CEN/TC 249/WG 7 - Thermoplastic films for use in agriculture

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This European Standard specifies the requirements related to dimensional, mechanical and optical characteristics of thermoplastic films and tubes used during the manufacture of silage and designed to last at least one year for protecting fodder.
It specifies a classification for the durability of silage films and the test methods referred to in this standard.
This European Standard is applicable to transparent, black, white or coloured (e.g. black/white) thermoplastic silage films based on polyethylene, ethylene copolymer, EVOH and polyamide.
These films are intended for covering bunker silos, silage tubes or silage clamps for preserving forage. They protect the forage and preserve it from rain and air. These films are not intended to cover bales piles (e.g. straw bales and hay bales).
Silage films obtained by sealing two or more films in machine direction are out of the scope of this document.
This European Standard also defines installation, use and removal conditions of silage films. It defines the conventional useful lifetime, as well as rules that allow evaluating the remaining use potential in the event of a failure before the normal end-of-use date.
NOTE   These rules allow estimating the residual value of the films. These provisions only apply to the film itself and the damage it has undergone. Any other problem falls within the scope of professional practices and the general terms and conditions of sale.

This document specifies the requirements related to dimensional, mechanical, optical and thermal characteristics of thermoplastic films for mulching applications in agriculture and horticulture.
These mulch films are intended to be removed after use and not incorporated in the soil.
These mulch films are not intended to be used for soil disinfection by fumigation. Films for this application are in the scope of prEN 17098-1[1].
It specifies a classification for durability of mulching films and the test methods referred to in this document.
This document is applicable to thermoplastic mulch films, used for agriculture and horticulture in Europe, based on polyethylene and/or ethylene copolymers, of the following types:
-   transparent films;
-   black films;
-   reflective films (e.g. white films, black/white films and black/silver films);
-   films of other colour(s) for weed control (e.g. green, brown).
This document also defines installation, use and removal conditions of mulch films.
NOTE   Mulch films are considered as highly contaminated by soil and vegetal residues: the observed rates (or levels) of contamination of mulch films can vary from 70 % to 90 %. Therefore the film thickness is a key factor on the rate of contamination, the thinnest films (e.g. less than 25 µm) will be the mostly contaminated, difficult, expensive to remove, recover and recycle.

This document specifies the requirements for biodegradable films, manufactured from thermoplastic materials, to be used for mulch applications in agriculture and horticulture.
This document is applicable to films intended to biodegrade in soil without creating any adverse impact on the environment.
It also specifies the test methods to assess these requirements as well as requirements for the packaging, identification and marking of films.
For information, it defines a classification of biodegradable mulch films according to their service life on soil and gives a good practice guide for the use of the films.
NOTE   Films intended to be removed after use and not incorporated in the soil are not in the scope of this standard. They are in the scope of EN 13655 [1].

This document specifies a method for determining the gas permeability of films using a static technique.
This document is applicable to thermoplastic barrier films for agricultural and horticultural soil disinfection using the fumigation technique.

This European Standard specifies the requirements for dimensional, mechanical, oxygen transmission rate and optical characteristics of stretch thermoplastic films for wrapping bales used for ensilaging of forage. It specifies a classification for solar reflectance of the films.
This European Standard specifies also test methods to check these requirements.
It specifies also test methods for the determination of the airtightness and oxygen permeability determined on a wrapped artificial bale.
This European Standard is applicable to white, black or coloured films based on polyolefin materials. It covers the width range from 250 mm up to 1 000 mm.
The performances of the stretch films in conformance with this European Standard are based on the use of at least six layers of films, pre-stretched at a ratio between 60 % and 70 % for round bales and a ratio of 55 % and 65 % for wrapping square bales.
This European Standard also gives guidance for storage of rolls and instructions for wrapping, storage of wrapped bales and for disposal of films.

This document specifies the requirements relating to the dimensional, mechanical and physical-chemical characteristics of thermoplastic barrier films designed for agricultural and horticultural soil disinfection by means of fumigation.
This document specifies also the test methods for verifying these requirements, except the method for determining film permeability using a static technique, which is specified in EN 17098 2.
This document defines also guidance for installation, use and disposal of barrier films.
This document is applicable to films used during soil disinfection by fumigation (class 1), and to films used during soil disinfection subsequently kept in situ as mulch films (class 2).
On the date of publication of this document, the barrier films are multi-layer films.

This document gives guidance for the quantification of alteration of biodegradable thermoplastic mulch films for use in agriculture and horticulture.
It can be used for biodegradable thermoplastic mulch films in conformity with EN 17033.

This document specifies the requirements related to dimensional, mechanical, and optical characteristics of thermoplastic films and tubes used during the manufacture of silage and designed to last at least one year for protecting fodder.
It specifies a classification for the durability of silage films and the test methods referred to in this document.
This document is applicable to transparent, black, white or coloured (e.g. black/white) thermoplastic silage films based on polyethylene, ethylene copolymer, EVOH and polyamide.
These films are intended for covering bunker silos, silage tubes or silage clamps for preserving forage. They protect the forage and preserve it from rain and air. These films are not intended to cover bales piles (e.g. straw bales and hay bales).
Silage films obtained by sealing two or more films in machine direction are out of the scope of this document.
This document also defines installation, use and removal conditions of silage films. It defines the conventional useful lifetime, as well as rules that allow evaluating the remaining use potential in the event of a failure before the normal end-of-use date.
NOTE   These rules allow estimating the residual value of the films. These provisions only apply to the film itself and the damage it has undergone. Any other problem falls within the scope of professional practices and the general terms and conditions of sale.

This document specifies the requirements for dimensional, mechanical, oxygen transmission rate and optical characteristics of thermoplastic stretch films for wrapping bales used for ensiling of forage. It specifies a measurement for solar reflectance of the films.
This document specifies also test methods to check these requirements.
This document is applicable to white, black, or coloured films based on polyethylene materials. It covers the width range from 250 mm up to 1 500 mm.
The performances of the stretch films in conformance with this document are based on the use of at least six layers of films, pre-stretched at a ratio between 60 % and 70 % for round bales and a ratio of 55 % and 65 % for wrapping square bales.
This document also gives guidance for design for recycling.

This document specifies the requirements relating to the dimensional, mechanical and physical-chemical characteristics of thermoplastic barrier films designed for agricultural and horticultural soil disinfection by means of fumigation.
This document specifies also the test methods for verifying these requirements, except the method for determining film permeability using a static technique, which is specified in EN 17098 2.
This document defines the criteria for design for recycling of barrier films and refer to prEN 181091 for the product lifecycle, including installation, use, removal and collection for end of life for management of the product after its usage.
This document is applicable to films used during soil disinfection by fumigation (class 1), and to films used during soil disinfection subsequently kept in situ as mulch films (class 2).
On the date of publication of this document, the barrier films are multi-layer films.

This document specifies the requirements related to dimensional, mechanical, optical and thermal characteristics of thermoplastic films for mulching applications in agriculture and horticulture.
These mulch films are intended to be removed after use and not incorporated in the soil.
These mulch films are not intended to be used for soil disinfection by fumigation. Films for soil disinfection are in the scope of EN 17098-1 [1] and EN 17098-2 [2].
The biodegradable mulch films intended to be incorporated in the soil after used are also not in the scope of this document. They are in the scope of EN 17033 [3]
This document specifies a classification for durability of mulching films and the test methods referred to in this document.
This document is applicable to thermoplastic mulch films, used for agriculture and horticulture in Europe, based on polyethylene and/or ethylene copolymers, of the following types:
-   transparent films;
-   black films;
-   reflective films (e.g. white films, black/white films and black/silver films);
-   films of other colour(s) for weed control (e.g. green, brown).
This document defines the criteria for design for recycling of mulch films and refer to WI 00249A5I  for the product lifecycle, including installation, use, removal and collection for end of life for management of the product after its usage.
NOTE: Mulch films can be highly soiled by organic and mineral residues at the end of their use life: the observed rates (or levels) of soilage of mulch films can vary from 70 % to 90 %, therefore the film thickness is a key factor on the rate of soilage, the thinnest films will be the mostly soiled, difficult, expensive to remove, recover and recycle.

This document specifies the requirements related to dimensional, mechanical, optical and thermal characteristics of thermoplastic films used for covering permanent or temporary greenhouses and walking tunnels and low tunnels used for forcing and semi-forcing vegetable, fruit and flower crops.
Lay-flat perforated cover films are also in the scope of this document.
This specifies a classification for the durability of covering films and the test methods referred to in this document.
This document specifies also test methods for the determination of the chlorine and sulfur contents of films subjected to use.
This document is applicable to thermoplastic covering films used in agriculture and horticulture in Europe, in the thickness range 20 µm up to more than 250 µm, based on polyethylene and/or ethylene copolymers materials, of the following types: non-thermal films, thermal clear films and thermal diffusing films.
This document also defines guidance for installation, use and disposal of covering films. It defines the conventional expected lifetime, as well as rules that allow evaluating the remaining use potential in the event of a failure before the normal end-of-use date.
NOTE   These rules allow estimating the residual value of the films. These provisions only apply to the film itself and the damage it has undergone. Any other problem falls within the scope of professional practices and the general terms and conditions of sale.

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This European Standard is applicable to transparent films, transparent clear and diffusing films (thermic) and black or black/white films based on polyethylene and its copolymers, which are designed to be used for mulching  the vegetable, fruit and flower crops.
This European Standard specifies the basic requirements for the optical and mechanical characteristics of various types of film.
From a detailed consideration of the different mulching plastics films used in agriculture and horticulture in the European market, different types of film are considered:
- transparent films (normal)
- transparent clear and diffusing films (thermic)
- black and black/white films
The range of thicknesses considered is from 10 µm up to 250 µm.

This standard specifies the basic requirements for physical and mechanical characteristics of films used during the manufacture of silage and designed to last a maximum of one year for protecting fodder. The films are usually black, white or bicoloured (double face, black and white) and are made of polyethylene or its copolymers.

This European Standard specifies the requirements for dimensional, mechanical and optical characteristics of stretch thermoplastic films for wrapping round bales used for outdoor ensiling of forage.
This European Standard specifies classifications for durability and solar reflectance of stretch films for wrapping round bales.
This European Standard specifies also test methods to check these requirements.
This European Standard is applicable to white, black or coloured films based on polyethylene and/or ethylene copolymers. The range of film widths considered is from 250 mm up to 1 000 mm.
NOTE   6 layers of stretch films, pre stretched up to 80 %, should be used for wrapping round bales.

This standard concerns transparent and diffusing plastic films based on polyethylene and its copolymers which are designed to be used as covers for permanent and temporary greenhouses for forcing and semi-forcing vegetable, fruit and flower crops. This standard is intended to establish the basic requirements for the physical and mechanical characteristics of various types of film.