Why buyers inherit this question
A claim printed on packaging is the buyer's liability, not the workshop's and not the sourcing desk's. In the United States, the FTC Green Guides require environmental claims such as compostable to be qualified and backed by competent and reliable evidence, and retailers increasingly ask for the underlying documents during onboarding. The practical question for a buyer is therefore not whether an item is compostable in some abstract sense, but which certification covers it, who holds the certificate, whether the scope matches the exact product, and how the claim should be worded. Four names cover most of that ground for cutlery programs, and each works differently. The items these documents attach to live on the compostable disposables line.
ASTM D6400: the US standard
ASTM D6400 is the American standard specification for compostable plastics. It defines the requirements a plastic product must meet to be described as compostable in an industrial or municipal composting facility: biodegradation under controlled conditions, disintegration during the composting process, and no adverse effects on the finished compost. Products that meet the specification can then be certified under programs that reference it. For a buyer, D6400 is the technical backbone of a US compost claim. If your packaging says compostable for the US market, the spec sheet should say which standard and which certificate sit behind that sentence, with the certificate number where the certifier publishes one.
BPI: the North American certification program
BPI is the certification program most North American composters and municipalities recognize. It licenses the use of its mark for products that pass verification against the applicable standard, and it maintains a public product catalog where a buyer can look up a certificate by product or holder before committing to a claim. That lookup step matters more than any logo: a certificate has a holder, a scope and a validity period, and a claim is only as current as the certificate behind it. When we quote compostable items, the documents come from the program itself, and the buyer confirms item, scope and validity against the public listing.
EN 13432: the European reference
EN 13432 is the European standard for packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation. It sets requirements across biodegradation, disintegration and the quality of the final compost, and it is the reference most European compost programs work from. A buyer shipping to both North America and Europe should not assume one certificate serves both markets: the schemes are separate, the certificates are issued under different programs, and matching market to scheme is part of the spec sheet, not an afterthought. Programs must state which certification applies to which market, confirmed in writing, so the claim you print in each country traces to a document that exists there. Buyers serving both markets keep two files, one per scheme, and quote from the right file.
TUV OK Compost and OK Compost HOME
TUV Austria operates the OK Compost and OK Compost HOME schemes. OK Compost describes products intended to break down in industrial composting facilities; OK Compost HOME addresses home composting conditions, which are milder and less controlled. The distinction is commercial as well as technical, because a claim tied to industrial facilities does not automatically hold in a backyard bin, and the fine print on the certificate decides. Buyers should read which of the two marks a document actually carries and repeat that scope exactly in their own packaging language, rather than summarizing both into one word.
The four schemes side by side
| Scheme | What it is | Where it matters |
|---|---|---|
| ASTM D6400 | US standard specification for compostable plastics | Technical basis for US compost claims |
| BPI | North American certification program with a public product catalog | Recognition by North American composters and municipalities |
| EN 13432 | European standard for compostable packaging | Reference for European compost programs |
| OK Compost / OK Compost HOME | Certification schemes run by TUV Austria | Industrial and home scopes, labeled separately |
How verification actually works
Verification is a lookup, not a conversation. Ask the workshop for the certificate document: the scheme, the certificate or license number, the holder, the product scope and the validity dates. Then check it on the scheme's public listing, because the certifiers publish searchable databases. Three mismatches come up repeatedly in practice: the certificate covers a factory's film line but not the cutlery item; the license expired and was renewed under a different number; the document names a different holder than the company sending the quote. Each is resolvable, and each is exactly the kind of thing you want to find during sourcing, not after the print run. A lookup takes minutes; a reprint takes a season.
Claim hygiene and the fine print
Two habits keep claims clean. First, repeat the scope, not the summary: compostable in industrial facilities, with certificate and number on file, is defensible phrasing; a bare compostable on a front panel is exactly the kind of unqualified claim the Green Guides push buyers to qualify. Second, handle additive questions in the same breath. Some foodservice disposables have historically used PFAS for grease resistance, bamboo items generally do not need them, and buyers should require documentation showing items are made without intentionally added PFAS where programs demand it. Unqualified free-of claims are discouraged under the same guidance, so ask for documents rather than printing absolutes.
The four lines that belong in every compostable RFQ
- Scheme and standard. Which certification applies, and which standard it references for this market.
- Certificate number and holder. The identity the public lookup will confirm.
- Scope. Confirmation that the certificate covers this exact item, not a neighboring product line.
- Validity. Dates checked at quotation and again at bulk, because renewals change numbers.
What to put in the RFQ
One sentence does most of the work: state the compostability certification for this item, with scheme, certificate number, holder and validity, and confirm the scope covers this product. Add that composite materials will not be considered and that documents are needed before samples ship. Workshops answer precise questions; the reply either arrives with paperwork or reveals that the paperwork does not exist, and both answers save you a season. If you want a second pair of eyes on the documents, our compliance notes explain the file in more depth, or send the papers with a program request and we will check them against the public listings for the disposable line.