The Biodegradable Products Institute is the nonprofit certifier behind most "compostable" claims on foodware sold in North America. Its mark appears on cups, clamshells, cutlery and bags, and it is the certification that foodware ordinances such as Berkeley's name when they say takeout containers must be compostable. Because the mark is licensed and may only be shown by certified products, you will not see it on this page. What follows is what it stands for.
What certification tests
A certified product has been tested to the ASTM standards for compostability in a commercial facility: it breaks down within the time such a facility runs, leaves no toxic residue, and meets limits on heavy metals and on total fluorine, which is how the certification keeps PFAS-treated fibre out. The catalogue flags the small subset of products that are also certified for home composting.
What it does not promise
- That the item will break down in a landfill, in the sea or in a backyard heap, unless it carries the home-compostable flag.
- That your local composter will take it. Facilities set their own rules, and many accept only food scraps. The Compost Manufacturing Alliance, covered on its own page, tests products in real facilities for that reason.
- That the product is better than a reusable. It is not. Certification is about the least bad disposable.
How to use the catalogue
BPI's catalogue lists more than 50,000 certified items, searchable by product type, brand and material. Before buying a line of "compostable" cups, search for the exact product. A supplier's own leaf logo on the packaging is not the same as a listing, and the catalogue is the only way to check. Restaurants in Berkeley have to do this anyway. Everyone else should.