Compostable @ Home - Self Declared is one of the declarations under the Ekko Score Recycle Standard.
Compostable @ Home - Self Declared icon identifies and differentiates a product as biodegradable and compostable. This means you can put the item in your home compost bin and it will break down in line with the Australian standard AS 4736-2006 which requires that, “The material must compost to no more than 10% of its original dry weight retained on a 2 mm sieve within 12 weeks. The resulting compost must have no toxic effect on plants or earthworms.”
Compostable @ Home - Self Declared is an extremely important certification as it means the product can go in a home compost bin. This has a number of advantages, not least of all adding to your own compost. It also means that the product is diverted from other recycling streams or from landfill.
Compostable @ Home - Self Declared sits in the COMPOSTABLE - HOME Family under two environmental Standards of Ekko Score: Recycle and Packaging. One set of weighted Ekko Score points are gathered from each Family.
These are the claimable declarations & certifications under the Environmental Standard: Recycle. Please note that different certifications and declarations may be relevant to each category.
Yes, where the impact of the claim is similar. This is how it works.
IMPORTANTLY, SELF DECLARATIONS ARE GOVERNED BY CONSUMER LAW. IT IS AGAINST THE LAW FOR BUSINESSES TO MAKE FALSE CLAIMS (INCLUDING IMPLIED CLAIMS IN A CONTEXT LIKE EKKO SCORE).
EVEN IF A PRODUCT HAS A FORMAL CERTIFICATION, THAT CERTIFICATION DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ENTIRE INTEGRITY OF THE PRODUCT'S MAKE UP.
An example might be a Handmade, Australian, Certified Organic chocolate that contains Palm Oil. Under Ekko Score, this product would claim Certified Organic and would self declare: Zero Waste Production and Australian made, but could not claim the No Palm Oil declaration. This would mean a lower score under the No Exploitation Standard, making the inclusion of Palm Oil clear to potential consumers, without detracting from its other assets.
No product is perfect, but some products are definitely better than others. Ekko Score allows you to make the best decision you can, or to put it another way, the least worst decision. And to make that decision with the confidence of not being green washed. Find out more about how Ekko Score works.