Top photo: Courtesy of the Compost Research and Education Foundation (CREF)
Emily McGill, Liv Johansson and Susanna Carson
The past few years of policy making and research have transformed our collective conversation about compostable packaging and its applications. Where it’s working, it works well. Where composters and haulers are uncertain of their ability to process the materials, resistance is being built into regulations.
The Compostable Field Testing Program (CFTP) has collaborated with composters across North America to gather field test results from a wide range of facilities, all published on our open-source data dashboard. The program’s core values are summarized in Figure 1. This article is the final in a four-part BioCycle series. Part I shares background on the CFTP, Part II provides detail about field test methods, and Part III describes trends in field testing results. This article addresses the future of field testing for the CFTP.
Figure 1.Compost Field Testing Program’s Core Values
Click image to enlarge.
Introducing the Operations Matrix
Our research has found that the disintegration conditions for certified compostable products tested to date generally correspond with best management practices for composting. But predicting exactly how a material will disintegrate under a particular set of composting conditions is complex and the variables are interdependent.
To offer composters and compostable product producers a simpler mechanism for making decisions, the CFTP’s next chapter has a clear destination: the Operations Matrix, a meaningful shift from observation to application. A new tool will correlate composting conditions with expected disintegration outcomes for a wide range of certified compostable materials — giving both composters and producers a reliable reference point grounded in real-world data.
A composter could enter their facility’s operating conditions, like temperature, moisture, or retention time, and see how common certified compostable items are likely to respond. A brand or packaging developer could enter their material specifications and learn what processing conditions are required for successful disintegration (Fig 2). This practical, evidence-based tool to guide sourcing decisions, acceptance policies, and material innovation will be a first for the industry.
Figure 2. Operations Matrix Mock-Up
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Building Toward the Matrix
Getting to the Matrix requires targeted, ASTM-compliant data collection across a wider range of facility types and operating conditions than the CFTP has tested to date. The existing dataset illustrates some clear disintegration trends. But translating those trends into reliable guidance necessitates filling data gaps through continued testing in the field. As with previous CFTP tests, data from trials done with our composter partners would become part of the Operations Matrix available to the industry.
Curious to explore field testing at your facility? Complete this form to share your interest and get connected with CFTP staff.
Funding the Work To Fill Statutory Data Gaps
Moving from an exploratory program to targeted Matrix development requires stable, dedicated funding. The CFTP has maintained its open-source, cross-sector integrity for over a decade and that won’t change. But producing the quality and volume of data the Matrix requires means the program needs committed support from the sectors that stand to benefit most. If you make compostable packaging, consider supporting the research your sector depends on.
Without the Matrix, the industry faces a real risk: policy moving faster than the science itself. Extended producer responsibility frameworks and diversion mandates are taking shape across North America, and there is growing pressure to embed field testing data into producer obligations and material acceptance criteria. The current dataset offers valuable direction, but it is not yet mature enough to carry that regulatory weight. Premature policy, built on incomplete data, could lock in standards that don’t serve composters, producers, or the environment. The Matrix is the mechanism for getting this right.
What Comes Next
With the right partners and sustained support, the CFTP is positioned to answer not only the Matrix questions, but a broader set of emerging concerns that the composting and packaging sectors want to see addressed, like microplastics and chemicals of concern in finished products and impacts of compostable packaging on compost pile biology. Field testing done rigorously is an important way the industry can move forward with confidence.
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See Also:
Part I – Compostable Product Field Testing Public Dataset
Part II – Field Test Methods for Compostable Products
Part III – CFTP Reports Field Testing Trends For Effective Disintegration of Compostable Items
Emily McGill is the outgoing Program Director for the Compostable Field Testing Program (CFTP), via her role with BSIbio Packaging Solutions, one of the founding partners of the CFTP. Emily has directly facilitated or remotely supported over two dozen field tests across diverse compost sites, and helped to lead the development of refined and standardized test methods under ASTM International.
Liv Johansson is the Program Manager of the CFTP via the Compost Research & Education Foundation. She formerly supported compost science, education, policy, and permitting at Engineered Compost Systems and served as a compost facility operator for the Woodland Park Zoo’s manure composting operation.
Susanna Carson is the founder and CEO of BSIbio Packaging Solutions (BSIbio), a compostable packaging distribution company, and Bésics® Packaging Corporation, a compostable retail products company. She has more than 30 years of education and work experience in environmental issues and business development in compostable food packaging. As part of her work with BSIbio, Susanna co-founded the CFTP in partnership with the Compost Research and Education Foundation (2017-present).
