6 Compostable Industry Reports Worth Knowing About

If you make compostable products buying decisions, set policy at a company or municipality, write about the category, or just want to understand what’s actually happening in compostable foodware and broader compostable materials, a handful of industry reports do most of the heavy lifting on data. Most of the marketing copy and trade-press coverage in this space cycles back to the same underlying sources. Knowing those sources directly saves a lot of time and helps you avoid quoting numbers that turn out to be derivative or out of date.

This post covers six reports worth tracking, with a brief description of what each measures, what’s useful in it, and where its limits are.

1. The BPI Annual Industry Report

The Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) is the dominant compostable certification body in North America. Their annual industry report is published roughly each spring and covers the certified-product market across foodware, packaging, and broader applications.

What it measures: Number of certified products and brands, market growth rates, geographic distribution of certified manufacturers, end-market application breakdown (foodservice vs. retail vs. institutional), and trends in the certification process itself (typical lead times, growing application categories).

What’s useful: This is the most authoritative single source on the BPI-certified compostable products market in the US and Canada. The data is collected directly from BPI’s certification database rather than from external surveys, which makes it cleaner than most market-research reports. Useful for understanding the supplier landscape and adoption trends.

Where the limits are: BPI’s data covers BPI-certified products only. It doesn’t capture uncertified compostable products (which is meaningful, as some manufacturers skip certification for cost reasons), products certified through other bodies (TÜV, ABA), or non-product industry segments like composting infrastructure or end-market acceptance. The report is also a marketing artifact — it tells the BPI story rather than the full industry story.

2. BioCycle State of Composting in the US

BioCycle is the longest-running trade publication in the composting industry (founded 1960). Their annual State of Composting in the US report covers the composting infrastructure side: how many composting facilities exist, what types of feedstocks they accept, geographic coverage, capacity, and trends in the industry.

What it measures: Number and capacity of US composting facilities, breakdown by facility type (yard waste, food scrap, mixed organics, anaerobic digestion), feedstock acceptance policies (including which facilities accept compostable foodware), geographic coverage maps, and operating trends.

What’s useful: This is the only credible source on the actual end-market for compostable products. Knowing how many facilities accept BPI-certified PLA cups, where they are, and what their capacity looks like is essential for assessing whether compostable products in a given region actually have a path to commercial composting. The composting infrastructure data is much harder to come by than the products data, and BioCycle is the authoritative source.

Where the limits are: The data is collected from facility operator surveys, which means coverage isn’t 100 percent. Some facilities don’t respond. Acceptance policies change between report publications. The report is annual, so policy shifts within the year may not be captured.

3. ReFED Insights Engine

ReFED is a US-focused nonprofit working on food waste reduction. Their Insights Engine is an interactive tool and report series covering the food waste landscape, including the role of composting and the share of food waste that ends up composted vs. landfilled vs. anaerobically digested.

What it measures: Total US food waste tonnage, breakdown by source (consumer, foodservice, manufacturing), end-market disposition (landfill vs. composting vs. anaerobic digestion vs. food rescue), and the economic and climate cost of food waste.

What’s useful: For anyone making the case for compostable foodware as part of a broader food-waste reduction strategy, ReFED’s data is the credible reference. The economic analysis (cost per ton of food waste, cost per ton of avoided emissions) is particularly useful for building business cases.

Where the limits are: ReFED’s primary focus is food waste reduction; compostable packaging and foodware is secondary. The compostable products data is less detailed than BPI’s. ReFED also leans toward consumer-and-foodservice analysis; manufacturing-side waste is less covered.

4. EPA Municipal Solid Waste Characterization

The US Environmental Protection Agency publishes a periodic Advancing Sustainable Materials Management report that includes detailed municipal solid waste (MSW) characterization data. This is the foundational reference for what’s in US trash and where it goes.

What it measures: Total US MSW generation, composition by material type (paper, plastic, food, yard trimmings, glass, metal, etc.), recycling and composting rates by material, and trends over time.

What’s useful: For establishing baseline numbers about the US waste stream — how much food waste is generated, what fraction is currently composted, how those numbers have changed over decades — the EPA data is the standard reference. Government data also tends to be cited as authoritative in policy and academic contexts in ways that private-sector market research isn’t.

Where the limits are: The report has historically been published with a multi-year delay (the most recent report typically covers data from 2-3 years prior). Some categories are estimated rather than directly measured. Compostable products specifically are bundled into broader plastic and paper categories rather than tracked separately.

5. Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) State of Recycling

The SPC is an industry membership organization for packaging sustainability. Their State of Recycling reports cover the broader packaging recovery landscape, including how compostable packaging fits (or doesn’t fit) into existing recycling and recovery infrastructure.

What it measures: Recovery rates for major packaging materials (paper, plastic, glass, metal, compostable), infrastructure capacity, consumer behavior and brand sustainability commitments, and policy developments.

What’s useful: For understanding compostable packaging in the broader context of packaging sustainability — which it must compete with for retail shelf space, regulatory attention, and brand investment — the SPC reports give the comparative view. Understanding where compostable packaging stands relative to recyclable packaging, refillable packaging, and reusable packaging is important for strategic planning.

Where the limits are: SPC is industry-funded (the membership includes major brands and packaging suppliers), which shapes the framing. Compostable packaging is one of several solution categories the SPC covers, not the primary focus. The data is broader and shallower than the more focused reports above.

6. European Bioplastics Annual Market Report

European Bioplastics is the EU industry association for bioplastics, which includes most compostable bioplastics. Their annual market report covers the global bioplastics market with strong emphasis on European production and consumption.

What it measures: Global bioplastics production capacity and projections, breakdown by material type (PLA, PHA, starch blends, cellulose, etc.), end-market application (foodware, packaging, agriculture, automotive, textiles), regional production capacity (Europe, Asia, North America, South America), and policy developments.

What’s useful: The most comprehensive global view of bioplastic production capacity and trends. For understanding where the supply side of the compostable products industry is heading globally — which materials are scaling, where production is expanding, what the price trajectories look like — this is the standard reference. Particularly useful for anyone with European market exposure or international supply chain considerations.

Where the limits are: The report focuses on bioplastics, which is a subset of compostable materials (excluding fiber-based products like bagasse and palm leaf). Industry-association framing tends to emphasize positive growth narratives. Production capacity numbers don’t always translate cleanly to actual production or consumption.

How to use these together

For most compostable industry questions, the answer comes from combining sources across these six reports rather than any single one:

• “What’s the US compostable foodware market size?” Combine BPI’s certified-products data with broader market-research estimates of uncertified products and infrastructure context from BioCycle.
• “Where can my company’s compostable products actually be composted?” BioCycle’s facility data combined with state and municipal program research.
• “What’s the carbon footprint case for switching to compostable foodware?” EPA waste characterization combined with ReFED’s economic analysis and life-cycle assessment work from sources like the Athena Institute or specific manufacturer LCAs.
• “What’s the global compostable materials industry trajectory?” European Bioplastics combined with regional market reports for North America, Asia, and South America.

The reports complement each other; none is sufficient on its own.

Other useful sources worth knowing about

Beyond the six reports above, several other sources are worth knowing:

• State-level reports from California’s CalRecycle, Washington’s Department of Ecology, and similar bodies cover the most ambitious composting programs in the US in detail.
• University extension services (UC Davis, Cornell, Washington State, Penn State) publish detailed agricultural composting research relevant to feedstock and process questions.
• The Closed Loop Partners investment-fund network publishes occasional reports on circular-economy investment trends, including compostable products.
• Specific company sustainability reports from major manufacturers (NatureWorks, Eastman, Total Energies Corbion) provide product-level detail that aggregate reports don’t.
• The OECD publishes broader bioeconomy reports relevant to international policy comparisons.

For procurement teams thinking about applying this data to specific buying decisions, the tableware, utensils, and bags categories are where most of the volume sits, and where the data above is most directly applicable. Having the underlying industry context makes the procurement decisions more informed.

How to access the reports

Most of these reports are published with a mix of free and paid access:

• BPI Annual Industry Report: Free executive summary, full report typically released to BPI members and partners. The most accessible way to engage is through BPI’s annual update webinar.
• BioCycle State of Composting: Available through BioCycle subscription (annual fee around $100-200 for individuals, more for organizations). The data is often summarized in trade press for free.
• ReFED Insights Engine: Free public access to the interactive tool; some deeper data behind paid login. Probably the most accessible of the six.
• EPA Municipal Solid Waste: Fully free, available at epa.gov. The full PDF is dense but searchable.
• SPC State of Recycling: Mix of free and member-only content. Member access requires SPC membership (typically organizational, $5,000-25,000 annually depending on size).
• European Bioplastics Annual Market Report: Free executive summary; full report by request, typically free for media and academia, paid for commercial use.

For someone tracking the industry without large research budgets, ReFED, EPA, and the free portions of BPI and European Bioplastics provide most of what you need. The paid sources add depth for organizations actively making large-scale procurement or strategic decisions.

Citation hygiene matters

A practical note for anyone writing or presenting on the compostable industry: cite primary sources, not derivative coverage. Trade press articles typically reference the same handful of reports above; if you’re going to use a number, dig back to the original report and cite the specific page or chart. This avoids the “Internet citation telephone” problem where a number gets distorted as it’s repeated across sites.

When citing in formal contexts (academic work, regulatory filings, policy submissions), include the report year, page number, and methodology context. “BPI’s 2024 Annual Industry Report (page 14, Table 3)” is much more useful than “industry data shows.”

A quick note on data quality

A meta-point about all of these reports: market research in the compostable products industry is harder than in larger, more mature industries because the sector is small enough that direct measurement is challenging. Most numbers in this space are estimates with meaningful error bars. When you see a “$X billion market growing at Y%” headline, the underlying methodology often involves significant assumptions. The reports above are the most credible available, but no number in this space should be treated as precise — treat them as directionally accurate, useful for comparison year over year, and indicative of trends. The relative numbers (year-over-year growth, comparison between regions, comparison between materials) are usually more reliable than the absolute numbers.

Knowing which reports are worth tracking is as important as knowing what’s in them. The six above cover roughly 80 percent of the credible data in the compostable products industry. Tracking them on a quarterly or annual cadence keeps you current without drowning in market-research noise.

For B2B sourcing, see our compostable supplies catalog or compostable bags catalog.

Verifying claims at the SKU level: ask suppliers for a current Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) certificate or an OK Compost mark from TÜV Austria, and check that retail-facing copy meets the FTC Green Guides qualifier requirement on environmental claims.