Audit & Certification
TÜV AUSTRIA Websites > TÜV AUSTRIA English > Solution > Sustainability > OK compost HOME Solution: OK compost HOME Audit & Certification Solution: OK compost HOME OK Certification Center OK Certification Center Wingepark 41 3110 Rotselaar Belgium +32 2 532 29 11 Send email Wingepark 41 3110 Rotselaar Belgium Save to My Bundle OK Certification Center Save to My Bundle TÜV AUSTRIA Certification Scheme: OK compost HOME In which region do you need this solution? All regions "OK compost HOME is a certification scheme for products that are degradable in home composting. It is the basis of several standards." As an environment-friendly company, you bring compostable and biodegradable products onto the market. But how do you gain credibility when there are so many players, both reliable and unreliable? TÜV AUSTRIA’s OK environment product verification marks are the only ones of their kind to offer a customized certification label for each biodegradation environment. These labels both consistently complement each and are extensible. OK compost HOME Owing to the comparatively smaller volume of waste involved, the temperature in a garden compost heap is clearly lower and less constant than in an industrial composting environment. This is why composting in the garden is a more difficult, slower-paced process. TÜV AUSTRIA’s innovative answer to this challenge was to develop OK compost HOME to guarantee complete biodegradability in the light of specific requirements, even in your garden compost heap. OK compost HOME is not based on a standard but is the basis for several standards! It seems important to remember that the OK compost HOME certification program does not explicitly refer to a specific standard but details all the technical requirements that a product must meet in order to obtain the certification. It should also be remembered that, as a pioneer in this field, the requirements of the OK compost HOME programme, defined in 2003 and never questioned since then, have served as the basis for the drafting of several standards such as: Australia: AS 5810 (2010) – Biodegradable plastics – Biodegradable plastics suitable for home composting France: NF T 51800 (2015) – Plastics – Specifications for plastics suitable for home composting Europe: prEN 17427 (2020) – Packaging — Requirements and test scheme for carrier bags suitable for treatment in well-managed home composting installations Compostability Composting can reduce the volume of organic waste quite significantly, while the compost produced can be used for agricultural and horticultural purposes. About 50% of all domestic waste comprises organic material, a percentage that is set to grow in the future owing to the growing popularity of biodegradable products (packaging material, disposable cutlery and plates, …). What is the difference between “OK compost INDUSTRIAL” and “OK compost HOME”? Products that are solely OK compost INDUSTRIAL-certified are those that compost only in industrial composting facilities (at temperatures between 55 to 60°C), so products that are solely OK compost INDUSTRIAL-certified should not go into the garden compost. Conversely, OK compost HOME refers to products that also compost at lower temperatures, so they can go into the compost heap in your garden at home, hence the title “HOME”. Is there any difference between “biodegradable” and “compostable”? People often get “biodegradable” and “compostable” mixed up but they do not mean the same thing. A biodegradable product may be broken down by microorganisms but this does not necessarily imply that the product can be converted into good quality compost. Biodegradability and compostability rely heavily on the environment where the product is broken down. As each environment (compost, soil, water, …) has different temperatures and microorganisms, the speed of the biodegradation process may vary from one site to another. For example, bioplastics which are biodegradable in an industrial composting plant (the most aggressive atmosphere regime) are not always biodegradable in water or soil, or even in a compost bin in the garden (owing to the lower temperatures). What tests are required to qualify for an OK compost INDUSTRIAL certificate? The European Norm about compostability of packaging (EN 13432) requires (besides a clear and detailed description of the product) 4 tests: test on biodegradation (chemical break down of the polymer of fibres) test on disintegration (physically falling apart of the product in small fragments) test on ecotoxicity (test if the composted product does not exert any negative effect on plants) test on heavy metals content NOTE – Biodegradation, ecotoxicity and heavy metal content are characteristics of the material, whereas disintegration is a characteristic of the material and shape (final product). More Tags: 94/62/EC AS 5810 Bioplastic Carrier bag Certification Certification Body Certification logo Compost Compost heap Compostability Composting Consumer Degradability<Disposable plastic EN 13432 Foodstuffs Garden Green Marks Handel HOME Home composting Household Household compost Material NF T 51800 OK compost Organic Packaging Packaging Directive Plastic prEN 17427 Product Product certification Supermarket Sustainability Temperature Trade & Commerce Related solutions from the same sector: Trade & Commerce Seedling Sustainability Show more Save to my Bundle OK biodegradable Sustainability Show more Save to my Bundle OK vegan Sustainability Show more Save to my Bundle OK compost INDUSTRIAL Sustainability Show more Save to my Bundle All Solutions Discover more sectors: Agriculture Automotive Certification Communications Technology Construction & Real Estate Electronics Energy Foodstuffs Health & Medicine Industry IT & Security Leisure & Entertainment Machinery Municipalities Science & Research Sports & Fitness Sustainability Tourism Transport & Traffic OK Certification Center +32 2 532 29 11 \| okcert@tuv-a.com
OK Certification Center +32 2 532 29 11 \| okcert@tuv-a.com

TÜV AUSTRIA Websites > TÜV AUSTRIA English > Solution > Sustainability > OK compost HOME

Solution: OK compost HOME

Audit & Certification

OK Certification Center

Wingepark 41 3110 Rotselaar Belgium

+32 2 532 29 11

Send email

TÜV AUSTRIA Certification Scheme: OK compost HOME

In which region do you need this solution?

All regions

"OK compost HOME is a certification scheme for products that are degradable in home composting. It is the basis of several standards."

As an environment-friendly company, you bring compostable and biodegradable products onto the market. But how do you gain credibility when there are so many players, both reliable and unreliable? TÜV AUSTRIA’s OK environment product verification marks are the only ones of their kind to offer a customized certification label for each biodegradation environment. These labels both consistently complement each and are extensible.

OK compost HOME

Owing to the comparatively smaller volume of waste involved, the temperature in a garden compost heap is clearly lower and less constant than in an industrial composting environment. This is why composting in the garden is a more difficult, slower-paced process.

TÜV AUSTRIA’s innovative answer to this challenge was to develop OK compost HOME to guarantee complete biodegradability in the light of specific requirements, even in your garden compost heap.

OK compost HOME is not based on a standard but is the basis for several standards!

It seems important to remember that the OK compost HOME certification program does not explicitly refer to a specific standard but details all the technical requirements that a product must meet in order to obtain the certification. It should also be remembered that, as a pioneer in this field, the requirements of the OK compost HOME programme, defined in 2003 and never questioned since then, have served as the basis for the drafting of several standards such as:

Australia: AS 5810 (2010) – Biodegradable plastics – Biodegradable plastics suitable for home composting
France: NF T 51800 (2015) – Plastics – Specifications for plastics suitable for home composting
Europe: prEN 17427 (2020) – Packaging — Requirements and test scheme for carrier bags suitable for treatment in well-managed home composting installations

Compostability

Composting can reduce the volume of organic waste quite significantly, while the compost produced can be used for agricultural and horticultural purposes. About 50% of all domestic waste comprises organic material, a percentage that is set to grow in the future owing to the growing popularity of biodegradable products (packaging material, disposable cutlery and plates, …).

What is the difference between “OK compost INDUSTRIAL” and “OK compost HOME”?

Products that are solely OK compost INDUSTRIAL-certified are those that compost only in industrial composting facilities (at temperatures between 55 to 60°C), so products that are solely OK compost INDUSTRIAL-certified should not go into the garden compost.

Conversely, OK compost HOME refers to products that also compost at lower temperatures, so they can go into the compost heap in your garden at home, hence the title “HOME”.

Is there any difference between “biodegradable” and “compostable”?

People often get “biodegradable” and “compostable” mixed up but they do not mean the same thing. A biodegradable product may be broken down by microorganisms but this does not necessarily imply that the product can be converted into good quality compost.
Biodegradability and compostability rely heavily on the environment where the product is broken down. As each environment (compost, soil, water, …) has different temperatures and microorganisms, the speed of the biodegradation process may vary from one site to another.
For example, bioplastics which are biodegradable in an industrial composting plant (the most aggressive atmosphere regime) are not always biodegradable in water or soil, or even in a compost bin in the garden (owing to the lower temperatures).

What tests are required to qualify for an OK compost INDUSTRIAL certificate?

The European Norm about compostability of packaging (EN 13432) requires (besides a clear and detailed description of the product) 4 tests:
test on biodegradation (chemical break down of the polymer of fibres)
test on disintegration (physically falling apart of the product in small fragments)
test on ecotoxicity (test if the composted product does not exert any negative effect on plants)
test on heavy metals content

NOTE – Biodegradation, ecotoxicity and heavy metal content are characteristics of the material, whereas disintegration is a characteristic of the material and shape (final product).