Table 6.

Summary of ASTM and ISO standards for plastic degradation in aquatic systems.

Standard	Name	Scope
ISO 18830:2016	Plastics—determination of aerobic biodegradation of non-floating plastic materials in a seawater/sandy sediment interface—method by measuring the oxygen demand in closed respirometer	Determination of the degree and rate of aerobic biodegradation of plastic materials when settled on marine sandy sediment at the interface between seawater and the seafloor by measuring the oxygen demand in a closed respirometer.
ISO 19679:2016	Plastics—determination of aerobic biodegradation of non-floating plastic materials in a seawater/sediment interface—method by analysis of evolved carbon dioxide	Determination of the degree and rate of aerobic biodegradation of plastic materials when settled on marine sandy sediment at the interface between seawater and the seafloor by measuring the evolved carbon dioxide.
ISO 14853:2016	Plastics—determination of the ultimate anaerobic biodegradation of plastic materials in an aqueous system—method by measurement of biogas production	Determination of the ultimate anaerobic biodegradability of plastics by anaerobic microorganisms by exposing the test material to sludge for a period of up to 90 days, which is longer than the normal sludge retention time (25 to 30 days) in anaerobic digesters.
ISO 23977-1:2020	Plastics—determination of the aerobic biodegradation of plastic materials exposed to seawater—Part 1: method by analysis of evolved carbon dioxide	Determination of the degree and rate of the aerobic biodegradation level of plastic materials. Biodegradation is determined by measuring the CO2 evolved from plastic materials when exposed to seawater sampled from coastal areas under laboratory conditions.
ISO 23977-2:2020	Plastics—determination of the aerobic biodegradation of plastic materials exposed to seawater—Part 2: method by measuring the oxygen demand in closed respirometer	Determination of the degree and rate of the aerobic biodegradation level of plastic materials. Biodegradation of plastic materials is determined by measuring the oxygen demand in a closed respirometer when exposed to seawater sampled from coastal areas under laboratory conditions.
ISO 15314:2018	Plastics—methods for marine exposure	Description of three methods for the exposure of plastics in a marine environment. Method A covers exposures where specimens float on the surface, method B covers exposures where specimens are partially immersed method C covers exposures where specimens are completely immersed.
ISO 22766:2020	Plastics—determination of the degree of disintegration of plastic materials in marine habitats under real field conditions	Determination of the degree of disintegration of plastic materials exposed to marine habitats under real field conditions. The marine areas under investigation are the sandy sublittoral and the sandy eulittoral zone where plastic materials can either be placed intentionally.
ISO 62:2008	Plastics—determination of water absorption	Determination of the moisture absorption properties in the “through-the-thickness” direction of flat or curved-form solid plastics. Determination of the amount of water absorbed by plastic specimens of defined dimensions when immersed in water or when subjected to humid air under controlled conditions.
ASTM D6691-17	Standard test method for determining aerobic biodegradation of plastic materials in the marine environment by a defined microbial consortium or natural sea water inoculum	Determination of the degree and rate of aerobic biodegradation of plastic materials (including formulation additives) exposed to pre-grown population of at least ten aerobic marine microorganisms of known genera or the indigenous population existing in natural seawater.
ASTM D7473/D7473M-21	Standard test method for weight attrition of non-floating plastic materials by open system aquarium incubations	Determination of the weight loss as a function of time of non-floating plastic materials (including formulation additives) when incubated under changing, open marine aquarium conditions, which is representative of aquatic environments near the coasts and near the bottom of a body of water in the absence of sunlight, particularly UV and visible portions of the spectrum.
ASTM D7991-15	Standard test method for determining aerobic biodegradation of plastics buried in sandy marine sediment under controlled laboratory conditions	Determination of the biodegradation level of plastic materials exposed to laboratory conditions that simulate the environment found in the sandy tidal zone. The tidal zone, that is, the part of the coast affected by the tides and movement of the waves, is the borderline between sea and land, frequently a sandy area that is kept constantly damp by the lapping of the waves.
ASTM D570-98(2018)	Standard test method for water absorption of plastics	Determination of the relative rate of absorption of water by plastics when immersed. This test method is intended to apply to the testing of all types of plastics, including cast, hot-molded, and cold-molded resinous products, and both homogeneous and laminated plastics in rod and tube form and in sheets 0.13 mm (0.005 in.) or greater in thickness.
ASTM D5229/D5229M-20	Standard test method for moisture absorption properties and equilibrium conditioning of polymer matrix composite materials	Determination of moisture absorption or desorption properties in the “through-the-thickness” direction for single-phase Fickian solid materials in flat or curved panel form. Procedures for conditioning test coupons prior to use in other test methods are also covered, either to an essentially moisture-free state to equilibrium in a standard laboratory atmosphere environment, or to equilibrium in a non-laboratory environment. Procedures for determining the moisture loss during elevated temperature testing are also included, as well as moisture loss resulting from thermal exposure after removal from the conditioning environment, such as during strain gauge bonding.