OKS official garbage bags

Manufacturers | Associations | Municipalities

Garbage and fee bags

OKS garbage bags

Testing of OKS garbage bags in accordance with the Swiss OKS guideline

OKS Label

How to get an OKS licence

1. Testing

Testing of OKS garbage bags (product sizes 17l, 35l, 60l and 110l) is carried out by Ugra's accredited testing laboratory (STS 0455).

2. Licence

If conformity with the requirements of the OKS directive is given, the application for certification may be requested at the Swiss Association of Municipal Infrastructure (SVKI).

3. Monitoring

Ugra examines twice a year (spring/autumn) the products of the manufacturers brought in the sales. The samples are collected nationwide in the retail trade.

Test methods

Test procedure for garbage and fee bags in accordance with OKS directive

Test packages

Two rolls per product must be provided for the test. If a test parameter is not fulfilled on the first roll (sample 1), a further determination is made on the second roll (sample 2). The tests are carried out on at least 6 test specimens (orientation test) or 10 test specimens (full test) per test parameter.

The requirements for OKS garbage bags (official garbage bags) are documented in the directive "Quality and design of garbage bags (version 2024)" issued by the Swiss Association of Communal Infrastructure (SVKI).

Testing of garbage bags

FAQ on the new OKS Directive 2024

Questions & Answers

Due to the extrusion process, the films are given different elongation properties in the longitudinal and transverse directions during production. The films stretch more in the transverse direction than in the longitudinal direction. The opposite applies for the breaking strength. The breaking strength is higher in the longitudinal direction than in the transverse direction. This physical relationship is taken into account in the requirements of the new directive.

The weld seam quality is expressed as a welding factor and is the quotient of the breaking strength of the weld seam and the breaking strength of the film. The weld seam is produced during the manufacturing process. The breaking strength of the weld seam is generally lower in relation to the breaking strength of the film. This physical relationship is taken into account in the requirements of the new directive.

The test method has been modified in accordance with ISO 3036 so that a hemispherical puncture body is now used instead of the pyramid-shaped one. The hemispherical puncture body is physically better suited to the film material, as the film is punctured radially and non-directionally. The method was fully validated by Ugra and documented in validation report 15417 (Ess, M.; Dault, E.; Deuber, M.: 15417 Validation report for puncture testing with hemispherical puncture bodies; Ugra, St. Gallen 2024).

No, the qualitative requirement is not lower! Due to the radial and non-directional puncture with the hemispherical puncture body, the film is stretched more until the puncture occurs during the test. The elongation results in a lower puncture energy compared to the pyramid-shaped puncher. The newly determined and validated requirement values correlate with the values of the old guideline, i.e. the qualitative requirements for the films remain the same.

Ugra is the independent and impartial testing laboratory mandated by the Swiss Association for Communal Infrastructure (SVKI).

The OKS Toolino website is a landing page for licensed manufacturers. The manufacturers must submit their list of production batches (anonymised) here twice a year for each test round (see OKS Guideline 2024, Annex 1).

Emmanuelle
Dault
Head of Laboratory
live_help
Further questions? I am looking forward to advise you in English, French and German.
Tel. +41 71 552 02 45
Mathias SchunkeManaging Director
live_help
Further questions? I am looking forward to advise you in English, German and Italian.
Tel. +41 71 552 02 41

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