEAN STANDARD
NORME EUROPÉENNE
December 2023
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
ICS 13.030.99; 55.040
English Version
Packaging - Determination of the degree of disintegration
under simulated home composting conditions
Emballage - Détermination du degré de désintégration Verpackung - Bestimmung des Zersetzungsgrades
dans des conditions simulées de compostage unter simulierten Heimkompostierungsbedingungen
domestique
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 27 November 2023.

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 CEN-CENELEC Management Centre 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 CEN-CENELEC Management
Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and
United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2023 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN 17428:2023 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

EN 17428-2:2023 (E)
Contents
European foreword . 3
Introduction . 4
1 Scope . 5
2 Normative references . 5
3 Terms and definitions . 6
4 Principle . 7
5 Test matrix . 7
6 Composting reactor . 9
7 Procedure. 9
7.1 Test item preparation. 9
7.2 Start-up of the test . 10
7.3 Incubation period . 10
8 Chemical analysis . 11
9 Termination of the test and measurement of the degree of disintegration . 11
10 Calculation of degree of disintegration . 11
11 Expression of results . 11
12 Validity of the test . 11
13 Test report . 12
Bibliography . 13

EN 17428-2:2023 (E)
European foreword
This document (EN 17428:2023) 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 June 2024, and conflicting national standards shall be
withdrawn at the latest by June 2024.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national standards body.
A complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CEN website.
According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organisations of the
following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia,
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland,
Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North
Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United
Kingdom.
EN 17428-2:2023 (E)
Introduction
The test method described in this document determines the degree of disintegration of test items when
exposed to a simulated well-managed home composting environment.
The disintegration of test items is determined by means of a weight evaluation method.
Determining the degree of disintegration of test items under simulated home composting conditions is
an important step within a test scheme to evaluate test items such as carrier bags suitable for treatment
in well-managed home composting installations.
The disintegration conditions given in this document are based on available national standards and
existing certification schemes. Further research will be done to investigate how disintegration testing
according to this document could better reflect the variety of actual home composting conditions within
Europe.
EN 17428-2:2023 (E)
1 Scope
This document specifies a laboratory scale test method for determining the degree of disintegration of
test items when exposed to well-managed home composting conditions by the weight evaluation method
(WE method) using sieving and evaluation by weighing.
The test method is not applicable for the determination of the biodegradability of test items under home
composting conditions. Additional testing is necessary for making claims concerning the suitability for
home composting. This document is not appropriate for claims relating to the suitability for home
composting.
This test method is carried out at laboratory scale under controlled conditions. Therefore, it does not
reproduce any real home composting conditions, but it is devised to gain information on the potential of
the test item to disintegrate sufficiently. A test item that passes this test is assumed to be capable of
undergoing full disintegration in a 12 months home composting cycle carried out under well managed
conditions. For features of well-managed home composting see EN 17427:2022, Annex E.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements 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.
EN 16087-1, Soil improvers and growing media — Determination of the aerobic biological activity — Part
1: Oxygen uptake rate (OUR)
EN 16087-2, Soil improvers and growing media — Determination of the aerobic biological activity — Part
2: Self heating test for compost
EN ISO 9073-1, Nonwovens — Test methods — Part 1: Determination of mass per unit area (ISO 9073-1)
EN ISO 534, Paper and board — Determination of thickness, density and specific volume (ISO 534)
EN ISO 536, Paper and board — Determination of grammage (ISO 536)
EN ISO 5084, Textiles — Determination of thickness of textiles and textile products (ISO 5084)
EN ISO 9073-2, Textiles — Test methods for nonwovens — Part 2: Determination of thickness (ISO 9073-2)
EN ISO 12625-6, Tissue paper and tissue products — Part 6: Determination of grammage (ISO 12625-6)
EN ISO 10390, Soil, treated biowaste and sludge — Determination of pH (ISO 10390)
ISO 3310-1, Test sieves — Technical requirements and testing — Part 1: Test sieves of metal wire cloth
ISO 4591, Plastics — Film and sheeting — Determination of average thickness of a sample, and average
thickness and yield of a roll, by gravimetric techniques (gravimetric thickness)
ISO 4593, Plastics — Film and sheeting — Determination of thickness by mechanical scanning
EN 17428-2:2023 (E)
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://www.iso.org/obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https://www.electropedia.org/
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
[SOURCE: EN ISO 20200:2015 [1], 3.1]
3.2
composting
aerobic process designed to produce compost
[SOURCE: EN ISO 20200:2015 [1], 3.3]
3.3
home composting
composting process performed by private individuals with the aim of producing compost for their own
use
[SOURCE: EN 17427:2022 [3], 3.4]
3.4
disintegration
physical breakdown of a material into very small fragments
[SOURCE: EN ISO 20200:2015 [1], 3.4]
3.5
dry mass
mass of a sample measured after drying
Note 1 to entry: Dry mass is expressed as a percentage of the mass of the wet sample.
[SOURCE: EN ISO 20200:2015 [1], 3.5]
3.6
total dry solids
amount of solids obtained by taking a known mass of test material or compost and drying at about 105 °C
to constant mass
[SOURCE: EN ISO 20200:2015 [1], 3.8 modified: “volume of test material” changed to “mass of test
material”]
EN 17428-2:2023 (E)
3.7
volatile solids
amount of solids obtained by subtracting the residue obtained from a known mass of test material or
compost after incineration at about 550 °C from the total dry solids content of the same sample
Note 1 to entry: The volatile-solids content is an indication of the amount of organic matter present.
[SOURCE: EN ISO 20200:2015 [1], 3.9, modified: “volume of test material” changed to “mass of test
material”]
3.8
well-managed home composting
home composting practice which meets the minimum required conditions to convert biowaste into
compost
Note 1 to entry: See EN 17427:2022, Annex E.
Note 2 to entry: For home composting a usual cycle time is at least 12 months.
4 Principle
The test method determines the degree of disintegration of test items in a laboratory scale test under
conditions simulating well managed home composting. The test matrix used consists of mature compost,
starch and rabbit-feed, or of mature compost and municipal organic waste.
Mature compost from a facility treating separately collected biodegradable waste shall be used in order
to ensure sufficient diversity of microorganisms. As described in 7.1, test item is composted within this
prepared test matrix. The degree of disintegration is determined after a simulated and shortened well-
managed home composting cycle performed at (25 ± 5) °C, by sieving the final matrix through a 2 mm
sieve to recover the non-disintegrated residues. The unrecovered mass of the test item is considered as
disintegrated material and used to calculate the degree of disintegration within a maximum of 180 days.
NOTE 1 To allow for seasonal variation in temperature and the likely effect of feedstock variation through the
year, the maximum time for this test is set at 50 % of a home composting cycle undertaken in a well-managed
fashion.
NOTE 2 To allow for the potential for variations of local climatic conditions and consumer application of well-
managed home composting techniques, a lower than optimal temperature profile has been adopted for this test.
5 Test matrix
The test matrix shall consist of either
a) a w
...