This European Standard specifies methods for the determination of a quantity of soil improvers and growing media in bulk and in packages. This is a reference method, which is designed with an appropriate precision level so that it can be used to validate any quantity declaration made.
This standard is applicable to material that is in solid form, reconstituted if necessary, but not to blocks sold as such by dimension; for these, see EN 15761. This method is not applicable for material with more than 10 % (V/V) of particles greater than 60 mm in size; for these, see EN 15238.
The requirements of this standard may differ from the national legal requirements for the declaration of the products concerned.
Where there is no legal requirement to use this method, for example in quantity control of packaged product, then it is permissible for any other methods to be used so long as these other methods can be demonstrated to be comparable with this standard method in giving the same quantity with the same precision.
Material which has become excessively wet and which cannot be easily broken down into a flowable material will not be suitable for the determination of quantity and may not give a representative result. However, because of the diverse nature and bulk density of these materials, it is not possible to quantify what is ‘excessive’.
This standard is intended to be used by manufacturers, buyers and enforcement agencies in verifying claims made for these products. It is not intended that it should necessarily be used for the purpose of manufacturing control.