ISO/DIS 25302

Plastics — Evaluation of the dispersibility and solubility of plastics under marine conditions

Scope

This document specifies test methods and criteria which are to be applied to verify if a solid plastic is dispersible or soluble in marine environments.
NOTE 1  This test method is written for “plastics”, which include raw materials, intermediates (such as films) and finished items.
NOTE 2  Dispersibility and solubility, as used in this document, are physical properties of the plastic in its native form and are unrelated to biodegradability, which is a biochemical property of the plastic. These test methods can therefore not be used to demonstrate biodegradability of the plastic. To claim biodegradability only biodegradation standard tests are suitable such as the ISO 23977-series, ISO 18830, ISO 19679 and ISO 22404.
NOTE 3  Dispersibility and solubility are useful for knowing whether a plastic will quickly disappear visually and physically when introduced into seawater. As such it is complementary to ISO 23832 which is measuring the disintegration. Visual or physical disappearance is no proof of biodegradation.