The Compostable Field Testing Program
We’re fundraising for the 2025-2027 work plan of the Compostable Field Testing Program!
Thank you to those who have already contributed:
What is the Compostable Field Testing Program? 
The Compostable Field Testing Program (CFTP) is an international, open-source research platform that enables composters to field test the disintegration of compostable foodware and packaging in their own operations. Operating since 2016, the CFTP has collected data from field trials conducted at sites varying in geography, scale, and composting technologies.
Why does open source field testing matter?
As more composters incorporate food waste into their feedstocks, the question of whether—and how—to accept compostable foodware and packaging remains a pressing and often debated issue. While lab-based certification provides a necessary starting point, real-world disintegration is far more complex. Field testing has emerged as a critical area of research to evaluate how certified compostable products perform under the diverse and variable conditions found in actual composting operations.
The CFTP is first and foremost a non-profit research and education project. While field testing is an inexact and evolving science, rigor and integrity of scientific inquiry are core to the program's ethos.
PROGRAM GOALS AND BENEFITS
Compostability standards and field testing in North America has been evolving since the 1990s, and the CFTP adds an important tool in this progression.
The CFTP:
- Helps individual composters identify which compostable product types break down in their systems, and correlate that disintegration to a larger study of operating conditions
- Creates an open source database of disintegration results to inform industry, policymakers, packaging brands and consumers
- Contributes to standardized test methods iterated through real-world test environments
- Provides a platform for related research, such as refined and new field testing methods and analyses on the composting process and biodegradation.
CREF has been a cornerstone partner in the development and success of the CFTP. As a co-founding organization, CREF brought its longstanding mission to advance composting science and education to the forefront of this groundbreaking initiative. From the outset, CREF provided the non-profit governance structure needed to steward the CFTP’s open-source, public-interest research model. It helped shape the program’s vision, ensuring that the field testing of certified compostable products would be conducted with scientific integrity and shared widely for the benefit of composters, policymakers, manufacturers, and the public.
As the non-profit partner in the program, CREF has played a key role in ensuring the CFTP remains an independent and credible research platform, free from commercial influence. By facilitating collaboration across industry, municipal, and research partners, CREF has helped build the trust and transparency that underpin the program’s reputation. As the program expands its reach and impact, CREF continues to serve as a trusted steward, championing evidence-based approaches to evaluating compostable products and advancing the circular economy.