PN BioDegPlas

Plastics and textiles are indispensable in today’s society due to their versatility and relatively low cost compared to alternative materials. They are used across a wide range of sectors, including industry, commerce, and households, making them truly ubiquitous. Although plastic production slightly declined in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge in demand for plastics and textiles, particularly for medical products, personal protective equipment, and improved delivery systems.

Textiles, however, have a notable environmental impact. Despite the industry's efforts to reduce this footprint, textiles are often portrayed negatively. Historically, this was due to high water, chemical, and energy consumption. More recently, concerns have shifted toward end-of-life issues and the release of microplastics.

Microplastics originating from textiles or plastics are particularly concerning because of their persistence in the environment and their potential to enter the food chain. While biodegradable microplastics pose a lower risk, determining the biodegradability of textile materials is complex. This is due to the many treatments textiles undergo (e.g., dyeing, finishing), which complicate predictions. Moreover, the environment in which biodegradation occurs—such as water, seawater, soil, or sludge—also influences the degradation rate.

Currently, there is no standardized method for assessing textile biodegradability, except for compostability standards (e.g., EN13432, ISO14851), which primarily apply to plastics.

This project aims to develop methods tailored to textile materials that can assess biodegradability based on CO₂ production. It also seeks to improve understanding of the various parameters that influence biodegradation. The project will directly contribute to the newly established ISO work item ISO/WD 24304: Textiles – Determination of aerobic biodegradation of textile fibres and materials in seawater by measuring biochemical oxygen demand or the amount of carbon dioxide released.