Home compostable
The certification or claim should specify home-composting conditions and the certified product or component.
Industrial compostable
The product requires an industrial composting process and an accepting local facility.
Collection decision
Check whether the local organics service accepts certified compostable packaging. Many do not.
Common questions
Questions people ask
Can industrial-compostable packaging go in a garden compost bin?
Not unless the certification and local conditions support it.
Can compostable plastic go in plastic recycling?
Usually not; it can contaminate conventional plastic recycling.
Does biodegradable mean compostable?
No. The terms are not interchangeable.
Reference sources
European Commission — Biobased, biodegradable and compostable plasticsOpen source ↗U.S. EPA — How to recycle common materialsOpen source ↗European Commission — vectorised SUP markingsOpen source ↗Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2151Open source ↗
Checked 2026-08-16