What is the difference between compostable, biodegradable and biobased?

You see and hear it everywhere; horticulture also needs to become more sustainable. More people are asking for compostable, biodegradable and biologic products. Consumers have an increasing amount of attention for sustainability and the environment. With biodegradable, biobased and compostable growth- and packaging material a grower can respond to this. In practice it seems there is some confusion about the difference between the terms compostable, biodegradable and biobased. That is why we are happy to explain the differences here.

Biologic products

The confusion often starts with the term 'organic'. An organic product is a product of organic origin. An example of an organic product is, for example, an organic fertilizer or unsprayed fruit and vegetables. These are products that are entirely made up of natural raw materials of vegetable or animal origin. In the EU, a product may be called organic if it has a SKAL certification or an EKO quality mark. (Links in Dutch)

Biodegradable

Biodegradable (also called compostable) means that a product or packaging can degrade on a natural way by fungus and bacteria to water, CO2 and methane. It says nothing about the speed with which this happens and under what circumstances. Biodegradable products may therefore not just go into the green waste container. For example, cork, cotton, hair and pieces of wood are all biodegradable, but the degradation takes a very long time.

There are also plastics that are biodegradable. Contrary to what many people think, biodegradable plastics are currently not degradable in nature or in fermentation plants.

Previously, biodegradable plastic packaging that meets the European standard EN-13432 was allowed to be thrown away in the green waste. According to that standard in The Netherlands, a packaging must be able to be broken down for at least 95 percent within 6 weeks in an industrial composting installation. You can recognize these packages by the Seedling logo or the OK Compost logo.

In recent years, the processes of composting installations have been greatly accelerated. The plastic no longer breaks down fast enough and remains in the compost. Plastic packaging with the Seedling logo or the OK compost logo can therefore no longer be thrown away in the green waste, but belongs to the residual waste. An exception has been made for compostable waste bags, which are allowed in green waste bins. Source: Meldpunt Verpakkingen (Dutch)