ISO/AWI 25304

Plastics — Determination of the degree of biodegradation and disintegration of plastic materialsunder high-solids anaerobic-digestion conditions

Scope

This document specifies a method of determining the degree of ultimate anaerobic biodegradability
and disintegration of plastic materials when exposed to high-solids mesophilic or thermophilic anaerobic-digestion conditions. This method is based on ISO 15985, amended with a modified
approach to determine disintegration.
This method is designed to simulate typical anaerobic digestion conditions for the organic fraction of
mixed municipal solid waste. The test material is exposed in a laboratory test to an inoculum derived
from anaerobic digesters operating only on pre-treated household waste. The anaerobic
decomposition takes place under high-solids (more than 20 % solids) and static non-mixed
conditions. In case no complete disintegration occurs at the end of the anaerobic phase, the
digestate may be transferred to aerobic controlled composting conditions to determine the degree of
disintegration after a post-composting phase.
NOTE: The test method is written for “plastics”, but can also be used for other product groups (e.g.
packaging).