16 CFR § 260.7 - Compostable Claims.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t16/s260.7"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "16 CFR § 260.7 - Compostable Claims."
title_number: 16
title_name: "Commercial Practices"
section_number: "260.7"
section_name: "Compostable Claims."
chapter_name: "FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION"
subchapter_number: "B"
subchapter_name: "GUIDES AND TRADE PRACTICE RULES"
part_number: "260"
part_name: "GUIDES FOR THE USE OF ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETING CLAIMS"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-04-05"
last_updated: "2026-04-05"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "15 U.S.C. 41-58."
regulatory_source: "77 FR 62124, Oct. 11, 2012, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "260"
---


# 260.7 Compostable Claims.

(a) It is deceptive to misrepresent, directly or by implication, that a product or package is compostable.

(b) A marketer claiming that an item is compostable should have competent and reliable scientific evidence that all the materials in the item will break down into, or otherwise become part of, usable compost (e.g., soil-conditioning material, mulch) in a safe and timely manner (*i.e.,* in approximately the same time as the materials with which it is composted) in an appropriate composting facility, or in a home compost pile or device.

(c) A marketer should clearly and prominently qualify compostable claims to the extent necessary to avoid deception if:

(1) The item cannot be composted safely or in a timely manner in a home compost pile or device; or

(2) The claim misleads reasonable consumers about the environmental benefit provided when the item is disposed of in a landfill.

(d) To avoid deception about the limited availability of municipal or institutional composting facilities, a marketer should clearly and prominently qualify compostable claims if such facilities are not available to a substantial majority of consumers or communities where the item is sold.