The best way to dispose of compostable items is to send them to an industrial or commercial composting facility where they will be broken down with the right mix of heat, germs and time. Otherwise, there is no solution other than composting or throwing them away at home.

Compostable plastics are designed to biodegrade into a soil conditioning material known as compost. Compostable plastics are generally made from some type of renewable raw material. Among them, cornstarch is one of the most common ingredients, but there are many other options as well. Compostable plastics are made into a polymer that looks like traditional plastic, regardless of what material the plastic is made of.

International organizations (for example, the American Testing and Materials Association, ASTM) have published regulations that must be met for a material to be labeled as commercially compostable. Broadly speaking, the main requirements are:

• It must be degradable by biological treatment in a commercial or industrial composting facility.
• The decomposition of the plastic should occur within 6 months at a rate similar to the other elements of the composted material.
• No toxic residue should be left that would adversely affect the finished compost's ability to support plant growth.

Various tests are carried out in advanced laboratories within the scope of international standards to determine these requirements. Here are a few of them:

• TS EN 13432 Packaging - Biodegradation and composting and recyclable packaging properties - Test stages and evaluation criteria for the final acceptance of the packaging
• TS EN 14046 Packaging - Evaluation of final aerobic biodegradability and degradation of packaging materials under controlled composting conditions - Analysis of released carbon dioxide
• TS EN ISO 11266 Soil quality - Laboratory test guide on the biodegradability of organic chemicals in soil under aerobic conditions
• TS EN 14045 Packaging - Evaluation of the degradation of packaging materials by tests for applications in defined composting conditions
• TS EN ISO 20200 Plastics - Determination of the degree of disintegration of plastic materials under conditions of decomposition simulated by laboratory scale testing
• TS EN ISO 16929 Plastic - Determination of the degree of degradation of plastic materials under defined composting conditions in a pilot scale test
• ASTM D5338-15 Standard test method for determining aerobic biodegradation of plastic materials under controlled composting conditions including thermophilic temperatures
• ASTM D5988-18 Standard test method for determining aerobic biodegradation of plastic materials in soil

Our organization always follows domestic and foreign standards, applicable legal regulations and generally accepted practices in certification and labeling studies, and also has a trained and experienced staff and advanced technological facilities. In this context, requesting businesses,It also provides compost certification and C-Label (Compost Labeling) compost labeling services.