3 Types of Certification Standards for Biodegradable Packaging Materials - Compostable/Degradable/Recyclable, Printing Factories' Real Accounts of Customer Inquiries 'Can You Pass?'

The owner of a printing factory in Wuxi, Old Wu, received an inquiry in June 2025 from a chain milk tea brand for 30,000 PLA-coated paper cups, with the labels to be printed with the words "degradable", "compostable", and "environmentally friendly". The customer asked, "Can your printed cups pass the degradation certification?" Old Wu was momentarily at a loss for an answer – he knew that the paper of the cups was recycled and the coating was PLA, but the standards behind the certifications of "degradable", "compostable", and "recyclable" were completely different, and the paths to compliance were also different.

Category 1: Compostable – The Strictest, Most Expensive, and Most Marketable

Compostable certification answers the question "How many days does this material take to degrade into water, carbon dioxide, and minerals under industrial composting conditions?" – it refers to industrial composting, not home composting. The internationally accepted standards are ASTM D6400 (USA), EN 13432 (EU), AS/NZS 4736 (Australia/New Zealand), and the Chinese counterpart is GB/T 19277.1.

Compostable certification path: The printing factory does not conduct the tests themselves but relies on the third-party compostable certification certificate provided by the supplier (issued by institutions such as DIN Certco, TÜV, NSF, Biodegradable Products Institute, etc.). One certification certificate is valid for 3-5 years, and suppliers need to retest annually.

The real cost is borne by the PLA-coated paper cup supplier – they need to make the finished cups with paper + coating + glue + ink and test them according to ASTM D6400. One report costs 30,000-50,000 yuan and takes 6-9 months. When the customer audits the factory, the printing factory needs to show this report, not the report for the PLA raw material, but the report for the finished cup – this is the detail that customers most easily overlook.

Old Wu said, "When the customer asks if you can pass the compostable certification, I say yes – but actually, it's my supplier that can pass, not my printing factory. My printing factory just prints the words 'compostable' on the materials certified by the supplier."

Category 2: Biodegradable – The Most Lenient Standards, Most Easily Abused

Biodegradable certification answers the question "How many days does it take for this material to be decomposed by microorganisms in soil/compost/water?" – it is much more lenient than compostable certification. The standards for biodegradability are ASTM D5988 (soil degradation), ISO 17556 (soil degradation), GB/T 19276.1 (soil degradation), and generally only require a degradation rate of ≥60% within 180 days.

Connection path: The supplier provides the biodegradation test report, and the printing factory deals with the use of the words "biodegradable" on the label. However, it should be noted: China's "plastic restriction order" issued in 2020 clearly requires that by the end of 2020, the production and sale of six types of plastic products such as "disposable foamed plastic tableware" and "disposable plastic straws" will be banned nationwide, and the corresponding "degradable plastics" must be tested according to GB/T 19276 or GB/T 19277.

The term "biodegradable" in packaging is the most easily abused – many printing factory customers casually say "our material is biodegradable", but it is actually just modified PE with added starch, which takes 100 years to degrade completely when buried in the soil, and is not considered truly biodegradable. Printing factories receiving such orders should proactively ask the customer, "Has your material passed GB/T 19276? What is the degradation rate? 180 days or 365 days?" If the customer cannot answer, the printing factory should not print the words "biodegradable" on the packaging.

Category 3: Recyclable – The Most Frequently Asked by Customers, But the Least Costly for Printing Factories

Recyclable certification answers the question "Can this material be recycled and regenerated by the recycling system?" – it refers to structural recycling, not degradation. The corresponding standards are GB/T 18455 (China), ISO 14021 (International), ASTM D5488 (USA), EN 17130 (EU).

Connection path: The printing factory prints the recyclable triangle mark (Möbius loop) on the packaging, according to the regulations of GB/T 18455 – the number inside the triangle indicates the recycling level of the material (1=PET, 2=HDPE, 3=PVC, 4=LDPE, 5=PP, 6=PS, 7=Other), and the printing factory needs to choose the correct number according to the customer's material.

The real cost is for the "recyclability of composite materials" – for example, paper-plastic composite (paper + PE coating) printing factories need to make it clear: the main body of the cup is paper, but the inner layer PE film cannot be recycled and separated. In this case, the printing factory should suggest that the customer switch to single-layer coated paper (without PE coating) or water-based coated paper, otherwise, printing any triangle mark is incorrect.

Old Wu said, "The recyclable triangle mark is frequently asked by customers, but the cost for our printing factory is the lowest – it's just the cost of designing the triangle mark plate, 200-500 yuan. But the real expense is if the customer's material is wrong, the printed recycling mark is fake, and if found by the market supervision department, the fine is 10,000-50,000 yuan."

The Cost Differences Behind the 3 Types of Certifications

Printing factory owner Old Wu provided these 3 types of beverage cups for the milk tea customer, and the real cost differences behind the 3 types of certifications are:

• Compostable certification: 30,000-50,000 CNY per single SKU one-time test (PLA-coated paper cup) + 5,000-10,000 CNY/year for printing factory coordination fee. Each time the customer changes the cup type, it needs to be retested.
• Biodegradable certification: 10,000-30,000 CNY per single SKU test (starch-based plastic) + 3,000-5,000 CNY/year for printing factory coordination. If it's just modifying PE with added starch, the printing factory suggests that the customer not print the "biodegradable" mark.
• Recyclable certification: 2,000-10,000 CNY/year (triangle mark plate + logo design fee). The conventional cost for the printing factory is mainly compliance verification.

The difference is 10-50 times. But the customer's product positioning is different – the milk tea chain selling the "environmental" selling point must have compostable certification, while industrial packaging with the "recyclable" label only needs the triangle mark. The first thing the printing factory should do when receiving an order is to distinguish which type of selling point the customer is selling.

How Should the Printing Factory Answer the Customer's "Can You Pass?"

The correct answer is in 3 steps:

1. Ask the customer back: Which of the "compostable", "biodegradable", or "recyclable" selling points does your product want to promote?
2. If the customer says "compostable": Ask the customer to provide the supplier's GB/T 19277.1 / ASTM D6400 / EN 13432 report, and verify that the sample on the report is the "finished cup" and not the "raw material PLA".
3. If the customer says "recyclable": Confirm whether the customer's material structure is single-layer recyclable (not paper-plastic composite, not multi-layer co-extruded film), and if it is a composite material, suggest changing the material or removing the triangle mark.

After these 3 steps, both the customer and the printing factory will have a clear understanding of their contract. This is also the 3 types of questions that the customer's QA will ask the printing factory during the factory audit – it's not that the printing factory can pass just because they say they can, it's the supplier's certification + the printing factory's coordination.

Extended Reading

• 4 Types of Certification Standards for Degradable Packaging
• 4 Types of Environmental Certification for Packaging FSC/CFCC/PEFC
• 3 Types of Implementation Boundaries for PLA Coated Paper Cups
• 4 Types of Implementation Gaps in Packaging Recycling Labels