scope:

This document specifies procedures for preparing seawater and sediments for a laboratory-scale test method for evaluating the biodegradation of plastic materials in the marine environment under aerobic conditions. The methods described are designed to separate rinsed seawater and sand-gravel sediments from intertidal sediments by wet filtration and seawater flotation. The rinsed seawater contains biomass that has separated from the gravel surface, and the sorted sediment surface is covered with biofilm. The prepared seawater and sediments reproduce optimal conditions for marine biodegradation of plastic materials. This document does not include steps to improve the biodegradation of plastic materials by concentrating the natural seawater, adding nutrients to the seawater, and pre-culturing the inoculum.

The methods described in this document are intended to be used in addition to issued ISO standard test methods for evaluating the biodegradation and disintegration of plastic materials. The applicable evaluation test methods are ISO 18830, ISO 19679, ISO 22404, ISO 23977-1, ISO 23977-2 and ISO 23832.

The conditions described in this document do not always correspond to the optimum conditions for maximum biodegradation. This is a method of preparing test sediments from coastal seafloor sediments, not a method of preparing sediments from deep-sea seafloors.