If you sell foodservice packaging, you have been asked some version of this question: is this really compostable? And can you prove it?
The first part is easy enough. You can just say, yes, it’s compostable.
The second part is where it gets difficult, because what you usually get from your supplier is a logo on a spec sheet. That rarely satisfies a customer whose sustainability team wants proof it can check.
Also remember that “compostable” is now a regulated claim that makes you accountable alongside the manufacturer.
This guide is written for distributors and for the procurement and sustainability teams they supply. It covers what each certification proves and how to verify a supplier’s compostability claim before you pass it on.
What a Compostable Certification Proves
A compostable certification means an independent organization tested a product against a written standard for compostability and issued a certificate. It carries a number, a defined scope, and an expiry date.
A compostability certificate for a specific SKU proves it is compostable and will return to the earth after use. The item will break down into compost under the conditions it was tested in.
However, a certificate does not guarantee your local composting facility will accept the item. It also does not always mean the product breaks down in a backyard bin.
These gaps are where compostable marketing usually goes wrong. That is why protecting against greenwashing claims starts with reading the scope on a certificate before you write the product description.
Who Writes the Standards and Who Issues the Certificates
ASTM International writes the specifications:
- D6400 covers compostable plastics.
- D6868 covers plastic coatings on paper and fiber substrates.
- D6866 measures renewable carbon content.
ASTM does not test your product, certify it, or issue a logo. The certifiers do that.
When a supplier tells you a product is “ASTM D6400 certified,” that phrase is incomplete or plain wrong.
Ask which certifier tested it. Then ask for the certificate number. We will talk more about those certifiers in the next sections.
Product-Level Certification vs Material-Level Certification
Every compostability certificate states what was tested. It is either a finished product or the material that product is made from.
Material here means the resin, which is the plastic pellet an item gets molded from, or the substrate, which is the paper or fiber sheet it gets formed from.
The two scopes differ in three ways that matter to a distributor:
A product made from certified material is not automatically a certified product. A black straw molded from certified resin has never been tested with its pigment in it, which is why the Compost Manufacturing Alliance (CMA) certifies each color separately.
Forks, knives, bowls, and compostable cutlery are also certified separately, because their shapes disintegrate at different rates.
That difference decides your wording. A product-level certificate lets you call the item “certified compostable”. A material-level certificate only supports the narrower claim that the item is “made from certified compostable material”.
The Compostable Certifications That Matter in North America
The five certifications below cover almost every mark you will see on compostable foodservice packaging sold here in North America.
Here is a summary of what each one actually checks:
BPI and CMA are the two that US state labeling laws recognize, so they come first.
1. BPI Certification
BPI is the most widely recognized compostability mark in North America. Its catalog lists over 50,000 certified items.
Certification runs on ASTM D6400 and D6868. Products must reach 90% disintegration within 12 weeks and 90% biodegradation within 180 days under industrial conditions.
Testing also covers heavy metals and a plant growth check on the finished compost.
BPI added a chemistry requirement many buyers miss.
Since January 1, 2020, certified products must test below 100 parts per million of total organic fluorine. PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, cannot be intentionally added.
Certificates stay valid for 3 years. Our straws and resin earned BPI certification under this program.
2. CMA Certification
CMA tests products at real composting facilities, inside real operating cycles. Products enter field testing only after they hold BPI certification or equivalent ASTM lab data, so CMA builds on that work.
CMA approves products by the type of facility where they were tested. The track code on a certificate tells you which one:
- CMA-I: The product was field tested in a covered in-vessel system.
- CMA-W: The product was field tested in a windrow operation.
- CMA-A: The product was field tested in an aerated static pile system.
- CMA-S: No ASTM standard applies to the item, so CMA reviewed the material instead of running a field test. Wood cutlery falls into this track.
Disintegration thresholds vary by material. Biopolymers must clear 90%. Molded fiber and coated paper need 80%.
CMA applies the same 100 ppm fluorine limit as BPI.
3. TÜV Austria OK compost INDUSTRIAL and OK compost HOME
TÜV Austria runs two programs:
- OK compost INDUSTRIAL is built on EN 13432, the European industrial composting standard. Testing runs at around 58°C, the temperature at which a commercial facility holds its material. Products must reach 90% biodegradation within 6 months.
- OK compost HOME tests at 20 to 30°C, the range of an actual backyard pile. Products must reach 90% degradation within 12 months at those temperatures. It is a much harder test to pass.
There is no ASTM home composting standard in the US, which is why TÜV Austria carries this claim here.
The distinction matters at the point of sale, because buyers often assume home and industrial compostable mean the same thing.
4. DIN CERTCO and the Seedling Logo
DIN CERTCO is a German certification body that administers the Seedling mark seen on compostable packaging worldwide.
Like OK compost INDUSTRIAL, Seedling certification confirms a product meets EN 13432. Recognition is strongest in Europe, though the mark appears often on imported products sold here.
If a supplier shows you a Seedling logo for a US account, treat it as proof of industrial compostability under the European standard.
Then ask which North American certification sits alongside it, since state laws reference ASTM standards.
5. USDA Certified Biobased Product Label
The USDA label measures how much of a product’s carbon came from renewable sources, using ASTM D6866 radiocarbon testing. The percentage appears on the label itself.
It says nothing about compostability. USDA states plainly that the label is not an expression of environmental preference.
It earns its keep in federal and institutional sales. USDA has identified 139 product categories with mandatory purchasing requirements for federal agencies and contractors.
If you sell into government dining or federally funded accounts, that label affects who can buy from you. Our BioCal material carries the USDA Certified Biobased Product Label.
The Certifications NantBioRenewables Holds
At NantBioRenewables, we manufacture compostable foodservice packaging at our plant in Gadsden, Alabama. The line covers straws, plates, bowls, trays, and cutlery.
We hold four of the certifications above: BPI, CMA, TÜV Austria, and USDA Certified Biobased. Not all certifications apply to every SKU, though.
For example, our straws carry BPI, TÜV Austria, and USDA Certified Biobased certification. The certifications also depend on the straw color. You can refer to our quick guide here for more information.
Plates, bowls, trays, and cutlery are certified at the material level. In August 2026, BioCal earned CMA-I certification for in-vessel composting after passing the ASTM lab standards and CMA field testing.
BioCal is our own proprietary material, made by combining Ocean Calcium Sand with compostable biopolymers. Ocean Calcium Sand is a calcium carbonate mineral from the Bahamas.
Every product across our material range is PFAS-free. That range covers Ocean Calcium Sand, cellulose diacetate, PLA (polylactic acid), and polypropylene.
We send certificates, accredited lab reports, and total organic fluorine results for any item we sell.
Email [email protected] with a product number to get the file for that exact item, or to request samples of our compostable products for evaluation.
Why Field Testing Changed What Composters Accept
A product can hold a valid lab certification and still be rejected at a composting facility.
The reason is mechanical. Lab tests hold heat and moisture steady for a set period. A working facility runs on its own cycle time, screen size, and equipment. If an item has not broken down when material hits the screen, it becomes contamination.
Cedar Grove started field testing in 2007 to solve this. That work became CMA’s nationwide program in 2016.
So treat certification and local acceptance as separate checks. The second one comes down to what your local composter actually takes.
Which Certification Each State Requires for a Compostable Claim
The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) Green Guides, last updated in 2012, require environmental claims to be substantiated and specific. The FTC reopened its review in December 2022, but it has not published any revisions.
States have moved faster. Four of them set rules that decide what you can label compostable before you ship into them:
- Colorado: Senate Bill 23-253 has required third-party certification to ASTM D6400 or D6868 since July 1, 2024. You will see claims online that Colorado requires BPI specifically. That is wrong. The state health department accepts any recognized third-party verifier. Its guidance names both BPI and CMA.
- Washington: Products need a certifier logo, the word “compostable,” green or brown tinting, and a listing in the state Ecology database. Enforcement began July 1, 2024.
- California: Assembly Bill 1201 sets certification and labeling requirements. Penalties run $500 for a first violation, $1,000 for a second, and $2,000 after that. California’s SB 54 packaging law layers producer responsibility obligations on top of these labeling rules.
- Minnesota: Third-party certification became mandatory on January 1, 2026. Penalties run $100 per saleable unit, capped at $5,000.
PFAS restrictions run on a separate track from compostability rules. Effective dates vary by state, so check the current PFAS deadlines by state before quoting a multi-state account.
How to Verify a Certification Claim in Under 10 Minutes
Start by asking for the certificate number instead of a logo.
From there, checking it takes about five steps:
- Search the certifier’s public database: BPI lists certified items at products.bpiworld.org. CMA publishes an accepted products list. TÜV Austria and USDA BioPreferred have searchable catalogs.
- Match the exact SKU and color: A hit on the brand name is not a hit on your item.
- Check the expiry date: Expired certificates still circulate on spec sheets long after they lapse.
- Confirm the scope: Read whether the certificate covers the finished product or only the material.
- Save a dated screenshot: If a claim is questioned later, you can show what you checked and when.
Documents to Keep on File for Every Certified SKU
For every certified SKU you sell, keep these five documents on file:
- The certificate itself: It should show both the certificate number and the expiry date.
- The lab report behind it: This comes from the accredited lab that ran the testing.
- A safety data sheet: It should confirm that no PFAS was intentionally added.
- The total organic fluorine result: This is the test that supports a PFAS-free claim.
- Food contact documentation: This shows the product complies with 21 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) rules for food contact materials.
A supplier who cannot produce these within a few days either does not hold the certification or cannot show its scope.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are quick answers to the questions that come up most often about compostable certifications:
Is ASTM D6400 a Certification?
No. ASTM D6400 is a written specification for compostable plastics.
Certifiers like BPI and CMA test against it and issue the certificates.
What Is the Difference Between BPI and CMA Certification?
BPI tests in a laboratory under controlled conditions. CMA tests at working compost facilities to see how products break down in real cycles.
Products need the lab data first, so the two build on each other.
Can a Certified Compostable Product Still Be Rejected by a Composting Facility?
Yes. Every facility sets its own cycle times, screen sizes, and accepted materials list.
Check with the local composter before promising a customer their packaging will be accepted.
How Long Does a Compostable Certification Stay Valid?
BPI and DIN CERTCO certificates are valid for 3 years, while TÜV Austria and USDA Certified Biobased both stay valid for 5 years.
CMA lists current approvals in its public database, so check the certificate date.
Do Compostable Certifications Cover PFAS?
Some do, but not all. BPI and CMA require products to test below 100 parts per million of total organic fluorine. Neither allows intentionally added PFAS. TÜV Austria and DIN CERTCO work to EN 13432, which sets its own fluorine limit.
USDA Certified Biobased does not screen for PFAS at all, since it only measures renewable carbon content.
Conclusion
Certification is what makes a compostability claim defensible. Once you know who issued the certificate and what it covers, you can answer a customer without guessing.
The supplier behind that certificate matters just as much. Many overseas suppliers do not hold the certifications US state laws ask for. That leaves the labeling risk with you.
Delivery is the other difference. Suppliers in China, Vietnam, or Indonesia usually quote 8 to 12 weeks. Sometimes it runs to 15. NantBioRenewables makes its packaging in the United States. Stock items ship in 2 to 4 weeks. Custom artwork takes 4 to 6 weeks.
We also run production 24/7, every day. That means you can sign a supply agreement and let us hold safety stock for you. You never have to order a year of inventory at once.
If you are choosing a supplier or rethinking your current one, email [email protected]. We will send samples. We can also go through the certifications your accounts need and the wording you are allowed to use on the pack.