{"id":14572,"date":"2026-08-17T03:19:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T03:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonitopak.com\/?p=14572"},"modified":"2026-08-24T04:21:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T04:21:08","slug":"compostable-vs-recyclable-can-carriers-what-the-certifications-mean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonitopak.com\/de\/compostable-vs-recyclable-can-carriers-what-the-certifications-mean\/","title":{"rendered":"Kompostierbare vs. recycelbare Getr\u00e4nkedosenhalter: Was die Zertifizierungen bedeuten"},"content":{"rendered":"

Von Leo Chan<\/strong>\u00a0 | Autor, BonitoPak | \u00dcber 20 Jahre Erfahrung im Bereich Verpackungen aus Formzellstoff<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published: 17 August 2026 \u00a0 | \u00a0 Last reviewed: 17 August 2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recyclable is an infrastructure question that depends on local collection and end markets. Compostable is a certification question about the finished part, verified against ASTM or EN standards. A single uncoated fiber carrier can qualify for both, but the two claims are proved in completely different ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A compostable can carrier and a recyclable one sound like two ways of saying environmentally responsible. They are not equivalent claims, they are not verified the same way, and one of them is far easier to be challenged on than the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This guide covers what each claim actually requires, which standard applies to a fiber carrier specifically, and how to check that a supplier certificate covers the product you are buying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can Carrier Certifications: The Two Claims Work Differently<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/th>Wiederverwertbar<\/strong><\/th>Kompostierbar<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
What it depends on<\/td>Local collection, sorting and end markets<\/td>Testing of the finished article<\/td><\/tr>
Who verifies it<\/td>Nobody centrally. It varies by municipality<\/td>A third party certifier against a published standard<\/td><\/tr>
Proof available<\/td>Local program acceptance lists<\/td>A certificate and a database listing<\/td><\/tr>
Main risk<\/td>True as a material, false in a given ZIP code<\/td>Certificate does not cover your exact product<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That difference explains why recyclability labeling is where enforcement is arriving. A compostable claim can be backed by a document. A recyclable claim often cannot, because it depends on facilities the brand does not control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recyclable Can Carrier Claims Depend on Geography<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fiber is recyclable as a material. Whether a specific recyclable can carrier actually gets recycled depends on three things that all have to line up: the item reaches the right bin, the sorting facility can identify and separate it, and a mill within economic distance will buy the resulting grade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That last condition is the one that fails most often, and it is why the same item is accepted in one municipality and rejected in the next. We work through what actually happens to fiber packaging after collection in our article on ob Verpackungen aus Zellstoff recycelbar sind<\/a>, and the fiber itself matters, since our recycled paper pulp products<\/a> use mechanical pulping with no chemical additives, keeping the stream single material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two design factors of a recyclable can carrier are within your control. Keep the pack to a single material, because any coating, laminate or plastic component makes it a composite that sorting systems treat as contamination. And qualify the claim in your wording, since unqualified recyclable claims are exactly what tightening labeling rules target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compostable Can Carrier Claims Depend on Certification<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here there is an actual document to point at, which makes the claim more defensible and the process more demanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The word compostable on its own carries no weight, whereas BPI certified points to a specific tested product. Neither does biodegradable, which has no defined timeframe or conditions and is treated as misleading without supporting evidence. What matters is a recognized certification mark tied to a published standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which Standard Applies to a Compostable Can Carrier<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is the detail that gets missed most often, and it is specific enough to be worth stating precisely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standard<\/strong><\/th>Applies to<\/strong><\/th>Relevance to a can carrier<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
ASTM D6400<\/td>Plastics and bioplastics<\/td>Not applicable to a fiber carrier<\/td><\/tr>
ASTM D6868<\/td>Fiber or paper with a compostable polymer coating or lining<\/td>Applies if your carrier is coated<\/td><\/tr>
ASTM D8410<\/td>Cellulosic fiber substrates only, excluding laminated thermoplastic<\/td>The route for an uncoated fiber carrier<\/td><\/tr>
EN 13432<\/td>European industrial compostability<\/td>Required for EU market claims<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The distinction matters commercially. An uncoated molded fiber carrier is a cellulosic fiber substrate, which is what ASTM D8410 covers, and BPI’s certification program<\/a> uses D6400 as its base assessment with optional assessment to D6868 or D8410 for eligible items. If a supplier quotes D6400 for an uncoated fiber part, that is a sign the conversation has not been had properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Add a coating for water resistance and you move into D6868 territory, because the part is no longer fiber alone. That is a real consequence of a functional decision, and it is worth knowing before the coating is specified rather than after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OK Compost Certification Splits Industrial from Home<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A standard compostability mark means industrial composting, in a professionally managed facility running at elevated temperature. It does not mean a backyard pile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TUV Austria splits its mark explicitly, with OK Compost INDUSTRIAL covering managed facilities at roughly 55 to 60 degrees Celsius, and OK Compost HOME covering ordinary backyard bins at ambient temperature. As certification comparisons set out<\/a>, home is the harder bar because the conditions are cooler and less controlled. BPI added its own home compostability layer in 2025, built on the French standard NF T 51-800, sitting on top of commercial certification rather than replacing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a can carrier this matters because of where the pack actually ends up. Most consumers do not have access to industrial composting. If the realistic disposal route is a domestic bin or curbside recycling, an industrial certification is technically accurate and practically irrelevant to the person holding the pack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Numbers Behind the Marks<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Industrial compostability standards test four things, with broadly consistent thresholds across ASTM and EN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n