In procurement, "compostable" is not an adjective. It is a claim that either points at a named standard, a tested condition and a document — or it points at nothing. The gap between those two is where most disputes in this category start, because a word on a sales sheet and a certificate in a file look the same on the page and behave very differently in an audit. This article is a reading tool: what each of the common standards actually covers, what it does not, and what to request so that a claim can be checked rather than believed.
Why the word alone cannot be checked
Three things have to be fixed before a compostability claim means anything:
- Which standard — the named specification the material was tested against.
- Which condition — industrial composting, home composting, soil or water. These are not interchangeable, and a certificate for one says nothing about the others.
- Which article — the finished construction, not the base material. A certified fibre under an uncertified coating is not a certified product.
A claim missing any of the three cannot be verified, and it should be read as marketing until it is completed. That is not a hostile reading; it is the only reading that lets a purchaser put the claim into a specification.
The standards, and what each one covers
| Standard or mark | What it covers | What it does not cover | Disposal scene it fits | What to request |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EN 13432 | Industrial composting in Europe: disintegration, biodegradation and ecotoxicity, in a defined timeframe | Home composting; soil or marine degradation | Markets with industrial composting collection | The certificate for the specific material and grade |
| ASTM D6400 | Industrial composting in the United States, on the same principles | Home composting; non-industrial routes | North American industrial composting | The certificate, plus confirmation of which grade it applies to |
| TÜV OK compost HOME | Home composting: a cooler, less consistent process than industrial | Industrial-scale throughput is not the point; soil and marine are separate | Markets where garden composting is genuinely common | The home-compost certificate specifically — not an industrial one |
| OK biodegradable WATER / SOIL | Degradation in a watercourse or in soil | Composting of any kind | Specific claims about litter or agricultural film | The certificate for that environment, read separately from composting |
| No standard — "eco", "green", "100% biodegradable" | Nothing testable | Everything above | None | A standard, a condition and a document — or a different product |
Reading the claim that arrives
When a supplier sends a compostability claim, four questions separate the ones that hold from the ones that do not:
- Which standard is named? If the answer is a family — "compostable" with nothing after it — the claim is not yet usable.
- Which condition? Industrial and home are different claims, and a pack sold into a market with only industrial collection should not be certified to home and left there.
- Which layer? For a coated or laminated structure, ask which layer carries the certificate and whether the finished article was tested as a whole.
- Which document? Ask for the certificate itself, with the grade named on it, rather than a logo or a line in a brochure.
A supplier who answers all four is selling a specification. One who answers none of them may still have a good product — but the claim has not been demonstrated, and the honest wording is the cautious one: reported compostable — confirm against the specific grade and its certification.
Where this connects to the rest of the specification
Compostability is one axis; the chemistry of the coating is another. A material can be certified compostable and still be a poor fit where a market has restricted certain coating chemistries, and the two questions are asked independently. Our work on PFAS-free packaging covers the chemistry side; this article covers the disposal side. A complete specification answers both.
Common misuse
- Accepting a logo as evidence. A mark without a certificate and a grade is a design element.
- Treating an industrial certificate as a home-compost claim, which is the most common misreading in consumer-facing copy.
- Reading a base-material certificate as a product certificate. The tested material and the sold article are different things.
FAQ
Is a compostability logo enough?
No. The logo indicates that a certificate exists; it does not name the standard, the condition or the grade. Ask for the certificate and read those three off it.
What is the difference between EN 13432 and OK compost HOME?
The condition they test. EN 13432 is industrial composting; OK compost HOME tests home composting, which runs cooler and is harder to pass. A material certified to one is not automatically certified to the other.
Can a supplier claim compostability without a certificate?
They can make the claim, but it cannot be verified, and it should not go into a specification or a customer-facing document. Ask for the standard and the document before repeating it.
Does compostability also mean the coating is safe?
Not necessarily. Compostability standards include an ecotoxicity check on the finished material, but coating chemistry restrictions are a separate regulatory question. Both should be confirmed.
Browse the range
These questions apply across eco paper bags, fresh absorbent pads and baking and food paper. For the wider framework these sit inside, see our guide to biodegradable and compostable packaging materials.