California Biodegradable Law: Labeling Rules and Penalties

The California biodegradable law bans the words “biodegradable,” “degradable,” and “decomposable” on nearly any product sold in the state, allows “compostable” only when strict testing and certification requirements are met, and backs those rules with civil penalties under both the Public Resources Code and California’s unfair competition law. New requirements that took effect January 1, 2026, add PFAS limits and USDA organic-input standards on top of the existing ASTM testing obligations.

What the Law Covers

The rules reach broadly. A 2022 amendment expanded the labeling statute from “plastic product” to “product,” which now covers consumer goods of any material, packaging and packaging components, bags and thin plastic film, and food or beverage containers including straws, lids, and utensils.¹ A “consumer product” means any product or part of a product that is 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.

Why You Cannot Call a Product “Biodegradable”

You cannot sell or offer for sale any product in California that is labeled “biodegradable,” “degradable,” or “decomposable,” or that implies in any way that the product will break down in a landfill or other environment.² This is a near-total prohibition rather than a standard you can meet. The Legislature concluded that the terms are inherently misleading on products because degradation depends on conditions consumers cannot control.

The ban extends beyond text. Using green, beige, or brown tinting on a plastic bag that does not qualify as compostable counts as implying the bag will break down, which violates the statute.² Images like leaves and trees can create the same problem if the product is not actually compostable under the law. The narrow exceptions involve products that qualify for “compostable” labeling and certain agricultural mulch films.

When You Can Say “Compostable”

A product labeled “compostable” must meet one of the ASTM International specifications recognized by California: ASTM D6400 for plastics designed to be composted in industrial facilities, or ASTM D6868 for products that use plastic coatings or additives with paper and similar substrates, also designed for industrial composting.² Meeting only part of the specification does not count.

For “home compostable” claims, the manufacturer must hold OK compost HOME certification, which adapts European Norm 13432 for the lower temperatures of backyard systems.¹ If ASTM later adopts a home compostability standard that CalRecycle finds at least as strict, that standard would replace the certification requirement.

The 2026 Requirements

Several additional conditions phased in on January 1, 2026, that any “compostable” or “home compostable” product must now meet:

Third-party certification from an entity CalRecycle has approved for the applicable ASTM standard, where one has been approved.
The product must qualify as an allowable agricultural organic input under the USDA National Organic Program.
Total organic fluorine concentration cannot exceed 100 parts per million, unless CalRecycle adopts a different PFAS limit it finds more effective.
The labeling must let consumers tell the product apart from noncompostable look-alikes on reasonable inspection, and let composting facilities process it efficiently.
The product must be designed for collection with food scraps, yard trimmings, and similar organic waste bound for composting.

The PFAS cap in particular knocks out many grease-resistant food containers and wrappers that previously cleared the ASTM standards.² A separate statute, Health and Safety Code Section 109000, already prohibits selling plant-fiber food packaging that contains intentionally added PFAS or any PFAS presence above 100 parts per million, whether or not the product carries a compostable label.³

Compostable Bag Labeling

Compostable plastic bags carry their own physical labeling rules. The bag must display a third-party-verified certification logo for ASTM D6400, and it must be visually distinct from conventional plastic bags in one of two ways: a uniform green bag with the word “compostable” on one side in lettering at least one inch tall, or the word “compostable” on both sides in green lettering at least one inch tall (or inside a contrasting green band at least one inch tall, with lettering at least half an inch).⁴ Bags smaller than 14 by 14 inches may scale the lettering proportionally. A compostable bag must never carry a chasing-arrows recycling symbol.

Other Green Marketing Claims

The restrictions reach past 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. The statute incorporates the Federal Trade Commission’s Green Guides, so a claim that violates the Guides also violates California law.⁵ Conforming to the Green Guides provides a defense.

Phrases like “eco-friendly,” “earth-safe,” and “planet-friendly” are not automatically illegal, but they must be backed by a clear, specific explanation of what environmental benefit the product actually delivers. Unqualified broad claims with no substantiation are what the statute targets.

Documentation You Must Keep

Any company making environmental representations on a label or in advertising must keep written records supporting the claim and hand them over to any member of the public who requests them. The documentation must cover why the company believes the claim is true, any significant adverse environmental impacts from producing and disposing of the product, steps the company takes to reduce those impacts, any permit violations tied to production, and whether the product conforms to the FTC Green Guides.⁶ Separately, manufacturers and suppliers of products covered by the biodegradable and compostable labeling chapter must provide compliance documentation within 90 days of any public request, in an accessible format.²

Competitors, advocacy groups, and individual consumers can all demand the documentation. Not producing it creates legal exposure on its own.

Penalties

Enforcement runs on two tracks, and the penalties stack.

Under the labeling statute itself, 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 every subsequent violation.⁷ Each mislabeled unit sold can count as a separate violation, so the numbers climb quickly at any real distribution scale. The penalty money goes to the office that brought the action, and the Attorney General can recover state agency costs from the violator.

The statute also says these remedies do not replace enforcement under California’s unfair competition law.⁷ Business and Professions Code Section 17206 adds a separate civil penalty of up to $2,500 per violation for unfair competition.⁸

Who Can Sue

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. City attorneys qualify if they are from a city with a population over 750,000, from a city and county, or a full-time city prosecutor acting with the district attorney’s consent.⁹ Private individuals who have lost money or property because of the misleading claim can also sue. A consumer who bought a product on the strength of a false environmental claim, and paid a premium for it, has standing. Compliance planning that assumes only state agencies will enforce the law misses half the risk.

1
California Legislative Information. California Code Public Resources Code – Products
2
California Legislative Information. California Code Public Resources Code 42357 – Products
3
California Legislative Information. California Code AB 1200 – Plant-Fiber Food Packaging
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California Legislative Information. California Code Public Resources Code 42357.5 – Compostable Plastic Bags
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California Legislative Information. California Code Business and Professions Code 17580.5 – Environmental Representations
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California Legislative Information. California Code Business and Professions Code 17580 – Environmental Representations
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California Legislative Information. California Code Public Resources Code 42358 – Civil Liability
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California Legislative Information. California Code Business and Professions Code 17206 – Civil Penalties
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California Legislative Information. California Code Business and Professions Code 17204 – Enforcement Standing