If you make, buy, or sell so called eco friendly plastics, you have probably hit a wall of acronyms. EN13432, ASTM D6400, OK Compost, Seedling, BPI, DIN-Geprüft. They all sound official, and they are all different. Pick the wrong one and you can watch an export shipment get rejected, a tender fall through, or a product sit in a warehouse because a retailer will not stock it.
This is the guide I wish someone had handed me earlier. It covers what degradable materials actually are, how their breakdown gets measured, which test standards apply where, and the certification marks that carry real weight in each market. No filler, just the parts that decide whether your paperwork clears customs.
What counts as a degradable material
A degradable material, more precisely a compostable or biodegradable polymer, is one that lets microbes snap its molecular chains apart under defined conditions. Those conditions are usually industrial composting, home composting, soil, fresh water, or seawater, and they come with a defined timeframe. The end state is carbon dioxide, water, and microbial biomass. No plastic residue. No microplastics. No leftover toxicity in the environment.
That last point is the whole reason the category exists. The material is supposed to melt back into the natural cycle, not just fall into smaller pieces.
Two facts the industry keeps getting wrong
Sort these two out before you touch any certificate, because they trip up buyers who have been in the game for years.
Petroleum based plastics can be degradable. PBAT, PBS, and PCL all start life as petrochemical feedstocks, yet their molecular structure carries ester bonds that microbes can cleave enzymatically. They are legitimate biodegradable plastics. Saying made from oil does not mean it will not break down.
Bio based does not mean degradable. Bio based PE, bio based PET, and bio based nylon come from renewable feedstocks like sugarcane, but chemically they are the same as their conventional cousins and will not naturally degrade. They are bio based, full stop, not compostable.
So the two properties run on separate tracks. Bio based tells you where the raw material came from. Degradable tells you what happens to the finished product after you throw it away. A material can be one, the other, or both.
How degradability actually gets tested
Bio based content is measured with carbon 14 isotope analysis. Degradability is measured with microbial biochemical degradation tests. The mechanism is easy to picture once you have seen it.
Environmental microbes secrete specific enzymes that attack the long polymer chains, breaking the big molecules into smaller organic fragments. Those fragments get absorbed and metabolized by the microbes. Everything finally turns into CO2, water, and microbial cell mass. The material becomes inorganic.
Here is the trap most people walk into. Breaking into fragments, powdering, or weathering apart is not the same as degrading. A fair number of oxo degradable plastics on the market merely shatter into microplastics and never meet a proper degradation standard.
A real degradable certification checks four hard metrics at the same time. Degradation rate, meaning how much breaks down inside the test window. Complete disintegration, meaning no visible fragments left. Heavy metal limits, meaning residual metals stay within the legal bounds. And ecotoxicity, meaning the resulting compost must not harm plants or soil life.
The main testing standards by market
There is no single global standard, and pretending otherwise gets expensive. Different countries, different end uses, and different product forms, raw pellets versus finished goods, call for different methods. Choose based on where you actually sell.
| Target market | Standard | Notes |
| European Union, finished packaging, cutlery, films | EN 13432 | The benchmark for industrial compostability |
| EU, raw material pellets | EN 14995 | Used at the resin level |
| United States | ASTM D6400 | The core North American requirement |
| Australia, New Zealand | AS 4736 | Industrial composting, AS 5810 for home |
| South Korea | EL 724 | Environmental label for local retail and procurement |
| China, domestic sale, tenders | GB/T 38082, GB/T 41000 | For market entry and registration |
| Soil or sea contact products | Dedicated soil and marine tests | Mulch film, marine consumables |
The certification schemes buyers really trust
A test report is just evidence. What moves product through customs and onto shelves is a recognized third party mark. These are the schemes polymer and packaging suppliers run into most often.
OK Compost from TUV AUSTRIA
Same group behind the OK Biobased mark, and about as widely accepted as any scheme gets. It splits into two labels, OK Compost Industrial and OK Compost Home. The typical bar is at least 90 percent degradation within 180 days, full disintegration within 90 days, compliant heavy metals, and a pass on plant toxicity. It travels well across the EU and through international brand supply chains.
Seedling, the European seedling mark
Officially licensed by European Bioplastics and the closest thing the EU retail market has to a trust badge. The hard gate is simple: the product must fully meet EN 13432, with certification issued by bodies like DIN CERTCO or TUV AUSTRIA. Supermarkets and brands lean on it, counterfeits are rare, and it suits high end consumer packaging aimed at EU shelves.
DIN-Geprüft compostable
The mainstream mark across German speaking and Nordic markets, on the same EN 13432 and EN 14995 basis. Its practical draw is that the issuing body also runs the bio based DIN-Geprüft program, so a supplier can clear both bio based content and degradability in one pass. Industrial raw materials, automotive parts, and premium industrial packaging tend to rely on it.
BPI certification
The gateway into North America. It sits on ASTM D6400 for plastics and ASTM D6868 for coated paper plastic products. The feature worth noting is that BPI keeps a public, searchable product list, so a customer can check a certificate online in seconds. If you want U.S. or Canadian industrial compostable goods on municipal programs or big box shelves, this is the one.
ABAP, the AS 4736 mark in Australia
Built for Australia and New Zealand, and an EN 13432 certificate on its own will not necessarily get you in. Past the usual degradation tests, it forces an earthworm ecotoxicity test. That matters for films, shopping bags, and foodservice packaging heading to the region.
Korea EL 724 environmental label
A Korean government mark run by the Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute. It covers degradable trash bags, single use tableware, and agricultural film. Walk into a major Korean retailer or a local government procurement project without an EL 724 certificate and you will likely be turned away.
How to pick the right certification
Start with the destination, not the material. The questions write themselves.
Selling into the EU? EN 13432 plus Seedling or OK Compost. North America? ASTM D6400 and BPI. Australia or New Zealand? AS 4736 and the ABAP mark, with the earthworm test already booked. South Korea retail or public tenders? EL 724. China domestic, tenders, or registry? GB/T 38082 or GB/T 41000. Product touches soil or seawater? Add the matching soil or marine specific test.
Running export business on a single certificate is rarely enough. Map each target market to its required standard and mark, then book the testing early, because lead times and costs pile up faster than people expect.
The bottom line
Degradable is a performance claim, not a marketing phrase, and it has to be proven against the right standard for the right market. Keep the bio based versus degradable distinction straight, insist on all four hard metrics in any certificate, and match the mark to where you actually sell. Do that and certification stops being a confusing checklist and starts paying for itself.