California’s biodegradable labeling law bans the words “biodegradable,” “degradable,” and “decomposable” on almost any product sold in the state, restricts “compostable” and “home compostable” claims to products that meet specific ASTM or European certification standards, and layers on chemical and organic-input requirements that took effect January 1, 2026. Violations can be pursued under two separate statutes at once, and private consumers, not just prosecutors, can sue. The core rules sit in Public Resources Code sections 42355 through 42358.5.
What Products Are Covered
The law reaches consumer goods of any material, packaging and packaging components, bags and thin plastic film, and food or beverage containers including straws, lids, and utensils.1California Legislative Information. California Code Public Resources Code – Products A “consumer product” is anything used, bought, or leased by a person for any purpose. If you sell something to a California consumer and put an environmental claim on it, these rules almost certainly apply.
The Ban on “Biodegradable” Labels
You cannot sell or offer for sale any product in California labeled “biodegradable,” “degradable,” or “decomposable,” or that implies in any way that the product will break down in a landfill or other environment.2California Legislative Information. California Code Public Resources Code 42357 – Products This is not a standard you can meet. It is a prohibition. The Legislature treated these terms as inherently misleading because breakdown depends on conditions consumers cannot control, and the claims encourage littering.
The ban reaches beyond text. Green, beige, or brown tinting on a plastic bag that does not qualify as compostable counts as implying the bag will break down and violates the statute.2California Legislative Information. California Code Public Resources Code 42357 – Products Leaf-and-tree imagery suggesting biodegradability can trigger liability the same way. The only narrow openings involve products that separately qualify as “compostable” or specific agricultural mulch film.
When You Can Label a Product “Compostable”
“Compostable” is allowed, but only for products meeting one of the ASTM International specifications recognized in California: ASTM D6400 for plastics designed to be composted in industrial facilities, or ASTM D6868 for products with plastic coatings or additives on paper and other substrates, also intended for industrial composting.2California Legislative Information. California Code Public Resources Code 42357 – Products Meeting only part of a section of the specification does not count.
Under ASTM D6400, a product must fragment within 84 days and reach complete mineralization within 180 days in a properly managed industrial composting facility. Many products marketed as “green” in other states cannot meet these benchmarks.
“Home compostable” requires something different. The manufacturer must hold OK compost HOME certification, which adapts the European Norm 13432 standard for the lower temperatures typical of backyard systems.1California Legislative Information. California Code Public Resources Code – Products If ASTM adopts its own home compostability standard that CalRecycle finds at least as strict, that ASTM standard replaces the certification requirement.
Additional Requirements Effective in 2026
AB 1201 added a second layer for any product labeled “compostable” or “home compostable,” several of which phased in on January 1, 2026:
- Third-party certification from an entity approved by CalRecycle for the applicable ASTM standard, where one has been approved.
- Qualification as an allowable agricultural organic input under the USDA National Organic Program, effective January 1, 2026.
- Total organic fluorine concentration no higher than 100 parts per million, unless CalRecycle adopts a different standard it determines would more effectively limit PFAS contamination.
- Labeling that lets consumers tell the product apart from noncompostable products on reasonable inspection and lets composting facilities process it efficiently.
- Design for collection alongside food scraps, yard trimmings, and similar organic waste streams headed for composting.
The PFAS limit eliminates many grease-resistant food containers and wrappers that previously qualified as compostable under ASTM standards alone.2California Legislative Information. California Code Public Resources Code 42357 – Products A related rule in Health and Safety Code Section 109000 already prohibits selling plant-fiber food packaging containing intentionally added PFAS or any PFAS presence above 100 parts per million, whether or not the product is labeled compostable.3California Legislative Information. California Code AB 1200 – Plant-Fiber Food Packaging
Compostable Plastic Bag Requirements
Compostable plastic bags have physical labeling rules of their own. The bag must carry a certification logo showing it meets ASTM D6400, verified by a recognized third party. It must also be visually distinct from conventional plastic bags in one of two ways: either the whole bag is a uniform green color with the word “compostable” on one side in lettering at least one inch tall, or the word “compostable” appears on both sides in green lettering at least one inch tall, or within a contrasting green band at least one inch tall with lettering at least half an inch.4California Legislative Information. California Code Public Resources Code 42357.5 – Compostable Plastic Bags Bags smaller than 14 by 14 inches may scale these proportionally. Compostable bags must never display a chasing-arrows recycling symbol.
Other Environmental Claims: “Eco-Friendly,” “Earth-Safe,” and the Green Guides
The rules do not stop with the specific words “biodegradable” and “compostable.” Business and Professions Code Section 17580.5 makes it unlawful to make any untruthful, deceptive, or misleading environmental marketing claim, stated or implied, and incorporates the Federal Trade Commission’s Green Guides directly, so any claim that violates the federal guidelines also violates California law.5California Legislative Information. California Code Business and Professions Code 17580.5 – Environmental Representations Conforming to the Green Guides is a defense.
Phrases such as “eco-friendly,” “earth-safe,” or “planet-friendly” are not automatically illegal, but they must be backed by clear, specific explanations of the environmental benefit. Unqualified broad claims with no substantiation are what the statute targets.
Records You Have to Keep and Hand Over
Any company making environmental representations on a label or in advertising must keep written records supporting the claim and produce them to any member of the public who asks. The file must address why the company believes the claim is true, significant adverse environmental impacts from producing and disposing of the product, steps taken to reduce those impacts, any permit violations tied to production, and whether the product conforms to the FTC Green Guides.6California Legislative Information. California Code Business and Professions Code 17580 – Environmental Representations Manufacturers and suppliers of products under the biodegradable and compostable labeling chapter must provide compliance documentation within 90 days of any public request, in an accessible format.2California Legislative Information. California Code Public Resources Code 42357 – Products Competitors, advocacy groups, and individual consumers can all demand it.
Penalties and Who Can Sue
Violations run through two separate tracks, and the penalties are cumulative.
Under the labeling statute, a city, county, or the state can impose civil liability of $500 for a first violation, $1,000 for a second, and $2,000 for the third and each one after.7California Legislative Information. California Code Public Resources Code 42358 – Civil Liability Each mislabeled unit sold can count as a separate violation, so the numbers scale quickly. Penalties go to the office that brought the action, and the Attorney General can recover state agency costs from the violator.
The statute also states these remedies do not replace enforcement under California’s unfair competition law.7California Legislative Information. California Code Public Resources Code 42358 – Civil Liability Business and Professions Code Section 17206 adds a separate civil penalty of up to $2,500 per violation for unfair competition.8California Legislative Information. California Code Business and Professions Code 17206 – Civil Penalties
The Attorney General, district attorneys, and certain city attorneys and county counsel can bring unfair competition actions in the name of the people of California.9California Legislative Information. California Code Business and Professions Code 17204 – Enforcement Standing Private individuals who have lost money or property because of the unfair competition can also sue. A consumer who bought a product based on a misleading environmental claim and paid a premium for it has standing to bring an action. Enforcement does not wait on an overburdened agency.