Addressing Common Misconceptions of Certified Compostable Foodservice Packaging

Certified compostable packaging has become an increasingly popular choice for single-use foodservice applications. With any sustainability focused opportunity, misconceptions and possibly even inaccurate claims can arise.

This article aims to clarify some of the common misconceptions surrounding compostable packaging and provide clear explanations to help consumers and businesses better understand foodservice packaging made with renewable resources that is designed for composting.

Misconceptions:

• Claim: “Compostable packaging doesn’t actually break down”
• Claim: “Biodegradable and Compostable mean the same thing”
• Claim: “Compostable packaging doesn't provide environmental benefits”
• Claim: “Composters and composting facilities don’t want compostable packaging”

Clarification: Certified compostable packaging is specifically designed to break down in industrial composting environments, which maintain controlled levels of heat, oxygen, and microbial activity. These conditions allow for the proper degradation of certified compostable products within a defined timeframe (typically between 90-180 days).

In fact, according to the Closed Loop Partners Compostable Packaging Disintegration at Composting Facilities study, data shows that certified food-contact compostable packaging successfully disintegrates at commercial composting facilities that meet reasonable operating parameters (e.g., moisture, temperature, oxygen).

Because these specific conditions do not exist in landfills, certified compostable packaging will not break down as intended in these environments. This does not indicate failure of certified compostable packaging but reinforces the need for proper end-of-life composting infrastructure.

It’s important to note that there are varying types of composting systems, including commercial (or industrial) composting, and home (or backyard) composting, alongside other methods. Currently, certified compostable packaging is designed to break down in commercial composting environments, which operate under controlled conditions of higher heat, moisture, and consistent microbial activity. However, home compostability certification is gaining traction and becoming an emerging certification of focus.

Clarification: Biodegradable does not mean compostable.

As defined by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation:

Biodegradable: A material that is able to be broken down into carbon dioxide, water, and biomass by the natural action of microorganisms over an unspecified length of time and in undefined conditions

Compostable: A product that is designed to be able to be broken down into carbon dioxide, water, and biomass within a specific time-frame under specific conditions

Although these definitions might sound similar, there is a big difference in these terms.

While all compostable materials are biodegradable in a composting environment, not all biodegradable materials are compostable.

The key differences are the defined timeframe and specific environmental conditions .

Certified compostable packaging must meet rigorous third-party standards to ensure it performs as intended in commercial composting systems. In contrast, ‘biodegradability’ claims lack consistent definitions, timelines, and performance requirements. Due to the ambiguity and widespread misuse of the term, several U.S. states have now prohibited the use of biodegradability claims on packaging for products. This distinction is why third-party certification is essential, as it helps provide confidence for consumers that a product will properly break down in a specified composting environment.

Clarification: When done right, certified compostable packaging can be an environmentally responsible choice.

Products made with renewable raw materials that are designed for composting provide several environmental benefits, such as helping keep food out of landfills (and thereby reducing methane emissions), and breaking down into a a nutrient rich soil amendment called compost, which helps to support a circular economy.

Certified compostable products also deliver beginning-of-life (BOL) benefits , by being made with renewable raw materials, such as corn, sugarcane, bamboo, and wood pulp, which are renewable and not finite.  

As with any packaging choice, the extent of a product’s environmental benefits relies on material choice, responsible sourcing, appropriate disposal method, and available end-of-life (EOL) infrastructure.

While certified compostable products offer beginning-of-life (BOL) benefits, the full environmental benefit of a certified compostable product is realized when the ideal EOL pathway (commercial composting) is achieved.

Clarification: Each composting facility, composter, and hauler, operates differently and varies in which materials they accept.

Some facilities accept yard waste, some accept yard waste and food scraps, and some accept yard waste, food scraps, and certified compostable packaging.

Because each facility operates with different equipment, feedstocks, and processing methods that depend on the facilities’ climate and capabilities, we respect and support each composter manufacturer’s decision to choose which materials to accept and process at their facility.

Contamination from non-compostable items is the number one concern for composters and compost facilities. Common contaminants include materials such as rubber, glass, conventional plastic, and other non-organic materials that interfere with the composting process and are not designed to break down.

Ultimately, our goal is to support composters by minimizing contamination and ensuring that only accepted materials enter their streams. Proper product labeling, consumer education, and collaboration across the value chain all play a critical role in ensuring certified compostable packaging is successful where it is accepted.

While composting infrastructure still has room to grow, progress is being made. In 2025, the Sustainable Products Coalition (SPC) conducted a study mapping residential access to composting programs. They found that nearly 36% of the U.S. population (based on 2020 census data) has access to a curbside or drop off composting program that either accepts food waste, or food waste and some forms of compostable packaging.

Like all foodservice packaging options, certified compostable packaging can come with opportunities, and trade-offs. If you’d like to take full advantage of the environmental benefits associated with certified compostable foodservice packaging, check out our story outlining the end-of-life preferences for certified compostable packaging.

And, do your part to help keep the compost stream clean! Proper sorting of waste remains one of the most important actions individuals can take to ensure the compost stream remains clean. When in doubt, throw it out.

To learn more about the work we’re doing to support and expand composting infrastructure, check out our Support Composting page