Agreement expected to bolster credibility and capability of Compostable Logo program and enable BPI to expand its educational and marketing activities.

To handle a five-fold increase in compostable product certifications, the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) has announced that its Compostable Logo effort will now be administered by NSF International, a global certification organization. NSF will verify manufacturers’ claims of compostability in large-scale composting facilities.

During the certification process, companies submit products and testing data to substantiate the biodegradation, disintegration, and absence of eco-toxicity of their products, including compostable bags, foodservice items, packaging materials, and other consumer products. After certification, manufacturers, authorized distributors, and resellers may then license the BPI’s Compostable Logo for marketing claims.

NSF International will now accept and review certification requests to ensure that all BPI-certified products continue to meet ASTM D6400 or ASTM D6868 standards for compostability. Actual licensing and market development efforts will remain the responsibility of the BPI.

The new service agreement is designed to bolster the credibility and capability of the 10- year-old BPI Compostable Logo program, which has experienced unprecedented growth in recent years. By partnering with NSF, the BPI certification program will also comply with the requirements of ISO Guide 65, the internationally recognized standard for third-party certification bodies.

“The BPI Compostable Logo is widely recognized by consumers, composters, and municipal officials throughout North America as the preferred trademark to assure compostability in commercial facilities,” says Steven A. Mojo, BPI’s executive director. “As more companies recognize the importance and value of food-waste diversion and composting, coupled with the increasing importance of responsible environmental marketing claims about compostability, we anticipate even more growth in the years ahead.”

According to Mojo, this agreement will also enable the BPI to expand its educational and marketing activities for compostable products throughout North America. “While product certification is the foundation of BPI’s mission, our members look to us to act as a leading advocate for the key issues that face all manufacturers of compostable products in North America,” added Mojo. “This agreement allows BPI to handle more product certifications while expanding its reach to better serve the needs of our industry.”

The BPI awarded the first Compostable Logo in 2002 in an effort to distinguish compostable plastic applications from ones made of traditional nondegradable plastics. Since then more than 238 products have been certified by BPI by more than 130 global companies.