Biodegradable does not mean it can be left in nature

The problem: one word, a false permission

To many people, the word "biodegradable" suggests that a product will disappear by itself wherever it ends up. This perception carries two risks. The first is that products are left uncontrolled in nature, which makes littering seem legitimate. The second, especially in healthcare settings, is the mistaken belief that a used product can be kept outside waste rules.

Yet biodegradability is not an absolute property. It is the behaviour of a specific material, in a specific environment, over a specific period, measured with a specific test method.

The frame: biodegradation is the result of an environment

Biodegradation depends on temperature, moisture, oxygen and micro-organisms. That is why environments are assessed separately:

• Industrial composting: facilities operated under controlled temperature and moisture. Standards such as EN 13432 and ISO 17088 are used for this environment.

• Soil: an environment whose temperature and moisture change with the place and the season.

• Fresh water and sea: studied with their own methods because of lower temperatures and a different microbial make-up; for the marine environment there are standards such as ISO 22403.

A result obtained in one environment cannot be carried over to another. A material that breaks down within a given period in an industrial composting facility may not do the same in soil or at sea. A statement such as "disappears completely in nature" is an absolute claim, because it does not state the environment, the duration, the residues or the ecotoxicity.

Regulation points the same way. Since 27 September 2026, EU Directive 2024/825 lists generic environmental claims that cannot be backed by recognised excellent environmental performance among the commercial practices that are prohibited in all circumstances towards consumers. Extending an environmental claim that concerns only part of a product to the whole product is on the same list.

Why is each environment written separately?

A textile product is not always made of a single material: fibre, film, stitching, label and packaging are separate components, and each may behave differently. Extending a result obtained for one component to the whole product, or the result of one environment to all environments, misleads the reader.

A sound biodegradation statement therefore carries at least:

• which product or component;

• which environment;

• which test method;

• what duration;

• which sample;

• which report number and date.

If any of these is missing, the statement is not enough for readers to assess their own conditions of use.

End of life: waste rules come first

Even a biodegradable product may not be ordinary waste once it has been used. In a hospital, a contaminated textile is subject to medical waste rules, whatever it is made of. Biodegradability does not change those rules, and it does not mean a contaminated product can be freely composted.

The right order is:

1. In which setting was the product used, and is there a contamination risk?

2. Which waste stream does local regulation prescribe for this waste?

3. Is there collection and treatment infrastructure in the region that accepts this material?

Only once these questions are answered can a link be made between the tested environment and the real end of life. If that link cannot be made, the product's practical end of life is decided by waste management, however good the laboratory result.

How NEWSOUL approaches it

For NEWSOUL, biodegradation is not a slogan but data that has to be documented product by product. That is why it applies these rules:

• The result for each environment is treated as a separate evidence card; the result of one environment is never carried over to another.

• A biodegradation statement is published only with the product or component, the environment, the test method, the duration, the sample and the report number.

• Until this information is matched to the product, product pages carry no biodegradability claim.

• The same rule applies to packaging: the word "biodegradable" is used only together with the material standard, the environment and the duration.

The box and outer carton, which close with a mechanical lock without tape or glue, are also designed to make it easier to separate the packaging into its components at the end of use.

The limit: what this article does not say

This article does not say in which environment, or over what period, any particular NEWSOUL product biodegrades. Those values are given in the evidence information of the product concerned, together with the product, sample and report match. Product properties and documents are confirmed per product at the sample and quotation stage. This article is not legal advice either.

Next step

To assess your organisation's end-of-life plan together, or to request a product's evidence file, use the request form. Telling us your setting of use and your waste stream helps us send you the right document.