Quick answer: There is no single global compostability certificate. The marks buyers ask for are tied to regional test standards: EN 13432 underpins the European ones, ASTM D6400 and D6868 underpin the American ones, and Australia runs its own pair in AS 4736 and AS 5810. Asking which certificate is best is the wrong question. The useful one is which market the goods are sold into, and what the buyer needs the certificate to do. For untreated wood and bamboo the honest answer is more nuanced than either “you need BPI” or “it is natural, so nothing is needed”.
The marks, the standards behind them, and where each carries weight
| Certification | Tested against | Where it carries weight |
|---|---|---|
| BPI Certified Compostable | ASTM D6400 for plastics, D6868 for coated fibre, D8410 for fibre | United States, and widely recognised in Canada |
| TUV Austria OK compost INDUSTRIAL | EN 13432 and EN 14995 | Europe, and used internationally as a reference mark |
| TUV Austria OK compost HOME | Home-composting protocols including NF T 51-800 and AS 5810 | Europe and internationally, for home-compostable claims specifically |
| Seedling logo | EN 13432, licensed through European Bioplastics and its partners | Europe, and in Australasia under a separate licence |
| CMA Composter Approved | ASTM D6400, D6868 and EN 13432, with field testing at operating facilities | United States, where a composter’s real-world acceptance is the question |
| ABA verification (Australasian Bioplastics Association) | AS 4736 for commercial composting, AS 5810 for home | Australia and New Zealand |
Two of these are doing something different from the rest. OK compost HOME and AS 5810 certify breakdown in a domestic compost heap at ambient temperature, which is a much harder test than an industrial facility running at elevated temperature. A product certified only for industrial composting is not home compostable, and describing it that way in a consumer market is the sort of claim that draws greenwashing attention. CMA is also unusual: it tests at operating facilities rather than only in a laboratory, which is why some North American composters ask for it specifically.
What the standards test
EN 13432 and ASTM D6400 are structured alike, and knowing the four things they measure explains why certification takes months rather than days. They test disintegration, so that fragments are gone within a set period. They test biodegradation, meaning conversion to carbon dioxide at a required percentage within a time limit. They test ecotoxicity on the resulting compost, so plants still grow in it. And they cap heavy metals and certain regulated substances.
That structure is aimed at engineered materials. The question these standards were written to answer is whether a manufactured item that looks like plastic will break down and leave harmless compost behind. It is a reasonable question for a PLA fork. It is a stranger fit for a piece of kiln-dried birch, which is a concern worth understanding before the next section rather than a reason to dismiss the request.
California changes this in June 2027, and not in the direction most people assume
California AB 1201 requires a product labelled “compostable” to meet the applicable ASTM standard and to be approved under the USDA National Organic Program as an allowable organic agricultural input, through inclusion on the National List. The original deadline was 1 January 2026. CalRecycle extended it to 30 June 2027, and the extension arrived as an agency letter rather than new legislation, so it is worth re-checking rather than treating as settled.
The reason for the delay is the part that matters commercially. The National Organic Standards Board declined to add synthetic compostable polymers to the National List. If that position holds, a certified compostable bioplastic can meet ASTM D6400, hold a BPI mark, and still be unable to carry the word “compostable” in California from mid-2027. A certificate is not the same thing as a permitted label, and this is the clearest example of the gap.
Untreated wood and bamboo sit differently in that analysis, because the board’s decision was about synthetic polymers and these are not synthetic polymers. That is a reason to watch the outcome rather than to relax: the requirement is written around products labelled compostable in general, and no published carve-out for natural materials has appeared. If your California labelling says compostable, this is a question to put to counsel well before mid-2027.
Holding the certificate and being allowed to use the word are two different things.
“We supply untreated birch. Does it need BPI certification?”
This comes up constantly, and both of the usual answers are wrong. Telling a buyer that a natural material needs no documentation is not true and does not survive a procurement review. Assuming a compostable certification is mandatory is also not true; these are voluntary schemes, not statutes, and no US or EU law requires a compostability mark on uncoated wooden cutlery.
The productive move is to find out what the certificate is being asked to do, because there are three different jobs hiding behind one request. If the buyer’s municipal composter requires a recognised mark to accept an item at the gate, that is an operational rule at a specific facility, and no argument about the material’s nature changes it; the mark is the entry ticket. If a retailer’s own specification lists BPI, that is a commercial requirement to negotiate or meet. If the concern is a labelling law like AB 1201, the answer runs through the label, not the material.
Only the first two are solved by certifying. The third is solved by choosing the wording on the pack. Asking which one you are facing turns an argument about whether wood is natural into a decision with a cost attached.
What Ecoware holds, and what it does not
Ecoware supplies FSC 100% chain-of-custody documentation for the certified birch lines, and food-contact conformity paperwork covering FDA 21 CFR 176.170, EU 10/2011 and LFGB testing on request. Those are the documents that exist today and can be sent with a quotation.
Ecoware does not claim to hold a compostability certification it has not obtained, and this page should not be read as evidence of one. If a specific market or customer requires BPI, OK compost or an ABA verification on a particular line, that is a certification project with a timeline and a cost, and the useful conversation starts with which SKU and which market rather than with a general claim.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between EN 13432 and ASTM D6400?
They are regional equivalents covering the same four areas: disintegration, biodegradation, ecotoxicity and limits on heavy metals and regulated substances. EN 13432 is the European standard behind marks such as OK compost INDUSTRIAL and the Seedling logo; ASTM D6400 is the American standard behind BPI certification for plastics, alongside D6868 for coated fibre and D8410 for fibre.
Is industrial compostable the same as home compostable?
No, and the difference is commercially important. Industrial composting runs at elevated temperature in a managed facility. Home composting happens at ambient temperature in a garden heap, which is a substantially harder test, certified separately through OK compost HOME or AS 5810. A product certified only for industrial composting should not be described as home compostable.
Does untreated wooden or bamboo cutlery need compostability certification?
No law requires it. Certification becomes necessary when a specific composting facility needs a recognised mark to accept the item, or when a customer’s own specification lists one. It is worth establishing which of those you are facing before treating the request as either mandatory or unreasonable.
What changes in California in 2027?
AB 1201 requires products labelled compostable to satisfy the applicable ASTM standard and to be approved under the USDA National Organic Program. CalRecycle extended the deadline to 30 June 2027. Because the National Organic Standards Board declined to add synthetic compostable polymers to the National List, certified compostable bioplastics may be unable to carry the label in California even while holding a valid certificate.
Which certification should we ask a supplier for?
Start from the destination market rather than the mark: BPI or CMA for the United States, OK compost INDUSTRIAL or the Seedling logo for Europe, ABA verification for Australia and New Zealand, and a home-compostable scheme only if the claim on the pack is a home-composting claim.
Related Guides
- How Long Does Bamboo Cutlery Take to Decompose?. What the decomposition timescales behind these standards look like for bamboo.
- PFAS-Free Foodware: What US State Laws Actually Require. The other document family US buyers ask for, and why a compostability mark does not answer it.
- EUDR and Wooden Tableware: What EU Buyers Will Ask For. The EU sourcing rules that arrive alongside these certification questions on the same order.
About Ecoware
Ecoware has manufactured disposable wooden and bamboo tableware since 2003, running its own production facility in Shucheng, Anhui province, China. The company supplies FSC Chain-of-Custody certified birch and bamboo lines across wooden tableware and bamboo tableware, alongside the food-contact compliance documentation import buyers need before a shipment clears customs.
Regulatory statements in this guide are sourced to the published regulation text and official EU guidance, cited inline. Where sources disagree or a figure could not be independently verified, this guide says so rather than resolving it silently.
Need to work out which certification your market requires? Talk to the Ecoware team →
