The decay resistance of wood plastic composites, WPCs, was tested according to modified versions of AWPA E10 (soil-block test) and ENV 807 (tests in three un-sterile soils, terrestrial microcosms, TMCs). The WPC materials were conically extruded profiles with 30% polypropylene content. The 70% wood content was untreated Scots pine sapwood, acetylated pine and heat treated Norway spruce, respectively. In the first set of soil-block test control WPC with 70% untreated pine performed poorer than the pine sapwood controls. The fungal preference for the WPC material could be seen in the soil-jars where the WPC blocks were covered with more mycelium than the solid pine blocks. However, the WPCs with 70% acetylated wood were highly resistant to decay. In the TMC tests, the WPC materials with unmodified wood performed better than in the soil-block test but poorer than the two types of WPCs from heat treated spruce and acetylated pine particles. Again, the WPC with 70% acetylated pine particles was practically unattacked.

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