Position paper
Composting of packaging and products made from compostable or biodegradable plastics is no recycling Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V. Composting of packaging and products made from compostable or biodegradable plastics is no recycling
Initiated by Deutsche Umwelthilfe e. V. (DUH) and supported by Arbeitsgemeinschaft Stoffspezifische Ab-
fallbehandlung e. V. (ASA), Bundesverband der Deutschen Entsorgungs-, Wasser- und Rohstoffwirtschaft
e. V. (BDE), Bundesgütegemeinschaft Kompost e.V. (BGK), Federal Association for Secondary Raw Mate-
rials and Waste Management (BVSE), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Abfallwirtschaft e.V. (DGAW), Environ-
mental Coalition on Standards (ECOS), Ecopreneur, European Recycling Industries’ Confideration (EURIC)
AISBL, European Waste Management Association (FEAD), Verband der Humus- und Erdenwirtschaft e.V.
(VHE), Verband Kommunaler Unternehmen e.V. (VKU), #Wirfuerbio-Campaign
The terms “biodegradable” or “compostable” describe the property of plastics to degrade under biological
action and controlled conditions during composting, respectively. Packaging or Products labeled with
these terms must meet certain requirements that are specified in standards such as EN 13432:2000 or EN
14995:2006. We like to note that biodegradable/compostable plastics could be made from renewable
raw materials, but there are also many biobased plastics that are not degradable. This paper evaluates
degradable/compostable plastics and does not assess non-degradable plastics from renewable sources.