The USDA National Organic Program (NOP) issued a letter to the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) on October 11, 2023 requesting the NOSB update their work agenda to include a discussion on amending the standard’s current term definition and practice standard for compost (7 CFR 205.2 and 7 CFR 205.203, respectively). The NOP’s request comes about following a recent petition submitted by the Bioplastics Products Institute (BPI) to amend the definition for compost to allow for a more diverse set of feedstock materials, and related recent work originating from the NOSB’s Crops and Executive Subcommittees addressing updating composting requirements to include new information relative to compost manufacturing practices (C:N ratios).

Currently, the federal definition for compost within the NOP organic standard stipulates that compost feedstocks can only be comprised of natural substances (unless specifically prohibited by 7 CFR 602) and newspaper and/or recycled paper without glossy or colored ink as compost feedstock. BPI’s petition to the NOP is to allow for the inclusion of other feedstock materials that meet the ASTM International’s compostability standards. BPI states this would address the increasing interest and utilization of compostable packaging, compostable packaging requirements introduced by various state regulations, and the increasing diversity of feedstocks available for compost production.

The Western Growers’ Science team encourages feedback regarding the above petition to amend the definition of compost for organic production. Topics to consider include the interest in increasing available options for compost materials, how compost can support climate-smart agriculture initiatives, how bioplastics and compostable feedstocks may relate to unavoidable residual environmental contamination (UREC), and potential food safety concerns originating from a diverse set of feedstock materials.