SIST EN ISO 20200:2023

Plastics - Determination of the degree of disintegration of plastic materials under composting conditions in a laboratory-scale test (ISO 20200:2023)

This document 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.

Kunststoffe - Bestimmung des Zersetzungsgrades von Kunststoffmaterialien unter nachgebildeten Kompostierungsbedingungen mittels einer Prüfung im Labormaßstab (ISO 20200:2023)

Dieses Dokument legt ein Verfahren zur Bestimmung des Zersetzungsgrades von Kunststoffmaterialien fest, die im Labormaßstab einer Kompostierungsumgebung ausgesetzt sind. Das Verfahren ist nicht anwendbar für die Bestimmung der biologischen Abbaubarkeit von Kunststoffen unter Kompostierbedingungen. Um die Kompostierbarkeit zu bescheinigen, ist weiteres Prüfen notwendig.

Plastiques - Détermination du degré de désintégration de matériaux plastiques dans des conditions de compostage lors d’un essai de laboratoire (ISO 20200:2023)

Le présent document spécifie une méthode de détermination du degré de désintégration de matériaux plastiques exposés à un environnement de compostage en laboratoire. La méthode ne s’applique pas à la détermination de la biodégradabilité des matériaux plastiques dans des conditions de compostage. D’autres essais seront nécessaires pour pouvoir revendiquer l’aptitude au compostage.

Polimerni materiali - Ugotavljanje razpada polimernih materialov pri kompostiranju v laboratorijskem merilu (ISO 20200:2023)

Ta dokument določa metodo za ugotavljanje razpada polimernih materialov pri kompostiranju v laboratorijskem merilu. Ta metoda se ne uporablja za ugotavljanje biorazgradljivosti polimernih materialov pri pogojih kompostiranja. Za dokazovanje možnosti kompostiranja so potrebni nadaljnji preskusi.

General Information

• Status: Published
• Public Enquiry End Date: 15-Mar-2023
• Publication Date: 25-Sep-2023
• ICS: 83.080.01 - Plastics in general
• Technical Committee: IPMA - Polimer materials and products
• Current Stage: 6060 - National Implementation/Publication (Adopted Project)
• Start Date: 18-Sep-2023
• Due Date: 23-Nov-2023
• Completion Date: 26-Sep-2023
• Ref Project: EN ISO 20200:2023 - Plastics - Determination of the degree of disintegration of plastic materials under composting conditions in a laboratory-scale test (ISO 20200:2023)

Relations

• Revised: SIST EN ISO 20200:2016 - Plastics - Determination of the degree of disintegration of plastic materials under simulated composting conditions in a laboratory-scale test (ISO 20200:2015)
• Effective Date: 19-Jan-2023

Overview

EN ISO 20200:2023 (ISO 20200:2023) - "Plastics - Determination of the degree of disintegration of plastic materials under composting conditions in a laboratory-scale test" - specifies a laboratory-scale method to quantify the degree of disintegration of plastic materials when exposed to simulated composting. The standard is limited to physical disintegration assessment and is not a test of biodegradability or a standalone basis for claiming compostability; further biodegradation testing and/or standards (e.g., ISO 17088) are required for compostability claims.

Key topics and requirements

• Scope and purpose: Measures physical breakdown of plastic materials in a controlled laboratory composting environment; scaled for general-purpose labs.
• Test principle: Small-scale composting reactors containing a synthetic solid waste matrix and test samples are incubated under defined conditions; remaining fragments are recovered and quantified to calculate degree of disintegration.
• Incubation modes:
  • Type 1 - constant thermophilic incubation (thermophilic range specified).
  • Type 2 - new two-stage incubation mode introduced in the 2023 edition.
  • Optional mesophilic incubation (15 °C–45 °C) is defined for certain routes.
• Sample and reactor requirements: Uses small bioreactors (approx. 3 L of synthetic waste) and defined sample preparation procedures; sample dimension requirements updated in the 2023 revision.
• Monitoring and diagnostics: Includes odour, visual appearance, chemical analyses, dry mass and volatile solids determinations to track composting performance and test validity.
• Test termination and calculation: Procedures for recovering residual material, calculating degree of disintegration, expressing results, and reporting test validity.

Applications and who uses it

• Laboratories performing compostability-related testing and product characterization.
• Plastics manufacturers and R&D teams developing compostable or biodegradable polymers and formulations - to evaluate physical disintegration under composting conditions.
• Certification bodies and conformity assessors as part of a broader test battery (note: EN ISO 20200 alone does not certify compostability).
• Waste management researchers and regulators assessing end-of-life behavior of plastic products.
• Quality control for product consistency and formulation changes affecting disintegration.

Related standards

• ISO 17088 - specification for compostable plastics (compostability requirements and claims).
• ISO 14855-2 - referenced for terminology on compost and biodegradation context.
• ISO 3310-1, ISO 18606 - normative/cited references used in test procedures.

EN ISO 20200:2023 is essential for anyone evaluating how plastics physically break down in controlled composting environments and for integrating disintegration data into broader compostability and environmental assessments.

Standards Content (Sample)

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-november-2023
Polimerni materiali - Ugotavljanje razpada polimernih materialov pri kompostiranju
v laboratorijskem merilu (ISO 20200:2023)
Plastics - Determination of the degree of disintegration of plastic materials under
composting conditions in a laboratory-scale test (ISO 20200:2023)
Kunststoffe - Bestimmung des Zersetzungsgrades von Kunststoffmaterialien unter
nachgebildeten Kompostierungsbedingungen mittels einer Prüfung im Labormaßstab
(ISO 20200:2023)
Plastiques - Détermination du degré de désintégration de matériaux plastiques dans des
conditions de compostage lors d’un essai de laboratoire (ISO 20200:2023)
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN ISO 20200:2023
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.

EN ISO 20200
EUROPEAN STANDARD
NORME EUROPÉENNE
August 2023
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
ICS 83.080.01 Supersedes EN ISO 20200:2015
English Version
Plastics - Determination of the degree of disintegration of
plastic materials under composting conditions in a
laboratory-scale test (ISO 20200:2023)
Plastiques - Détermination du degré de désintégration Kunststoffe - Bestimmung des Zersetzungsgrades von
de matériaux plastiques dans des conditions de Kunststoffmaterialien unter nachgebildeten
compostage lors d'un essai de laboratoire (ISO Kompostierungsbedingungen mittels einer Prüfung im
20200:2023) Labormaßstab (ISO 20200:2023)
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 18 April 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 ISO 20200:2023 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents Page
European foreword . 3

European foreword
This document (EN ISO 20200:2023) has been prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 61 "Plastics"
in collaboration with Technical Committee CEN/TC 249 “Plastics” the secretariat of which is held by SIS.
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 February 2024, and conflicting national standards
shall be withdrawn at the latest by February 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.
This document supersedes EN ISO 20200:2015.
Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national standards
body/national committee. A complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CEN website.
According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations 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.
Endorsement notice
The text of ISO 20200 has been approved by CEN as EN ISO 20200:2023 without any modification.

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 20200
Third edition
2023-08
Plastics — Determination of the
degree of disintegration of plastic
materials under composting
conditions in a laboratory-scale test
Plastiques — Détermination du degré de désintégration de matériaux
plastiques dans des conditions de compostage lors d’un essai de
laboratoire
Reference number
ISO 20200:2023(E)
ISO 20200:2023(E)
© ISO 2023
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on
the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below
or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
Phone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii
ISO 20200:2023(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
7.1 Test material preparation . 3
7.2 Start-up of the test . 4
7.3 Incubation . 4
7.3.1 General . 4
7.3.2 Type 1: constant thermophilic incubation . 4
7.3.3 Type 2: two-stages incubation . 5
7.3.4 Mesophilic incubation (optional) . 5
8 Monitoring the composting process . 5
9 Diagnostic parameters .5
9.1 Odour . . . 5
9.2 Visual appearance . 5
9.3 Chemical analysis . 6
9.4 Determination of dry mass and volatile solids . 6
10 Termination of the test and measurement of the degree of disintegration .6
11 Calculation of degree of disintegration . 6
12 Expression of results .7
13 Validity of the test .7
14 Test report . 7
Bibliography . 9
iii
ISO 20200:2023(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.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
ISO draws attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use
of (a) patent(s). ISO takes no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any claimed
patent rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO had not received
notice of (a) patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers are
cautioned that this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent
database available at www.iso.org/patents. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all
such patent rights.
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to
the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see
www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 61, Plastics, Subcommittee SC 14,
Environmental aspects, in collaboration with the European Committee for Standardization (CEN)
Technical Committee CEN/TC 249, Plastics, in accordance with the Agreement on technical cooperation
between ISO and CEN (Vienna Agreement).
This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition (ISO 20200:2015), which has been technically
revised.
The main changes are as follows:
— the Clause 3 “Terms and definitions” has been updated;
— a new incubation mode (type 2) has been added, based on two stages (see Clause 4 and 7.3);
— the dimensions of the samples has been modified (see 7.1).
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.
iv
ISO 20200:2023(E)
Introduction
The test method described in this document determines the degree of disintegration of plastic materials
when exposed to a composting environment. The method 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.
v
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 20200:2023(E)
Plastics — Determination of the degree of disintegration
of plastic materials under composting conditions in a
laboratory-scale test
1 Scope
This document 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 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.
ISO 3310-1, 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.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology 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,
fruit and garden residues, occasionally with other organic material and having a limited mineral content
[SOURCE: ISO 14855-2:2018, 3.1, modified — “fruit and garden” was added.]
3.2
compostability
potential of a material to be biodegraded and disintegrated in a defined and controlled composting (3.3)
process without leaving visible and toxic residues
Note 1 to entry: ISO 17088 or another suitable standard are used to prove compostability.
3.3
composting
aerobic process designed to produce compost (3.1)
3.4
laboratory scale composting
aerobic process designed to produce compost (3.1) at laboratory scale under environmental conditions
simulating those experienced in an industrial compost pile
ISO 20200:2023(E)
3.5
disintegration
physical breakdown of a material into very small fragments
3.6
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.
3.7
mesophilic incubation
incubation carried out within a temperature range between 15 °C and 45 °C to allow the development of
mesophilic microorganisms
3.8
thermophilic incubation
incubation carried out within a temperature range between 40 °C and 75 °C to allow the development
of thermophilic microorganisms
3.9
total dry solids
mass of solids obtained by taking a known mass of test material or compost (3.1) and drying at about
105 °C to constant mass
[SOURCE: ISO 18606:2013, 3.4]
3.10
volatile solids
amount of solids obtained by subtracting the residue obtained from a known mass of test material or
compost (3.1) after heating in inert atmosphere at about 550 °C from the total dry solids (3.9) content of
the same sample
Note 1 to entry: The volatile-solids content is an indication of the amount of organic matter present.
4 Principle
The method determines the degree of disintegration of
...