| Circular Economy

Biodegradable, Compostable or Bio-Based? What Every Business Needs to Know

Authored by

James Beard

Director of Circular Innovation

Reconomy

Last updated: 22 July 2026 at 8:03 am - 10 min read

Biodegradable, compostable and bio-based are not interchangeable terms. Biodegradable means a material can be broken down by microorganisms, with no fixed timeframe or environment. Compostable is a stricter, certified standard (EN 13432) requiring breakdown under controlled industrial conditions within set limits. Bio-based describes what a material is made from, not how it behaves at end of life.

Pick up almost any product today, and you’ll see one of these words on the packaging: biodegradable, compostable, bio-based, sometimes plant-based too. They get used as if they mean roughly the same thing. They don’t, and in 2026, getting them wrong is no longer just a labelling nitpick.

For procurement and packaging teams, the confusion has real consequences: the wrong material choice can trigger unexpected tax liability, higher EPR fees, or a Green Claims Code enforcement risk that carries fines of up to 10% of global turnover. This guide sets out what each term actually means, where UK and EU regulation now draws the lines, and what to check before you commit to a claim or a material.

What do biodegradable, compostable and bio-based actually mean?

Biodegradable

Biodegradable packaging is designed to break down through the action of bacteria and other microorganisms. The key problem is that the word “biodegradable” doesn’t specify a timeframe, temperature, or disposal conditions, so the speed and result can vary a lot depending on where the packaging actually ends up.

In practice, biodegradable materials may take a long time to fragment. Some biodegradable plastics can break down slowly over years, and they may disintegrate into smaller pieces rather than fully disappearing. That uncertainty is exactly why regulators and enforcement bodies focus on whether you can substantiate that your product biodegrades significantly faster than a conventional equivalent in the most likely end-of-life route.

It’s also worth noting that “biodegradable” isn’t a single, tightly defined packaging category under UK packaging law. The Advertising Standards Authority expects businesses to hold evidence for the performance behind the claim, based on your specific material and the real-world waste stream you’re relying on. If you can’t provide that product- and route-specific evidence, the claim may be treated as misleading.

Common materials marketed as biodegradable packaging include certain bioplastics and bioplastic blends (sometimes described as biodegradable bioplastics). But regardless of the material, the compliance point remains the same: you need proof of biodegradation performance in the disposal route you’re enabling, not just a general definition of the term.

Compostable

Compostable is the stricter, certified term. In the UK and EU, you can only describe packaging as compostable when it has been tested to EN 13432 and meets defined pass/fail criteria under controlled industrial composting conditions.

Timeframes matter. EN 13432 requires that (typically) at least 90% of the material disintegrates into fragments smaller than 2mm within 12 weeks, and that at least 90% biodegrades to carbon dioxide within six months. These performance limits are what make compostable products different from general “biodegradable” claims.

It’s also crucial to separate industrial composting from home composting. “Compostable” does not automatically mean it will work in a home compost bin. Home composting is less standardised (temperature, moisture, and processing vary), so a product certified for industrial facilities may break down slowly, incompletely, or unpredictably in a garden heap.

Common compostable products and materials include certain bioplastics (often referred to as bioplastics), such as PLA (polylactic acid), plus compostable blends and films designed for industrial composting. For compliance, the key step is always the same: check the EN 13432 certification (including what it covers) and confirm it matches the end-of-life route you’re claiming for your compostable products.

Bio-based

Describes where a material comes from, not what happens to it afterwards. A material is bio-based if it’s made partially or fully from biomass, such as cellulose, sugarcane or corn, rather than fossil fuels. Bio-based says nothing about biodegradability or the ability to compost. A bio-based plastic can behave identically to a conventional plastic at end of life.

One relationship worth remembering: all compostable plastics are biodegradable, but not all biodegradable plastics are compostable. Compostable is a subset of biodegradable, not a synonym for it.

Why these terms get confused, and why that’s a problem

The confusion isn’t accidental. “Biodegradable” has spent years doing marketing work it was never designed to do, appearing on packaging and product pages as a general reassurance rather than a technical claim. Regulators have started treating that gap between the word and the evidence as the problem it is.

The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld multiple recent complaints over exactly this. In one case, a supplier’s dog waste bags were marketed as biodegradable, but were made from oxo-biodegradable polyethylene which wouldn’t break down in the oxygen-starved environment of a typical waste bin. In another, an electric toothbrush brand claimed its products were “100% biodegradable materials” without clarifying that this only applied to some components, not all of them. Two 2025 rulings concerned “compostable” claims on coffee pods and coffee bags, where the ASA found consumers would reasonably assume home compostability that the evidence didn’t support.

The pattern across these cases is consistent: a true but incomplete claim, applied without the conditions and timeframe that make it meaningful, misleads by omission.

The legal risk: the UK Green Claims Code

The Competition and Markets Authority’s Green Claims Code treats a bare “biodegradable” claim as likely to be misleading unless the business specifies the circumstances and timeframe in which the material will actually break down. New guidance was released in January 2026, and it now sits alongside a much sharper enforcement power: the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 allows the CMA to issue direct fines of up to 10% of a business’s global annual turnover for misleading environmental claims, without needing to go through the courts first.

That combination changes the calculation for any business using these terms on packaging or in marketing. If your business cannot point to a specific certification that defines what “biodegradable” or “compostable” means for a given product, the safest position is not to use the word at all.

How these materials are treated under UK and EU packaging compliance

Beyond advertising risk, these material choices now carry direct financial and regulatory consequences.

Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT)

“Biodegradable” is not a recognised PPT category and doesn’t affect tax liability either way. PLA, one of the most common compostable bioplastics, is classed as plastic under PPT and is taxable at the standard rate regardless of its compostability certification, unless it contains at least 30% recycled plastic content, which very few compostable PLA products do. By contrast, genuinely non-plastic alternatives such as bagasse, kraft paper and moulded fibre fall outside PPT entirely, since they aren’t plastic under the tax’s definition.

Extended Producer Responsibility and the Recyclability Assessment Methodology

Under the traffic-light system used to set UK EPR fees from 2026, packaging that isn’t widely recyclable in existing UK infrastructure is rated red and attracts a fee uplift, confirmed to rise from 20% in 2026 to 60% in 2027 and 100% in 2028. Biodegradable plastics typically fail to achieve a green rating, since they don’t behave as standard recyclable material in current sorting and reprocessing systems. Certified compostable packaging isn’t automatically exempt either: current guidance classifies it as not recyclable under the assessment methodology, even where it’s genuinely EN 13432 certified.

Learn Extended Producer Responsibility

PPWR for EU-facing packaging

The EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation applies from 12 August 2026 and on 12th February 2028, it willintroduce a much tighter framework for compostability claims, requiring certification against harmonised standards and restricting compostable claims to specific, approved applications. For UK businesses exporting into the EU, an uncertified compostability claim on packaging risks rejection at the border, not just an advertising complaint at home.

Reconomy’s specialist brands support businesses working through exactly this kind of overlapping obligation. Our EPR for packaging service covers registration, reporting and fee exposure across UK schemes.

Learn about PPWR

Biodegradable vs compostable vs bio-based: a quick comparison

 

Biodegradable Compostable Bio-based
What it tells you Can be broken down by microorganisms Certified to break down under EN 13432 industrial conditions What the material is made from
Regulated definition? No fixed UK legal definition Yes, EN 13432 Describes origin only
Says anything about end of life? Vaguely, no timeframe Yes, specific conditions and timescale No
PPT liability Not a recognised category PLA still taxable unless 30%+ recycled content Depends on the material, not the bio-based label
EPR/RAM treatment Typically rated red (fee uplift) Currently classed as not recyclable Depends on the specific material

 

What this means for procurement and packaging teams

A few practical checks before committing to a material or a claim:

  • Don’t use “biodegradable” on packaging or in marketing unless you can point to a specific certification and a stated timeframe and environment. An unqualified claim is a Green Claims Code risk.
  • Check EN 13432 certification directly before using “compostable” anywhere, and confirm whether it covers industrial or home composting, they’re not the same thing.
  • Check PPT liability separately from compostability. A material can be fully certified compostable and still be fully taxable as plastic.
  • Factor in the genuine cost premium. Compostable packaging typically costs 20 to 60% more per unit than conventional plastic equivalents, so the business case needs to be made deliberately, not assumed.
  • Check how a material is likely to be rated under the Recyclability Assessment Methodology before switching, since a well-intentioned move to a “greener” material can increase EPR fees rather than reduce them.

It’s also worth setting expectations with customers realistically. A recent UK survey of over 2,000 adults found that only 27% had intentionally bought a compostable-packaged product in the past year, and 45% doubted whether the items they’d used actually broke down as claimed. Confusion about these terms isn’t just a compliance issue; it affects whether customers trust the claim at all.

If you’re reviewing packaging materials against upcoming EPR and PPWR obligations, Reconomy’s environmental compliance team can help you work through the regulatory exposure before you commit to a switch.

FAQs

Biodegradable means a material can be broken down by microorganisms, with no fixed timeframe or environment specified. Compostable is a certified standard (EN 13432) that requires a material to disintegrate and biodegrade within set limits under controlled industrial composting conditions. All compostable materials are biodegradable, but not all biodegradable materials are compostable.

“Biodegradable packaging” only describes end-of-life behaviour. It doesn’t automatically tell you whether the material is suitable for food contact, or whether it meets the specific safety requirements that apply to food packaging in the UK and EU.

If you’re considering eco friendly packaging for products that touch food, you should ask for food-contact compliance documentation for the exact packaging components (including inks, coatings, adhesives and any additives). In practice, that means checking that the supplier can evidence compliance with the relevant food contact rules and that the packaging is fit for the intended use, such as the type of food, temperature range, and contact duration.

A biodegradable claim can still be valid, but it must be supported separately from food safety. Don’t assume that because a material is biodegradable packaging, it’s also safe for food contact or suitable for your specific application.

Bio-based packaging is made partially or fully from biomass, such as cellulose, sugarcane or corn, rather than fossil fuels. It describes where the material comes from, not how it behaves at end of life. A bio-based plastic isn’t automatically biodegradable or compostable, and can require the same disposal route as a conventional plastic.

No. Biodegradability isn’t a recognised category under the Plastic Packaging Tax and doesn’t affect tax liability. Materials like PLA remain classed as plastic and are taxable regardless of biodegradable or compostable certification, unless they contain at least 30% recycled plastic content.

No, compostable packaging shouldn’t go into standard recycling streams. It’s designed to be composted under specific conditions, not mechanically recycled, and mixing it into recycling can contaminate the process. Current UK guidance also classifies certified compostable packaging as not recyclable under the Recyclability Assessment Methodology used to set EPR fees.

“Biodegradable packaging” describes what may happen in the presence of microorganisms, but it doesn’t automatically mean the material is suitable for standard recycling streams. In most UK waste systems, recycling is designed around mechanical sorting and reprocessing of conventional plastics and paper fibres, so a biodegradable packaging item can still be treated as non-recyclable if it doesn’t behave like the materials the system is set up to process.

From a waste handling perspective, the key risk is contamination: if biodegradable packaging is placed in recycling, it may not be recovered as a useful output and can interfere with sorting, washing or reprocessing. That means the safest approach is to check the supplier’s evidence for the most likely disposal route in your specific market, and align your customer-facing instructions with what local waste operators can actually accept.

If you’re making or reviewing a biodegradable packaging claim, remember that “biodegradable packaging” is an end-of-life behaviour statement, not a recycling guarantee. Your waste guidance should be clear about where the item belongs, and your internal compliance checks should confirm the expected waste route before you scale the rollout.

Certified compostable packaging is made to break down in an industrial composting facility, where key conditions- temperature, moisture and controlled processing- are monitored to support reliable disintegration and biodegradation.

In the UK, most household waste and recycling collections are not set up for industrial composting. That means compostable packaging should not be treated as a “bin it anywhere” option, and it shouldn’t be assumed that it will compost correctly in general waste, garden bins, or mixed recycling streams.

To prevent contamination and misleading end-of-life outcomes, only direct compostable items to the specific waste route your local authority or waste operator can accept. Without the right infrastructure and conditions, breakdown can be incomplete, slow or unpredictable, so the packaging may persist as litter or be handled as non-compostable waste.

EN 13432 is the European standard used to certify packaging as industrially compostable. It sets out testing criteria including disintegration (at least 90% of material fragmenting to under 2mm within 12 weeks) and biodegradation (at least 90% converting to carbon dioxide within six months), along with limits on heavy metals and any negative impact on the resulting compost.

From 12 August 2026, the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation requires any compostability claim on EU-market packaging to be backed by certification to harmonised standards, and restricts such claims to specific approved applications. UK businesses exporting into the EU with uncertified compostability claims risk their packaging being rejected at the border.

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