Darum geht’s beim Zertifikat OK compost HOME
- 7. September 2023
- Autor: Janine Friebel
- Lesezeit: 9 Minuten
The OK compost seals are test seals awarded by TÜV Austria. But not only in Austria, but also in Germany, they help you to make conscious decisions for everyday life and the disposal of your waste. For example, the OK compost Home seal is awarded to products that you can easily dispose of in your home compost.
The OK compost HOME certificate at a glance
Core statement of OK compost HOME
Products with the OK compost HOME certificate are suitable for disposal on home compost. At an ambient temperature of 20 to 30 degrees Celsius, they are compostable within six months.
OK compost HOME has this advantage for you
The certificate
- serves as a quality criterion for the sustainable disposal of the product.
- indicates that a product is compostable.
- helps you with the sorting decision if you want to dispose of your waste in an environmentally friendly way.
- With an OK compost Home certified product, you know you can dispose of it in your home compost.
Requirements to obtain the OK compost HOME certificate
- The product decomposes into at least 90 percent water, carbon dioxide and biomass in the garden compost at about 30°C within six months.
- The product is biodegradable. What this means in concrete terms, we explain here: "Biodegradable, compostable, recyclable - meaning and difference".
- During decomposition, the product does not release substances that have a negative impact on plant growth.
- The product does not release heavy metals or organic pollutants into the soil.
- After composting, the product has no negative impact on compost quality.
Our certificate
Differentiation from other certificates
Other certificates in this area are:
- OK compost INDUSTRIAL
- Keimling according to EN 13432
- in Germany the certificate "DIN-tested garden compostable" awarded by DIN CERTCO
Examples of products with the OK compost HOME certificate
- Compostable organic bags from BIOvative
- Golden Compound compostable coffee capsules
- Compostable food trays from BIOPAP
Certification bodies
- TÜV Austria
- Vincotte
- DIN CERTCO
OK compost HOME - the certificate in detail
The OK compost Home certificate is awarded to products made of compostable bio-plastic. The certificate indicates that a product has been made from a biodegradable material that can be composted within six months even at low temperatures. This means that corresponding products are also suitable for disposal via garden compost.
OK compost HOME is not based on a single standard, but lists all the technical requirements needed to certify a product. All components, including the colors, additives and labels used, must be compostable within the specified period for a product to receive the certificate.
Compostability briefly explained
In terms of the OK compost HOME certificate, a product is compostable if it meets the following criteria:
The product is
- by microorganisms and enzymes alone
- under predetermined conditions
- and within a fixed period of time
- without toxic residues
- into carbon dioxide, water and not more than 10 percent of its original mass
decomposed. Only then is compostability actually given. At the end of composting, the product must be indistinguishable from the rest of the compost.
These requirements are behind the OK compost HOME certificate
Unlike the Keimling, the certification for OK compost HOME is not subject to a single standard. The certification process is carried out in Germany and Europe in accordance with the DIN EN 13432 standard and the EN 14995 standard, among others. But the certification for OK compost HOME also served as a model for the development of international standards. The following standards, for example, were created according to this model:
- the Australian standard AS 5810
- the French standard NFT 51300
- the European standard PREN 17427
Four tests are carried out for certification. First, biodegradability is tested. This checks whether the polymer used can be chemically degraded by microorganisms. This is followed by the disintegration test, which checks whether the product physically breaks down into small fragments.
To receive certification, the product and all its components must have decomposed into at least 90 percent water, carbon and biomass within six months at a maximum temperature of 30 degrees Celsius.
In addition, ecotoxicity is tested. This means that the product must not release heavy metals or organic pollutants into the compost during the decomposition process. In addition, the composting of the product must not have a negative impact on plant growth.
Finally, the product is tested to determine whether it has a negative impact on compost quality. If this is ruled out, the product receives the OK compost Home certificate. For you, this means that you can dispose of the product in your organic waste garbage can or home compost without hesitation.
The difference between OK compost HOME, OK compost INDUSTRIAL and the "Keimling" certificate
In addition to the OK compost HOME certificate, there are two other certificates that you should know about: One is the Keimling, which is the international seal according to DIN EN 13432, and the OK compost INDUSTRIAL certificate.
The difference between OK compost HOME and the Keimling is mainly that the Keimling is concretely awarded based on the EN 13432 standard. OK compost HOME, on the other hand, is not based on a concrete standard, but is a listing of the technical requirements for certification. Furthermore, the OK compost certificates are only awarded by TÜV Austria. The Keimling, on the other hand, is an internationally used seal.
The difference between the two OK compost certificates HOME and INDUSTRIAL, on the other hand, lies mainly in the conditions, the place and the duration of composting. Products with the Ok compost INDUSTRIAL seal can only be composted in industrial composting facilities at temperatures of at least 55°C to 60°C. Moreover, the product must have decomposed at these conditions within three months, i.e. significantly faster.
In addition to the OK compost HOME certificate, there is an alternative certificate issued by the German testing body DIN CERTCO. This certificate is called “DIN-tested garden compostable” and is also awarded to products that can be disposed of in domestic compost.
BIOvative products certified with OK compost HOME
Our example of an everyday product with the OK compost HOME certificate are the compostable organic bags from BIOvative. Made from renewable, European raw materials and produced in Germany, they are not only completely climate-neutralized. They are also fully compostable and biodegradable. In addition to the OK compost HOME, our products also carry the OK compost INDUSTRIAL seal, the DINPlus certificate and the “Keimling”. So you can be sure that our organic bags are a good choice for a sustainable everyday life.
You want to know more about the certificates of BIOvative? Here we have summarized all the information about the seals of our products for you.
Janine Friebel
Janine Friebel
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