Compostable definition
A product that is “compostable” is one that can be placed into a
composition of decaying biodegradable materials, and eventually
turns into a nutrient-rich material.
It is almost synonymous with “biodegradable”, except it is
limited to solid materials and does not refer to liquids.
Composting occurs in nature every day as fallen leaves and tree
limbs biodegrade into the forest floor.
The EPA considers composting a form of recycling because it
turns resources into a usable product.
Compost piles have been used by many farmers and gardeners for
generations. Food,
leaves, grass clippings, garden wastes, and tree trimmings (which
amount to between 50 and 70 percent of waste in this country) can
all go into the compost pile, where hungry microorganisms eat the
waste to produce carbon dioxide, water and humus.
The resulting compost is an excellent natural fertilizer
proven by organic gardeners to restore soil fertility, control
weeds, retain ground moisture and reduce soil erosion.
While backyard compost piles are well known, the newest application
of composting is municipal composting, which works on the same
natural principles, but is done on a much larger scale.
Over 2,200 communities already compost their leaves, grass
and yard trimmings.
Approximately 55 additional communities compost or are about to
compost all their organic trash at well-sited, professionally
managed composting facilities.
Municipal composting requires minimal time, effort and labor, since
most of the work is done by the microorganisms.
Communities can also use or sell the resulting compost for
agricultural and horticultural uses, or to restore depleted lands.
Unlike landfills, a composting site can be continually reused
without ever reaching capacity.
As with the term biodegradable, regulators recommend that the term
compostable not be used unless the product is currently composted in
a significant amount in the area where it is sold.
Without the ability to actually compost the product, claim is
considered to be meaningless and thus deceptive.
They recommend that any product promoted as “compostable”
should clearly and prominently disclose that the product is not
designed to degrade in landfills.
There are no federal regulations regarding the use of the term
“compostable”, but the Federal Trade Commission does give
guidelines.
They say, “An unqualified claim that a product or package is
compostable should be substantiated by competent and reliable
scientific evidence that all the materials in the product or package
will break down into, or otherwise become part of, usable compost
(e.g., soil conditioning material, mulch) in a safe and timely
manner in an appropriate composting program or facility, or in a
home compost pile or device.”
Claims may be considered deceptive if: (1) municipal composting
facilities are not available to a substantial majority of consumers
or communities where the package is sold; (2) the claim misleads
consumers about the environmental benefit provided when the product
is disposed of in a landfill, or (3) consumers misunderstand the
claim to mean that the package can be safely composted in their home
compost pile or device when, in fact, it cannot.