EN ISO 20200:2005

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-oktober-2005
Polimerni materiali – Ugotavljanje razpada plastomerov pri simuliranem
kompostiranju v laboratorijskem merilu (ISO 20200:2004)
Plastics - Determination of the degree of disintegration of plastic materials under
simulated composting conditions in a laboratory-scale test (ISO 20200:2004)
Kunststoffe - Bestimmung des Zersetzungsgrades von Kunststoffmaterialien unter
nachgebildeten Kompostierungsbedingungen mittels einer Prüfung im Labormaßstab
(ISO 20200:2004)
Plastiques - Détermination du degré de désintégration de matériaux plastiques dans des
conditions de compostage simulées lors d'un essai de laboratoire (ISO 20200:2004)
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN ISO 20200:2005
ICS:
83.080.01 Polimerni materiali na Plastics in general
splošno
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EUROPEAN STANDARD
EN ISO 20200
NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
July 2005
ICS 83.080.01
English Version
Plastics - Determination of the degree of disintegration of plastic
materials under simulated composting conditions in a laboratory-
scale test (ISO 20200:2004)
Plastiques - Détermination du degré de désintégration de Kunststoffe - Bestimmung des Zersetzungsgrades von
matériaux plastiques dans des conditions de compostage Kunststoffmaterialien unter nachgebildeten
simulées lors d'un essai de laboratoire (ISO 20200:2004) Kompostierungsbedingungen mittels einer Prüfung im
Labormaßstab (ISO 20200:2004)
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 7 July 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 ISO 20200:2005: E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Foreword
The text of ISO 20200:2004 has been prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 61 "Plastics” of
the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and has been taken over as EN ISO
20200:2005 by Technical Committee CEN/TC 249 "Plastics", the secretariat of which is held by
IBN.
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.

Endorsement notice
The text of ISO 20200:2004 has been approved by CEN as EN ISO 20200:2005 without any
modifications.
INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 20200
First edition
2004-05-01
Plastics — Determination of the degree of
disintegration of plastic materials under
simulated composting conditions in a
laboratory-scale test
Plastiques — Évaluation du degré de désintégration de matériaux
plastiques dans des conditions de compostage simulées lors d'un essai
de laboratoire
Reference number
ISO 20200:2004(E)
©
ISO 2004
ISO 20200:2004(E)
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ii © ISO 2004 – All rights reserved

ISO 20200:2004(E)
Contents Page
Foreword. iv
Introduction . v
1 Scope. 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions. 1
4 Principle . 2
5 Synthetic solid waste. 2
6 Composting reactor . 3
7 Procedure. 3
8 Monitoring the composting process. 5
9 Diagnostic parameters . 5
10 Termination of the test and measurement of the degree of disintegration . 6
11 Calculation of degree of disintegration . 6
12 Expression of results. 6
13 Validity of the test . 7
14 Test report. 7

ISO 20200:2004(E)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies
(ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO
technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been
established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and
non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The main task of technical committees is to prepare International Standards. Draft International Standards
adopted by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies for voting. Publication as an
International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies casting a vote.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO 20200 was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 61, Plastics, Subcommittee SC 5, Physical-
chemical properties.
iv © ISO 2004 – All rights reserved

ISO 20200:2004(E)
Introduction
The test method described in this International Standard determines the degree of disintegration of plastic
materials when exposed to a composting environment. The method is simple and inexpensive, does not
require special bioreactors and is scaled for use in any general-purpose laboratory. It requires the use of a
standard and homogeneous synthetic solid waste. The synthetic waste components are dry, clean, safe
products which can be stored in the laboratory without any odour or health problems. The synthetic waste is of
constant composition and devoid of any undesired plastic material which could be erroneously identified as
test material at the end of testing, altering the final evaluation. The bioreactors are small, as is the amount of
synthetic waste to be composted (approximately 3 l). With the limited amount of test material, this method
provides a simplified test procedure. This test method is not aimed at determining the biodegradability of
plastic materials under composting conditions. Further testing will be necessary before being able to claim
compostability.
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 20200:2004(E)

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
ISO 20200:2004(E)
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 syn
...