Explore the Bioplastics Ecosystem
Organizations & Support
Organizations & Support
Organizations & Support
Organizations & Support |
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Testing & CertificationCheck products against a defined compostability scheme and label rules. |
Industry AssociationsExplain material families, applications and waste-treatment conditions. |
Composting FacilitiesTreat accepted organic waste under controlled facility conditions. |
RegulatorsGovernment agencies that authorise medicines, devices, chemicals or food ingredients and inspect the organisations that make them. |
Research institutesNon-university research and training organisations. |
Standards and scheme ownersBodies that write standards or run certification schemes used in the sector. |
Organizations to Explore
Organizations to Explore |
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Biodegradable Products InstituteCertifies specified products for commercial composting and offers a separate Commercial & Home program. Its process checks materials, product form, tests and labels and publishes certified products in a searchable catalog. A commercial certificate alone does not establish home compostability. Buyers must also check whether their local composting service accepts the item. Geography: North America. |
European BioplasticsExplains bioplastic materials, biodegradation conditions and the Seedling mark. Its guidance distinguishes a polymer’s chemical structure from whether its feedstock came from biomass. Compostability depends on a defined environment and time; a biobased label does not establish compostability. The association provides industry guidance, not a waste-collection guarantee. Geography: Europe; guidance used internationally. |
TUV Austria BelgiumRuns OK compost certification through its center in Belgium. Its HOME scheme addresses lower and less constant garden-compost temperatures; its INDUSTRIAL scheme addresses controlled industrial conditions. Industrial certification alone does not justify disposal in a home compost heap, soil or water. The final product and its intended disposal setting matter. Geography: Rotselaar, Belgium; international certification services. |
DIN CERTCOCertifies industrially compostable materials and finished products under stated standards and grants the DIN and Seedling marks. It works within the TUV Rheinland group and cooperates with BPI and other regional schemes. A registered raw material can reduce later testing, but does not by itself certify every finished product or prove local waste acceptance. Geography: Germany; services for several national markets. |
Compost Manufacturing AllianceRuns laboratory and field checks for products intended for industrial composting. Its certified lists distinguish covered in-vessel, windrow and aerated static pile processes. CMA-S is conditional substrate acceptance, not the same certification. CMA describes itself as a private partnership of compost facilities; this role concerns testing and acceptance, not a claim that CMA itself operates a waste plant. Geography: North America. |
International Sustainability and Carbon CertificationRuns schemes that check feedstocks and supply chains, including plastics and packaging. Its standards address matters such as land, production practices and traceability. It does not establish that ISCC certifies a plastic as compostable or that an ISCC logo proves acceptance at a compost plant. Geography: Cologne, Germany; international schemes. |
USDA BioPreferred ProgramRuns the US federal program for buying and labeling biobased products. Certification measures biobased carbon content using ASTM D6866 and publishes qualifying products in a catalog. The measure concerns carbon origin; it does not by itself show compostability, food-contact safety or local waste acceptance. The program is part of USDA and counts once here. Geography: United States. |
ASTM InternationalDevelops voluntary technical standards. BPI identifies ASTM D6400 and D6868 within its compostability requirements. ASTM writes the standards; the named certification programs make their own certification decisions. Use the current standard and the relevant certification scheme for its full requirements. Geography: United States; standards used internationally. |
European Committee for StandardizationBrings national standards bodies together to develop European standards. DIN CERTCO identifies EN 13432 as a basis for industrial-compostability certification of packaging. CEN provides standards; it is not the operator of every certification scheme or compost facility. Consult the current standard for its full requirements. Geography: Europe. |
Plastics EuropeRepresents European plastics producers and publishes material and policy information. Its membership covers the wider plastics sector, including discussions of biobased and biodegradable materials. It is an association, not an independent test laboratory; its claims about environmental benefits need product-specific evidence. Geography: Europe. |
Plastics Recyclers EuropeRepresents plastics recyclers in Europe and provides guidance on collection, sorting, design and recycled-material quality. Its work helps buyers examine recycling routes alongside composting claims. Membership does not establish that every bioplastic can enter a local recycling stream. Geography: Brussels, Belgium; European members. |
US Composting CouncilRepresents the commercial composting sector and supports operator education, training and compost testing. It helps organizations understand compost production and use. Its membership and training programs do not mean that every member accepts every certified package; each receiving facility sets its own rules. Geography: United States. |
European Compost NetworkBrings together organizations that treat organic waste in Europe. It provides guidance, policy work and the ECN quality scheme for compost and digestate. This role concerns organic-waste treatment and quality; a quality mark for compost does not certify every incoming package or make local acceptance automatic. Geography: Europe. |
EuropaBioRepresents industrial and healthcare biotechnology interests in European policy discussions. Its Industrial Biotechnology Council addresses biological production, including materials and chemicals. It provides member and policy work rather than product certification. Geography: European Union; international cooperation. |
nova-InstituteStudies technologies, markets and environmental effects for chemicals, plastics and materials made from biomass, recycled carbon or carbon dioxide. Its services include research, life-cycle studies and workshops. These are research and advisory services; they do not establish that every material studied is compostable or suitable for a particular use. Geography: Germany; international projects and clients. |
Fraunhofer IGBDevelops biopolymers, production methods and material uses, with analysis and trials from laboratory to pilot scale. Its work includes materials made through biological processes and changes to natural polymers. This is applied research within Fraunhofer; a project or pilot does not prove commercial production, certification or performance in every disposal setting. Geography: Germany; research with international partners. |
Cedar GroveComposts accepted organic materials and directs commercial customers to CMA’s tested-item lists. CMA identifies Cedar Grove’s covered in-vessel composting process. Acceptance at a commercial facility differs from drop-off rules at landscape yards, which exclude several materials. Customers must check the receiving site and exact item; its products for sale have separate listings. Geography: Washington, United States. |
Envar CompostingProcesses food and garden waste with specified compostable packaging at its Cambridgeshire facility. It describes shredding, mixing, controlled in-vessel treatment and later stabilization. It limits accepted packaging to stated certification criteria. Sister company Countrystyle collects materials; both sit within Heathcote Holdings and count as one group here. Confirm the item and receiving site before collection. Geography: Cambridgeshire, England; collection arrangements in parts of the United Kingdom. |
RecologyOperates composting facilities in California and Oregon and collects organic waste through local services. Acceptance varies by service: its San Mateo County page allows BPI-certified bioplastic bags but rejects other bioplastics even when labeled compostable. Do not apply that local rule to every Recology service or infer that certification guarantees collection. Geography: California and Oregon facilities; the quoted acceptance rule is specific to San Mateo County, California. |
US Food and Drug AdministrationReviews food-contact substances and authorizes uses that require authorization as food additives. Its assessment considers migration into food and exposure under the intended use. The FDA also offers a separate voluntary review for recycled plastics. Food-contact authorization and compostability address different questions; this is not a claim that FDA approves every bioplastic package. Geography: United States. |
AIMPLAS Plastics Technology CentreStudies biobased polymers and packaging and provides material testing and training. EU records name it as coordinator of NEXT-STEP, scheduled for 2024–2028. A September 2026 account of BioSupPack describes packaging trials and further work needed for food-contact safety and larger production. Its 2024 laboratory brochure lists compostability tests; current recognition for each test still needs confirmation. A project result is not blanket product certification. Geography: Paterna, Valencia, Spain; European research partners. |
Health CanadaSets food-packaging safety requirements and assesses submitted materials for specified uses. Its voluntary letters of no objection give a chemical-safety opinion; they are not legal approvals and do not remove the food seller’s duties. Special food categories have separate information requirements. Biobased content or compostability does not establish food-contact safety. Geography: Canada. |
European CommissionSets EU rules for food-contact materials, including permitted substances and conditions for plastics. Its guidance explains migration tests, documentation and the role of EFSA in scientific assessment. Food-contact compliance is separate from compostability. The source lists amendments through February 2026 and warns that consolidated texts may omit the latest changes; users must check the rules for their material and intended use. Geography: European Union. |
How They Connect
How They Connect |
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Testing & Certification — Testing & Certification OutputsOutput: Testing & Certification Outputs. |
Industry Associations — Industry Associations OutputsOutput: Industry Associations Outputs. |
Composting Facilities — Composting Facilities OutputsOutput: Composting Facilities Outputs. |
Composting Facilities — Industrial CompostingUses: Industrial Composting. |
Industrial Composting — Composting Facilities OutputsMethod for: Composting Facilities Outputs. |
Products & Services
Products & Services |
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Composting Facilities OutputsCompost from accepted waste streams. |
Testing & Certification OutputsCertification decisions for product makers and buyers. |
Industry Associations OutputsIndustry guidance for producers, buyers and policy discussions. |
Methods & Technologies
Methods & Technologies |
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Industrial CompostingTreats accepted biodegradable waste under controlled conditions. |