UL 1497 for Biodegradability and Compostability Validation

Biodegradability and compostability testing help you on the path toward a more sustainable future

Manufacturers and suppliers across various product categories are seeking ways to adopt sustainable practices, and many are focusing on product circularity. However, to differentiate themselves in the market, manufacturers also need a way to independently validate their efforts.

UL 1497, the Environmental Claim Validation Procedure (ECVP) for Biodegradability and Compostability Correlated to Managed Waste Disposal Methods, can help customers validate sustainability claims about their organic/natural materials or products based on degradation under managed waste disposal methods.

This procedure provides a framework evaluating a material’s suitability to biodegrade or compost in the following waste management methods:

• Managed landfill → aerobic/anaerobic biodegradation
• Industrial compostability → aerobic composting
• Biogas generation → anaerobic composting

It includes analyzing test results for biodegradability or compostability, biobased content, and the probable or intended disposal method.

UL 1497 helps manufacturers consider both how their materials or products are made and how they complete their life cycle. That enables manufacturers and suppliers to balance an increased focus on environmental impact with the need to deliver the quality and safety their customers expect.

For a material or product to meet UL 1497, it must be composed of biobased material according to UL 9798, Environmental Claim Validation Procedure (ECVP) for Biobased Content. This composition will allow it to properly biodegrade, greatly reducing waste mismanagement, which can become an environmental hazard.

Trust UL Solutions for biodegradability claims

UL Solutions has already contributed to the development of more than 80 environmental testing and auditing procedures to validate environmental claims, and UL 1497 ECVP expands our offerings to address organic/natural materials.

Embrace product circularity with UL Solutions

By validating your materials for biodegradibility and compostability with UL Solutions, you demonstrate your commitment to product circularity and an environmentally sustainable future.

The UL Environmental Claim Validation offers several benefits, including:

• Recognition in industry and governmental green purchasing policies, raising visibility among key stakeholders and driving marketplace demand for your products
• Ability to display the globally recognized UL Environmental Claim Validation Mark on your packaging and marketing materials
• Inclusion on the UL SPOT Product Database, a complimentary online tool that allows purchasers to identify products with sustainable attributes certified by an independent third party.

We can validate a variety of product categories that contain biobased materials for biodegradibility and compostability, including:

Related standards

• UL 1497, ECVP for Biodegradability and Compostability
• UL 9798, ECVP for Bio-Based Content
• UL 2809-1, ECVP for Defined Source Content 
• UL 2809-2, ECVP for Recycled Content 
• UL 2809-3, ECVP for Ocean Plastics and Ocean Bound Plastics
• UL 2809-4, ECVP for By-Product Synergy
• UL 2485, ECVP for Recyclability of Paper-Based Products
• UL 2789, ECVP for Calculation of Estimated Recyclability Rate