Can Compostable Products Be Recycled?

Compostable products cannot be recycled through standard recycling systems. They are designed to break down into organic matter, not to be reprocessed into new materials like plastics or metals. If placed in Mixed Recycling, compostable waste can contaminate recyclable materials. Instead, compostables should be collected separately and sent to an industrial composting facility through a dedicated compostable packaging disposal service.

How Do I Know If an Item Is Compostable or Not?

Your compostable packaging should be certified to BS EN 13432, BS EN 14995, or ASTM 6400 standards. This information should be available on the specification sheet of the packaging you purchase. They do not have to be made by the same manufacturer.

What Is the Difference Between the Terms 'Compostable' and 'Biodegradable'?

Compostable materials break down into non-toxic, nutrient-rich organic matter under specific composting conditions with controlled heat, moisture, and oxygen. They are designed to decompose fully and leave no harmful residues, and the resulting material supports soil health. Biodegradable materials break down naturally over time, but the process is less controlled and may leave residues such as microplastics or partially degraded fragments. Biodegradable items do not always decompose completely or turn into useful compost. Biodegradable items should not be placed into Recorra’s Compostable Packaging Recycling collections.

Why Can't Collections Include More Than 5% Non-Compostable Material?

This limit is in place to ensure the quality of the compost produced by your compostable packaging. Otherwise, compost may not be safe or effective for use in soil.

What If There Are Food Scraps in My Compostable Packaging Bin?

We can still compost your compostable packaging if it contains small amounts of food waste. As much as possible, food waste and any back-of-house food waste should be collected in your dedicated Food Waste Recycling service. High volumes of food waste in compostable packaging collections can affect the quality of the resulting compost.

Can I Use a Plastic Bag for My Compostables?

No, you should not use a plastic bag in your compostable bin. Regular sacks do not break down like compostable materials and will contaminate the composting process, preventing proper decomposition. Only certified compostable bags or packaging (e.g., BS EN 13432) should go in a compostable collection as part of correct compostable packaging disposal. We recommend keeping compostable materials separate from regular plastics to ensure they break down correctly and return valuable nutrients to the soil.

How Can You Dispose of Compostable Packaging?

Compostable packaging should be placed in a designated compostable packaging disposal bin, ready for collection and processing by Recorra and our composting service partner. If the packaging is labelled as suitable for home composting, it can be added to a garden compost heap. Please note that decomposition times may vary depending on the material and environmental conditions. To avoid contamination, compostable packaging must not be placed in Mixed Recycling or General Waste. This can disrupt the recycling process and compromise material quality. If you’re unsure about disposal, please contact our team for guidance.

Compostable Packaging

What Can Go in Your Compostable Packaging Collection? 1
How is Compostable Packaging Collected? 2
How Does Collection Work? 3
What Happens After Your Compostable Packaging is Collected? 4

Compostable packaging is a popular alternative to single-use plastic food service containers commonly found at cafes, food stalls, and stadiums. Items include coffee cups, box containers, and disposable napkins made from plant-based materials. When disposed of correctly, compostable packaging can break down under industrial composting conditions.

Recorra’s Compostable Packaging Recycling makes sure these items are collected and processed properly. Through our service partners, they are turned into high-quality compost and fertiliser. By choosing composting, businesses keep valuable materials in use and support a circular economy with lower environmental impact.

What Can Go in Your Compostable Packaging Collection?

Compostable Packaging must be certified to BS EN 13432, BS EN 14995 or ASTM 6400 standards.

Yes Please

Compostable coffee cups
Compostable food boxes and containers
Compostable cutlery
Compostable plates and bowls
Food scraps

No Thanks

Plastic
Metal
Non-compostable packaging
Liquids
Back-of-house food waste

Certified brands include Vegware, BioPak, Scrummi Towels, and Notpla.

How is Compostable Packaging Collected?

Sacks

Capacity: 6kg

Size: 80L

Best for:Small to medium-sized businesses, cafes, food stalls.

Perfect for small and medium-sized businesses with low volumes of waste or limited storage space, Recorra’s colour-coded sacks are supplied by the roll. The cost of collection is included in the cost of the sack. Collections can be undertaken directly from your kerbside.

How Does Collection Work?

Contact our Helpdesk to order rolls of colour-coded sacks. Our team can help you decide how many sacks you should order at one time.

Agree upon a collection schedule with our Helpdesk to suit your needs.

Once your sacks have been delivered to your business, inform your staff of the location and proper use of your new sacks. Ensure that no more than 5% of non-compostable material is included in any sack. You can download and print signage from the ‘Resources’ section of the MyRecorra portal to help your staff sort recycling properly.

Recorra’s Operatives will arrive and collect your recycling on your agreed-upon schedule, from the kerbside outside your business.

Your compostable packaging will be sorted at our Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) and transported to our reprocessing partners to produce high-quality compost.

What Happens After Your Compostable Packaging is Collected?

Disposal location
EnVar, Cheffins, The Heath, Woodhurst, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE28 3BS

Compostables are created using natural material which can decompose. They are sent to our processing partner, Envar, in Cambridgeshire, where it is transformed into nutrient-rich compost through in-vessel composting (IVC).

The process:

Incoming materials are shredded and blended to produce a homogeneous mix for composting.

Blended materials are loaded into an enclosed bunker complete with aeration system, temperature control, and data-logging probes.

Over 7–10 days, optimum temperatures are reached (60°C). The product is then moved to maturation bays where material is left to mature further.

During maturation (7–12 weeks), the products are carefully monitored to ensure optimum temperature and moisture content.

After screening and grading, the result is a range of stabilised, nutrient-rich, peat-free compost. Compost is used in agriculture to grow crops.

Customers can purchase back compost made from compostable packaging from our Workplace Supplies arm. This can be used by commercial sites to help with landscaping and to support a circular economy.

How Does This Support Sustainability Goals?

The use and correct disposal of compostable packaging supports several sustainability goals:

Compostable packaging reduces reliance on single-use plastic food and drink containers by replacing them with plant-based, renewable materials.
Compostables support a circular economy by turning used items into nutrient-rich compost rather than waste.
Using the correct collection and disposal method reduces emissions by taking organic waste out of landfill, where it would otherwise break down without oxygen and produce methane, a form of greenhouse gas.
Small food remnants left in or on compostable packaging are captured within the recycling process, reducing food waste and diverting organic material from landfill.
Compost improves soil health by adding organic matter, supporting nutrient cycling and strengthening soil structure.
Finished compost stores carbon in a stable form, helping soils act as carbon sinks and helping to slow global warming.

Vegware

Since 2020, Recorra has been working with Vegware as the first commercial waste management company in London to collect and industrially compost Vegware products. As of 2025, we have processed over 500,000kg of organic waste across 50 sites together.

Learn more about our history with Vegware.

FAQs

Compostable products cannot be recycled through standard recycling systems. They are designed to break down into organic matter, not to be reprocessed into new materials like plastics or metals. If placed in Mixed Recycling, compostable waste can contaminate recyclable materials.
Instead, compostables should be collected separately and sent to an industrial composting facility through a dedicated compostable packaging disposal service.
Your compostable packaging should be certified to BS EN 13432, BS EN 14995, or ASTM 6400 standards. This information should be available on the specification sheet of the packaging you purchase. They do not have to be made by the same manufacturer.
Compostable materials break down into non-toxic, nutrient-rich organic matter under specific composting conditions with controlled heat, moisture, and oxygen. They are designed to decompose fully and leave no harmful residues, and the resulting material supports soil health.
Biodegradable materials break down naturally over time, but the process is less controlled and may leave residues such as microplastics or partially degraded fragments. Biodegradable items do not always decompose completely or turn into useful compost. Biodegradable items should not be placed into Recorra’s Compostable Packaging Recycling collections.
This limit is in place to ensure the quality of the compost produced by your compostable packaging. Otherwise, compost may not be safe or effective for use in soil.
We can still compost your compostable packaging if it contains small amounts of food waste.
As much as possible, food waste and any back-of-house food waste should be collected in your dedicated Food Waste Recycling service. High volumes of food waste in compostable packaging collections can affect the quality of the resulting compost.
No, you should not use a plastic bag in your compostable bin. Regular sacks do not break down like compostable materials and will contaminate the composting process, preventing proper decomposition. Only certified compostable bags or packaging (e.g., BS EN 13432) should go in a compostable collection as part of correct compostable packaging disposal. We recommend keeping compostable materials separate from regular plastics to ensure they break down correctly and return valuable nutrients to the soil.
Compostable packaging should be placed in a designated compostable packaging disposal bin, ready for collection and processing by Recorra and our composting service partner. If the packaging is labelled as suitable for home composting, it can be added to a garden compost heap. Please note that decomposition times may vary depending on the material and environmental conditions. To avoid contamination, compostable packaging must not be placed in Mixed Recycling or General Waste. This can disrupt the recycling process and compromise material quality.
If you’re unsure about disposal, please contact our team for guidance.

Start Your Compostable Packaging Journey Today

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