Compostable Packaging Recycling Programs: Reducing Consumer Burden and Boosting Recycling Participation

In recent years, take-back programs for recyclables have rapidly expanded across the United States, but similar programs for compostable products have noticeably lagged behind. The Sustainable Packaging Coalition confirmed via email that compostable take-back programs in the U.S. remain scarce. However, some companies are actively exploring this model, believing it has the potential to enhance consumer convenience, reduce sorting confusion, and ultimately increase composting participation rates.

The amount of compostable packaging entering the market is steadily growing. According to a 2023 report by PMMI and Ameripen, usage of compostable materials by consumer brands and retailers is expected to rise significantly around 2027, with a compound annual growth rate of up to 16% by 2032.

However, consumer access to composting services remains insufficient. Data from the Sustainable Packaging Coalition shows that only 19% of the largest U.S. cities offer some form of composting program that accepts certain compostable packaging, covering 11% of the total population. Among these, only 7% of the largest cities have municipally operated curbside composting programs that accept compostable packaging, covering 3% of the total population.

Despite limited access to composting, the number of related facilities is gradually increasing. A recent report by the Environmental Research & Education Foundation shows that the number of composting facilities in the U.S. grew by 55% between 2016 and 2021.

Operators of mail-in or take-back programs say their goal is precisely to alleviate the burden on consumers of determining the correct disposal method on their own. Rhodes Yepsen, Executive Director of the Biodegradable Products Institute, noted in an email: "Given the still limited composting program coverage in the U.S., take-back programs may be one way for companies to increase the likelihood of items being successfully composted, especially for items that cannot go into green bins, such as clothing or e-commerce packaging."

Exploring Closed-Loop Partnerships

Elevate Packaging is a company that sells compostable packaging. According to founder and president Rich Cohen, the company has offered take-back programs to its customers for nearly three years. When Elevate's customers, such as food brands, collect 50 pounds or more of compostable materials, Elevate arranges a pickup through its partnership with the Compost Stewardship Institute (CSI). CSI is a nonprofit founded by Cohen that handles the subsequent composting process through its network of partner composting facilities. Elevate is also developing a direct-to-consumer take-back model expected to launch later this year.

Cohen said: "Before creating the take-back program, I was very disappointed to learn that most of the items we produced were not being composted." He added: "Our customers can purchase any product from the website, use it as needed, and after use we say 'please compost it.' But if they cannot compost it, they can send it back to us." He likened this to a form of extended producer responsibility.

Several recent studies indicate that consumer confusion is a major barrier to successful composting. Last year, a report jointly released by the Biodegradable Products Institute and the Composting Consortium under Closed Loop Partners found that consumers struggle to identify and correctly dispose of compostable packaging. Nearly half of respondents said they had difficulty distinguishing between products labeled "biodegradable" and "compostable," and nearly a third said they mistakenly placed compostable packaging in recycling bins.

Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle, said: "The entire biodegradable packaging sector is plagued by these issues." The company typically partners with brands or retailers to establish take-back programs for hard-to-recycle items and has collected over 10 billion such items to date. About a decade ago, "when biodegradable or compostable packaging was just emerging," TerraCycle began building compostable take-back partnerships.

TerraCycle collects compostable chip bags for its partner Off the Eaten Path, part of PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division, and expects to launch another U.S.-based compostable take-back program soon. Szaky described how consumers can obtain free shipping labels and mail the bags back, with collected materials sent to TerraCycle's sorting facility in Aurora, Illinois. After consolidation and compliance checks, TerraCycle sends the materials to a local composting facility near that site.

According to Szaky, TerraCycle conducts third-party reviewed life cycle assessments to measure the impact of its solutions. He noted that in every case, the environmental impact of landfilling materials is greater than the impact of transportation. The key is whether the solution is linear or circular, and how closed the loop is for circular solutions.

Szaky said: "Once you're in a circular system, you want it to be the tightest loop possible." Given the current state of composting infrastructure in the U.S., "composting loops involve many steps... even if it's a closed loop, it's a huge loop. Recycling is a tighter loop, and reuse is even tighter—that's why in moving toward a circular system, we prioritize reuse first, then recycling, and finally compostability."

Cohen, however, believes compostability remains the best viable option for helping clients eliminate plastic waste. He added that companies need to "correctly define the problem before they can solve it." Cohen pointed out that the industry is still addressing the old problem of "providing packaging that protects products from birth to end of use." "About 15 years ago, someone said, 'That's fine, but I think we also need to expand the scope of the problem: we don't want packaging to have any negative environmental impact at the end of its useful life.'... It seems like a subtle change, but it's actually completely different."

Incentivizing Composting Facilities to Accept Packaging

Expanding consumer access to compostable collection services faces many challenges, with processing capacity—and the willingness of facilities to accept packaging—being a key factor. Szaky said that currently, commercial composting facilities "don't want compostable packaging," as "it harms their process and reduces their economic viability."

According to a report released last month by the Composting Consortium, there are currently about 200 full-scale composting facilities in the U.S., many of which are facing consumer confusion and contamination issues. Some composting facilities have consequently stopped listing compostable packaging as accepted materials. However, the study's findings show that regardless of whether they accept compostable packaging, most facilities detect plastic contamination. Additionally, the study found that compostable packaging largely degrades as claimed, with 8 out of 9 participating facilities detecting no residual packaging materials in their end products.

A survey conducted last year by the Composting Consortium and BioCycle showed that the share of commercial food waste composting facilities accepting compostable packaging increased from 58% in 2018 to 71% by the end of 2022.

Take-back program operators believe that economic incentives are an effective way to attract commercial composting partners. Szaky said: "When we run take-back programs, we have to find composting facilities willing to accept the materials, and we typically need to pay them to offset their economic challenges." The composting facilities connected through CSI by Elevate are also compensated. Cohen said: "The composting facilities are paid on average three to four times more than the organic waste processing fees they charge, so they are very motivated."

The idea of increasing participation in composting programs by expanding existing infrastructure resonates with many stakeholders. Paula Luu, Senior Program Director at the Closed Loop Partners Center for the Circular Economy, said in an email: "At this stage of U.S. composting system development, investing in collection infrastructure is critical. We must ensure composting facilities are supported and incentivized to accept and process food-contact compostable packaging, and that these packages break down well without affecting their ability to sell compost products."

Bringing Order to the 'Wild West'

Beyond infrastructure improvements, sources expect broader adoption of extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws to drive changes in the compostable sector, including take-back programs. Some advocates pushing for stronger regulation of compostable products are particularly focused on labeling and marketing claims.

During a webinar discussing the Composting Consortium's new report findings, Frank Franciosi, Executive Director of the US Composting Council, said the composting industry needs to work with brands and other upstream stakeholders to address labeling standards. For example, improved labeling could eliminate consumer confusion about the differences between "biodegradable," "commercially compostable," and "home compostable" products, and address non-compostable packaging that mimics compostable packaging.

Franciosi said: "We must first stop it at the source, while also advocating for legislation to make compostable packaging more uniform and to severely penalize those counterfeit products."

Szaky believes that current compostability claims on packaging are like the "Wild West" because they only require technical verification—that the product degrades under laboratory conditions. In contrast, recyclability claims on packaging must comply with actual rules, such as the 60% recycling access rate requirement under the Federal Trade Commission's Green Guides. But the looser path for compostable products may change as more legislation brings them under regulation, perhaps within the next two to five years.

Szaky predicted: "The regulatory environment around making compostability claims will become closer to the burden required for making recyclability claims, which will make it harder for companies to simply claim 'compostable.' When that happens, we expect a significant influx of interest in composting take-back programs."