Certification process
For industrially compostable certification, the product requirements and procedures are specified in the 'REAL Industrially Compostable Products' Scheme Rules, which can be downloaded here.
For home compostable certification, the product requirements and procedures are specified in the 'REAL Home Compostable Products' Scheme Rules, which can be downloaded here.
The accompanying document to the rules is the CMCS Position on Technical Requirements, available to download here. This document provides clarification on specific requirements in the underlying standards.
Certification marks
Once a product has been certified, it must be marked with the applicable trademark registered certification mark(s) shown below. These are the REAL Home Compostable and REAL Industrially Compostable marks.
Guidance for producers on the requirements for the use of the marks can be found here.
Licensing
The requirements for the licensee can be found in the licence agreement. This agreement sets out the terms and conditions for use of the REAL compostable certification marks.
The licence agreement is valid for the period of certificate validity, assuming the products remain compliant.
Verification
A certificate is issued with a period of validity (5 years) and during this time, samples of the product are required to be tested and assessed.
The products are tested by means of IR spectroscopy and chemical characterisation testing. IR testing takes place annually and chemical characterisation testing takes place once during the period of certificate validity.
Fees
The fees for the certification process are charged by the certification bodies and the fees for the licence to use the certification marks are charged by the scheme owner (£100 per year). The certification bodies' fees can be obtained from the certification bodies by emailing sales-environment@dincertco.de (DIN Certco) or okcert@be.tuvaustria.com (TUV Austria). If testing is required, fees are also charged by approved laboratories.
FAQs
Frequently asked questions can be found here.
