Biodegradable Claims: What US Sellers Must Prove Before the Word Goes on a Listing

If you want to call a product biodegradable, compostable, or recyclable in the US, the question is not whether the word sounds accurate. The question is whether you can show what happens to the entire item after a customer disposes of it, in the place where that customer actually disposes of it, and whether your listing says enough for a reasonable shopper to understand the limit.

Those are the three moving parts the Federal Trade Commission's Green Guides keep returning to: the item, the disposal route, and the evidence behind the claim. The guides live at 16 CFR part 260. They are the FTC's current interpretation of how Section 5 of the FTC Act applies to environmental marketing, not a standalone rule that binds the Commission or the public. The FTC still has to prove a claim is deceptive, but the guides describe how it evaluates one, and states can go further.

This guide is written for the people who actually publish the words: Amazon and DTC sellers, private-label brands, TikTok Shop sellers, and the creators and ad teams who repeat the claim on camera. It covers what each of the three claims requires, the two numeric tests most listings miss, and a review pass you can run before the copy goes live.

Start with three questions, not a word list

Environmental claims fail for boring reasons. The packaging supplier sent a certificate for a film, the brand put the claim on a finished mailer with a plastic tape strip, and nobody checked whether the certificate covered the assembled item. Or the claim was true in a commercial composting facility, but the listing said "compostable" with no qualifier and most customers do not have access to one.

Before you touch the copy, answer these:

1. What is the claimed item? The product, the package, a component, or the service? The guides treat an unqualified claim as covering the whole thing unless the context makes the scope clear.
2. Where does it customarily go? Curbside recycling, a store drop-off, a home compost pile, a municipal composting program, or the trash. The answer changes the evidence you need.
3. What is in the file? Test reports, certification scope, supplier data, and the date. A logo on a spec sheet is not the same as a certificate covering this item and this claim.

The guides apply to labeling, advertising, promotional materials, and "all other forms of marketing in any medium," including words, symbols, logos, depictions, and brand names. They also apply to business-to-business marketing, which matters if you are a supplier writing claims for your retail customers to reuse.

Biodegradable, compostable, and recyclable are three different tests

The words are often used as synonyms in product development and as separate legal concepts in marketing review. They are not interchangeable.

Biodegradable: the one-year test most listings miss

Section 260.8 treats "degradable," "biodegradable," "oxo-degradable," "oxo-biodegradable," and "photodegradable" under the same framework. An unqualified degradable claim needs evidence that the entire item will completely break down and return to nature within a reasonably short period of time after customary disposal.

The sharper rule is the one-year line. An unqualified degradable claim for items entering the solid waste stream is deceptive if the item does not completely decompose within one year after customary disposal. The guides then say something that catches a lot of packaging teams: unqualified degradable claims for items customarily disposed of in landfills, incinerators, and recycling facilities are deceptive, because those locations do not present the conditions for complete decomposition within one year.

In practice, that means the landfill is the wrong place to make an unqualified biodegradability argument. A material can be bio-based, made from plants, or tested in soil and still fail the claim as written, because the customer's customary disposal route is a landfill or a curbside bin. If the item is designed for a specific disposal route, the claim has to be qualified about the ability to degrade in that environment and about the rate and extent of degradation.

One more distinction worth keeping straight: bio-based and biodegradable are not the same claim. A product can be made partly from plants and still not break down in the conditions the claim implies. The guides test the outcome, not the feedstock.

Compostable: home pile, commercial facility, or neither

Section 260.7 requires evidence that all the materials in the item will break down into, or otherwise become part of, usable compost in a safe and timely manner. Timely means approximately the same time as the materials with which it is composted. That "all materials" language is why tape, labels, windows, and coatings matter: a compostable film wrapped around a non-compostable label is not a compostable package.

Qualification is the second half of the test. The guides say a marketer should clearly and prominently qualify a compostable claim when the item cannot be composted safely or in a timely manner in a home compost pile or device, or when the claim would mislead about the benefit if the item goes to landfill. They also require qualification when municipal or institutional composting facilities are not available to a substantial majority of consumers or communities where the item is sold.

The FTC's own examples are useful here. An unbleached coffee filter can carry an unqualified compostable claim if it breaks down safely and promptly in a home pile, because facility access is irrelevant. A nationally marketed lawn bag needs a qualifier such as "appropriate facilities may not exist in your area" when those programs are not available to a substantial majority of the communities where the bag is sold.

Recyclable: the 60 percent access rule

Section 260.12 says a product or package should not be marketed as recyclable unless it can be collected, separated, or otherwise recovered through an established recycling program. The claim is about the system as much as the material.

The number to remember is 60. When recycling facilities are available to a substantial majority of consumers or communities where the item is sold, the guides define "substantial majority" as at least 60 percent, and an unqualified claim is appropriate. Below that, the claim needs a clear and prominent qualifier, such as "this product may not be recyclable in your area" or "recycling facilities for this product may not exist in your area." When access is very limited, the qualifier has to be stronger.

Scope matters too. An unqualified recyclable claim can cover the entire product or package only when everything except minor incidental components is recyclable. If a component significantly limits the ability to recycle the item, the claim is deceptive. A bottle with a non-recyclable cap may still be fine because the cap is incidental; a pump that no program accepts may not be.

Product or package? Say which one

Section 260.3 requires an environmental claim to specify whether it refers to the product, the package, a service, or just a portion, unless the context makes it clear. The guides use a shower curtain in a plastic package as an example: an unqualified "recyclable" label is deceptive if either the curtain or the package, beyond minor incidental parts, cannot be recycled.

This is one of the easiest problems to fix and one of the most common to miss. "Recyclable carton" is ambiguous if the carton is recyclable but the pump is not. "Recyclable packaging" is ambiguous if the outer box is recyclable and the inner pouch is not. Say what is recyclable, where, and what the customer should do with the rest.

Seals, certifications, and the "eco-friendly" problem

A certification can help, but it does not transfer the obligation. Section 260.6(c) says third-party certification does not eliminate the marketer's obligation to have substantiation for all claims the certification reasonably communicates. Section 260.6(d) adds that a seal without a clear basis likely conveys a general environmental benefit, which is very difficult to substantiate.

That is the trap with broad wording such as "eco-friendly," "green," or "sustainable." General environmental benefit claims are hard to support because they imply a broad benefit rather than one verified attribute. If you want to keep the selling point, replace the general claim with the specific one you can prove: recycled content percentage, fiber source, recyclability in a named program, or a certification with a scope you can explain.

Also check what the logo actually means. A membership mark is not a certification mark. A certification for an ingredient is not a certification for the finished package. A certificate that expired last year is not evidence for this year's listing.

State law can be stricter: California's example

The Green Guides do not preempt state law, and compliance with one does not automatically satisfy the other. California is the clearest example for consumer packaged goods.

CalRecycle's truth-in-labeling page states that California law restricts marketing with terms such as "recyclable," "biodegradable," and "compostable," and it sets specific requirements for compostable products under Public Resources Code sections 42355 through 42358.5. Among other things, compostable plastic products must meet ASTM D6400-19, compostable plastic-coated fiber products must meet ASTM D6868-19, and anything labeled "home compostable" must be certified to the OK compost HOME requirements. Compostable consumer products also have to meet a total organic fluorine limit of less than 100 parts per million and be labeled in a way that distinguishes them from non-compostable products.

If you sell nationwide, build the review around the strictest market you ship to, not the average one. The California page is a useful checklist because it converts a general marketing claim into a documentation and labeling exercise.

A five-pass review before the claim goes live

Run this on every claim surface, not just the product page. That includes the title and bullets, A+ or brand-story modules, image text, packaging artwork, paid ads, creator briefs, and the scripts creators actually read on camera.

The most useful output of this review is not a banned-word list. It is an approved claim sheet: the exact sentence you will use, the evidence file behind it, the qualifier that goes with it, and the surfaces where it is allowed.

Four rewrites that keep the selling point

These are hypothetical examples, not approvals for any product. Each rewrite assumes you hold the evidence the new sentence requires.

Before: "100% biodegradable poly mailer."
After: "Reusable poly mailer. Reuse it, or check store drop-off for plastic film recycling where available."
Why: The original makes an unqualified degradability claim for an item that typically ends up in landfill or a recycling stream, where the one-year test is not met. The rewrite sells durability and gives a real disposal path, but only if the drop-off statement is true in the markets you serve.

Before: "Compostable mailer."
After: "Home compostable mailer, certified to OK compost HOME. Remove the paper label before composting."
Why: The qualifier and certificate answer the two questions the guides ask: where it composts, and whether all materials break down. The label instruction addresses a component that could otherwise fail the "all materials" test.

Before: "Recyclable pouch."
After: "Not accepted in curbside recycling. Return to a store drop-off point where available."
Why: If curbside access is below the 60 percent threshold, an unqualified recyclable claim is the problem. An accurate disposal instruction keeps the customer experience honest without pretending the pouch is curbside recyclable.

Before: "Eco-friendly packaging."
After: "Shipping box made with 60% post-consumer recycled fiber and recyclable in curbside programs where available."
Why: The general benefit claim becomes two specific attributes. Each one needs its own support: a supplier declaration or test for the recycled content, and an access check for the recyclability qualifier.

What a copy check can and cannot do

A text review can catch the patterns that predict trouble: unqualified degradable claims, "compostable" with no facility or home-compost qualifier, "recyclable" with no access statement, general "eco-friendly" wording, and seals used as proof. It can also flag the mismatch between a bold claim in the title and a quiet qualifier buried in the bullets.

It cannot read your test report, confirm that a certificate covers the assembled item, verify that 60 percent of your customers have curbside access, or decide whether a specific package is compostable. Those are file and engineering questions. ByeRisk's ecommerce listing checks and TikTok Shop claim checker help with the wording layer; the platform or regulator still makes the final call.

For a related example of how evidence and copy interact, see the cosmetic claims substantiation guide. For fiber-specific labeling rules that often sit next to green claims, see bamboo rayon labeling.

Frequently asked questions

Is "biodegradable" banned in the US?

There is no general federal ban on the word. The problem is an unqualified claim that the entire item decomposes within a year in a disposal route where it does not. Some states impose their own restrictions, and California's labeling rules are stricter than the federal baseline for several environmental terms.

Can I say "compostable" if it only breaks down in a commercial facility?

You can, but the claim needs to be clearly and prominently qualified so shoppers understand that home composting is not suitable and that facility access may be limited. You also need evidence that all materials in the item become usable compost safely and in a timely manner in that setting.

When can I use "recyclable" without a qualifier?

When recycling facilities are available to a substantial majority of consumers or communities where the item is sold, which the Green Guides define as at least 60 percent, and when the entire item except minor incidental components is recyclable. Otherwise, qualify the claim and name the access limit.

Does a certification make the claim compliant?

No. A third-party certification does not eliminate your obligation to substantiate the claims the certification communicates, and a seal that does not explain its basis may imply a general environmental benefit that is difficult to support. Check the certificate's scope, holder, and expiration date against the exact claim and item.

Do the Green Guides apply to creator videos and ads?

Yes. The guides apply to labeling, advertising, promotional materials, and all other forms of marketing in any medium, including words, symbols, logos, and depictions. A creator repeating "biodegradable" in a video is making the same claim as the listing, and the qualifier needs to travel with it.

Sources

• Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 16 CFR part 260, Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims. Reviewed October 19, 2026.
• CalRecycle, Truth-in-Labeling Laws, citing California Public Resources Code sections 42355 through 42358.5. Reviewed October 19, 2026.