ISO 20200: Degree of Disintegration of Plastic Materials Under Composting Conditions

Summary

ISO 20200 is used to determine the degree of disintegration of plastic materials when they are exposed to laboratory-scale composting environments. It is important to note that this test is not used to claim compostability and that further testing will be needed if this is your goal.

ISO 20200 Testing Method

This test mimics the conditions of a vigorous aerobic industrial composting process, involving a synthetic solid waste matrix that is infused with mature compost sourced from a municipal or industrial composting facility. The plastic test pieces are mixed within this compost and then left for 45 to 90 days at 58ºC. Once this composting cycle is complete, the degree of breakdown is determined by sifting through the remaining undecomposed residues. The reduction in the test plastic’s mass is regarded as the disintegrated material and can serve as a basis for calculating the extent of disintegration.

Here are some additional details about the ISO 20200 test method:

• Materials that can be tested:
  • Plastics and many other types of materials
• Synthetic solid waste composition:
  • 55% water content and C/N of 20:1 to 40:1.
  • Composition by dry mass:
    • Sawdust (40%)
    • Rabbit-feed (30%)
    • Ripe compost (up to 4 months old, 10%)
    • Corn starch (10%)
    • Saccharose (5%)
    • Cornseed oil (4%)
    • Urea (1%)
• Composting reactor: 30cm by 20cm by 10cm (l, w, h) with 5mm holes on the two 20cm wide sides
• Number of reactors: 3 for each test substance
• Test substance size: 25mm by 25mm by thickness (with thickness <5mm) or 15mm by 15mm by thickness (with thickness 5mm < thickness < 15mm)
• Test substance dosage: 5-20g/1kg of wet synthetic waste
• Test conditions:
  • Temperature: 58 °C ± 2 °C
  • Frequent mixing and watering
• Duration: 45-90 days
• Measurement:
  • Sieve the mixtures after composting with 10mm, 5mm, and 2mm sieves to collect the remaining test substance
  • Wash and dry the test substance then determine its weight
• Test validity criteria:
  • Decrease in volatile solids content is >30%
  • The degree of disintegration for the three replicates shall not differ by >20%
• When ISO 20200 is used as part of ASTM D6400, a plastic product is considered to have demonstrated satisfactory disintegration if no more than 10% of its original dry weight remains post-sieving on a 2mm sieve after 12 weeks.

When You Need ISO 20200 Testing, Aropha is Here for You

At Aropha, our team works tirelessly to provide you with efficient, accurate, streamlined disintegration testing for a wide range of products. With our extensive experience and capabilities, our team is able to test your raw materials, intermediates, or finished articles no matter what stage of the development process you are in. With our unique combination of our digital twin simulation platform and lab disintegration testing, we are able to provide our customers with accurate results with low lead times throughout development. Additionally, we have the ability to provide you with the necessary test documentation to submit to regulatory agencies or certain certification bodies so your products can get valuable eco-labels that may draw in new consumers.

Contact our team today to get started!

Related Resources