What is a commercial composting facility?

Also known as an industrial composting facility, commercial composting facilities are large-scale composting operations which are designed to handle a high volume of organic waste.

They are important because many compostable products are not home compostable, and will only break down once properly disposed of in a facility designed to compost large amounts of goods.

Compostable products are tested to meet the ASTM 6400 or 6868 standards for commercial composting.  Compostable products are intended for disposal in commercial composting facilities and will not break down in a landfill or other environments. Commercial composting is not available in all areas, and different states have different requirements for composting. Please check locally to ensure you have access to commercial composting before purchasing compostable products. 

To locate a composter near you, visit our find a composter page!