AS 4736 vs AS 5810 is a disposal-route decision, not a standards quiz. AS 4736 serves council organics collections. AS 5810 serves home composting. Conformance to one does not imply conformance to the other, and neither guarantees local collection acceptance. Fix the route first, then check whether your finished SKU falls inside the certificate scope. Our certifications page holds the documents.
AS 4736 vs AS 5810: Start With the Disposal Route, Not the Standard Name
Choose the certificate after the collection route is fixed. The two Australian programmes describe different end-of-life environments, and each certificate is written for a defined product and scope. Selecting by standard name instead of by route produces a bag certified for a path your customer never uses. Our US, EU and Australia comparison carries the test conditions and the scheme owners for both standards.
Three inputs settle the route: where the bag is sold, what the end user is told to do with it, and which collection stream receives it. A council food-organics contract, a supermarket produce bag and a retail bag sold for home composting can look identical on a specification sheet and still need different documents.
This is also where the two standards stop being interchangeable. Each has its own verification programme and its own logo. Conformance to one is not a shortcut to the other.
Council or FOGO collection: the industrial route
A kerbside food organics or FOGO service sends the bag to a commercial composting facility. That is the industrial route and the one AS 4736 addresses. Kitchen caddy liners are the typical product here, because they collect food scraps and carry them into the organics stream.
Put the destination into the specification. State the country, the state or territory, and the council or processor where you know them. Collection rules are local, and they change. Our certifications page shows which documents we hold by market. The acceptance decision belongs to the council or processor. The test conditions and scheme owner for that standard are in our US, EU and Australia comparison.
Backyard or home compost: the home route
A product sold for home composting takes the AS 5810 route. The buyer is telling the end user to put the bag in a backyard compost system, so the claim has to be backed by the home programme and by the right to use its mark.
Two practical consequences follow. The finished SKU needs coverage under the home route, and the artwork needs the correct logo under a current trademark licence. Both are separate from the industrial certificate.
Be precise about the end-of-life claim on the bag. A home-compostable product is not automatically accepted into a kerbside organics bin. That question is answered by the local collection rules, not by the standard it was verified against.
One SKU, two routes: when to ask for dual-route coverage
Most buying guides treat this as a choice between two standards. In procurement, it is often both. A single bag can go to a council programme through one channel and to home-composting households through another. When that happens, ask for coverage on both routes for the same finished SKU.
We hold ABA certificates on the industrial and the home-compost routes, so a specification can be checked against both instead of being split into two unrelated products. Dual coverage is a scope question. If the two channels use different artwork, colour, or thickness, they are two SKUs, and each needs its own check.
If your programme needs dual-route coverage, say so in the first enquiry. It changes which certificates we check and which samples we send.
| Intended end-of-life route | Typical product | Certificate route to check | Still to confirm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Council food organics or FOGO collection | Kitchen caddy liner, food-waste bag | AS 4736, commercial route | Current input rules of the named council or processor |
| Home compost or backyard system | Retail bag sold with a home-compost claim | AS 5810, home route | Logo rights and the wording of the on-pack claim |
| Both routes, one finished SKU | One specification sold through two channels | AS 4736 and AS 5810 coverage on the same SKU | Whether print, colour and thickness sit inside both scopes |
A Certificate Is Not a Collection Permit
A Certificate of Conformance says a defined product met the requirements of a standard. It does not give that product entry to a kerbside collection. The ABA FAQ puts it plainly: a Certificate of Conformance to AS 4736 and/or AS 5810 does not guarantee acceptance in kerbside organics collections or home composting, and applicants are responsible for confirming their intended end-of-life pathway. Councils, processors and state regulators set the input rules.
One worked example. NSW EPA guidance for household FO and FOGO bins permits compostable plastic kitchen caddy liners that comply with the commercial standard, and generally lists home-compostable products among the materials that are not recommended for those bins. A buyer holding a valid home-compost certificate can still have the bag refused at that stream.
Rules differ between jurisdictions and can be revised, so treat acceptance as a separate line item in the specification. Name the destination, ask the council or processor for its current input list, and keep that answer with the purchase record.
We supply the certificate documentation and a written scope statement for the SKU. Your council or processor makes the acceptance decision.
Is Your Product Even Eligible for ABA Verification?
Not every compostable bag can enter the ABA verification programme. The ABA eligibility FAQ states that certification to AS 4736 and AS 5810 applies to products that “actively divert food waste into organics recycling”, and that a Certificate of Conformance is for products that come into contact with food and divert food waste. Asked whether it will certify a compostable mailer, the ABA answers no.
This is the question most upstream guides skip. A mailing satchel, a pet waste bag, and a medical item do not divert food waste into organics recycling. If the product sits outside that boundary, an ABA certificate and its logo are not the compliance route for it, no matter how the film is made.
| Product | Diverts food waste | How we handle the Australian enquiry |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen caddy liners, food-waste bags | Yes | Check coverage on AS 4736, AS 5810, or both for the finished SKU |
| Produce or barrier bags for loose food | Yes | Check that the whole printed bag, including ink type and application rate, sits inside the certificate |
| Compostable mailing satchels | No | Route the enquiry to the destination market’s scheme. Our certifications page lists documents by market |
| Pet waste bags, medical items | No | Handle as a separate compliance question without an ABA claim |
For a mailing bag, the relevant documents are the ones for the destination market. Our certifications page organises the library by market, which is why the ABA section will not carry that product.
We ask this before we quote an Australian order. If the product is outside the eligibility boundary, adding a seedling logo to the artwork is not an option. Redirecting the specification early is cheaper than discovering the problem at the labelling stage.
How We Check Whether Your SKU Falls Inside a Certificate
Certificates are issued for a defined product and thickness, not for a brand. Coverage follows the finished item, its print, its colour and its construction, and the current status of each certificate sits with the issuing body’s directory. Our certifications page is that document library. We use it to check a specification against the certificates that actually cover that product family and thickness, and we point you back to the directory for verification.
Certificate numbers and their current validity are directory data. They belong in the document library and in the verification link, not on a sales page. What we give you is a written answer to a narrower question: does this finished SKU fall inside a certificate we hold, and under which route?
The five specification fields to send us
| Field | What to state | Why it changes the answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Use and end-of-life route | Caddy liner, retail bag, or produce bag. Council FOGO, home compost, or both | Sets which standard route applies |
| 2. Destination | Country, state/territory, and (where known) specific council or processing facility | Sets which collection rules to check |
| 3. Bag type and dimensions | Format, size, seal or handle, target pack-out | Sets which product family the certificate names |
| 4. Film thickness | Target thickness and tolerance | Coverage is per product and per thickness |
| 5. Print and colour | Ink type, number of colours, coverage area, film tint | Ink type and application rate have to be represented in the certificate scope |
Five fields, one message. Anything less and the answer becomes a guess about the artwork or the destination.
Why changing print, colour or thickness can move you outside a certificate’s scope
Western Australia’s barrier bag design standard is unusually explicit about this. It says “the entire item, as representative of the final product, must be certified” and “the type of ink and the rate of ink application must be represented in the certificate of conformance”. It also notes that the certification must represent the full and final bag.
A frequent sourcing sequence is: approve a plain sample, then add a second print colour, a green film tint, or a heavier gauge in production. The tested item and the shipped item are now different. Ink chemistry, ink coverage, pigment, masterbatch, and thickness were all in front of the certificate writer when the scope was set.
When we receive a revised artwork or gauge, we re-check the final specification against the certificate before confirming the order. If the new version sits outside the scope, we say which field caused it and propose a covered version or the amendment route through the certification body. That answer costs one email and prevents a relabelling problem later.
Why a material certificate cannot stand in for the finished-bag certificate
Resin and finished bags are certified at different levels. A resin certificate describes a material. The document a council, retailer, or private-label customer asks for names the finished bag, with its ink, thickness, and construction. Our ASTM D6400 testing page explains the distinction in detail.
Because we make both the film and the converted bags, we see the practical version of this. Two bags in one product family can sit under different certificates when their gauge or print differs. That is a scope detail rather than a contradiction, and it is why a resin certificate is useful upstream evidence but not the finished-product document.
When you request documents, ask for the one that names your finished SKU. If the supplier sends a resin certificate instead, the next question is which certificate covers the converted bag.
Logo and Trademark Rights for Private-Label Buyers
A supplier’s certificate does not transfer logo rights to a private-label buyer. The ABA FAQ answers its own question, “if my supplier is certified, does that mean I am?” with no, and states that the Association’s logos can be used by organisations whose products have been verified through the programme. Under the Home Compostable Verification Programme, using the mark also requires a signed and current Trademark and Licence Agreement, and the logo can be sublicensed to customers.
Put the logo question in the enquiry, not in the artwork approval. State whether you intend to print the Seedling logo, the Home Compostable logo, or neither, and whether your brand will be the certificate holder or a sublicensee.
We will tell you which certificate covers the SKU and whether your private-label route needs a sublicence, and we will supply the documents for that check. The licence is issued by the ABA, not by the manufacturer.
What to Put in Your Purchase Specification
A specification that names a standard but omits the route, destination, and print is not enough to check coverage. Five fields let a certificate holder answer yes or no on the finished SKU: use and end-of-life route, destination, bag type and dimensions, thickness, and print and colour. Send them together, and the reply can include a coverage statement, a sample plan and a quote.
A workable enquiry reads like this:
We are sourcing [bag type] in [dimensions] at [target thickness and tolerance], for [end-of-life route] in [country, state or council]. The artwork uses [number of colours] in [ink type] at approximately [coverage], with [film tint or no tint]. Please confirm which certificate covers this finished SKU, whether the print, colour, and thickness sit inside its scope, and whether the destination’s collection rules accept the product. Also confirm whether we need a sublicence for the certification logo.
One sentence per field is enough. A logo reference or an image of a supplier’s certificate is not a specification, because neither tells us the finished item you intend to ship.
Conclusion
Three checks settle most Australian enquiries. Fix the disposal route first. Confirm that the product sits inside the ABA eligibility boundary. Then confirm that the finished SKU, with its print, colour and thickness, falls inside a certificate we hold. Local collection acceptance is a fourth question, and it belongs with the council or processor.
Send us the five specification fields, and we will reply with a written coverage check for your SKU, the certificate documents that apply, and a sample and quotation plan. Send your specification.
FAQ
No. The ABA runs two separate verification programmes with two separate logos, and each is assessed against its own standard. A product intended for both routes needs coverage under both. The ABA also notes that pre-existing international certificates do not replace its own verification process.
No, and it should not be assumed. The ABA states that a Certificate of Conformance does not guarantee acceptance in kerbside organics collections, and NSW EPA guidance for household FO and FOGO bins excludes home-compostable products. Check the current input list for the specific council or processor before you place the order.
No. Its eligibility FAQ answers that question directly and limits a Certificate of Conformance to products that come into contact with food and divert food waste into organics recycling. For a mailing satchel, ask which scheme applies in the destination market instead.
Not by itself. The ABA says the logos can be used by organisations whose products have been verified through its programme, and the Home Compostable logo requires a current Trademark and Licence Agreement. A sublicence from the certificate holder is the usual private-label route.
Treat it as a new scope check. Western Australia’s design standard requires ink type and ink application rate to be represented in the certificate of conformance, and the certificate to represent the full and final bag. A change to artwork, tint or gauge can move the item outside the tested scope. Ask the supplier to confirm the final specification in writing.
No. A resin certificate covers the material. The document your customer or council asks for names the converted bag with its ink, thickness, and construction. Our ASTM D6400 testing page sets out why the two levels are not interchangeable.
