This International Standard specifies a method for the evaluation of the ultimate anaerobic biodegradability of plastics based on organic compounds under high-solids anaerobic-digestion conditions by measurement of evolved biogas at the end of the test. 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 a methanogenic inoculum derived from anaerobic digesters operating only on pretreated household waste. The anaerobic decomposition takes place under high-solids (more than 20 % total solids) and static non-mixed conditions. The test method is designed to yield the percentage of carbon in the test material and its rate of conversion to evolved carbon dioxide and methane (biogas).

The conditions described in this International Standard might not always correspond to the optimum conditions for the maximum degree of biodegradation to occur.