South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) now hosts Africa’s only laboratory equipped to test and verify imported or locally produced products that are being promoted as biodegradable. This follows the recent handover of an automated testing facility and equipment, valued at R5 million, to the CSIR by the Japanese government, through the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). The testing laboratory is capable of establishing the conditions and timeframes for the biodegradation of materials. Tests can be performed under different conditions – aerobic (compost, soil, freshwater and marine) and anaerobic.