Industrial Compostability Passed off as Home Compostable on Shelf
Finished packaging claims demand independent home compostability certification because industrial resin testing excludes ambient degradation and converting inks.
Converter Scope Auditing
Line Verification
Fibre provenance verification checks chain of custody documentation from forest managers to finishing mills. Converter scope auditing serves this function by inspecting facility boundaries where virgin pulp transforms into folding boxboard. Independent evaluators examine mass balance accounts for recycled content inputs alongside virgin fibre percentages.
Certification standards require mills to segregate certified lots physically from uncertified material before production runs commence. Paperboard manufacturers maintain documented evidence proving that every tonne claimed under a specific forestry standard originates from certified woodlands.
Mass Balance
Auditing procedures track raw material inputs against finished output quantities through specific processing cycles. Converter scope auditing reconciles fibre volumes entering the pulping machine with paper reels leaving the dry end. Production losses during trimming and broke pulping complicate mass balance calculations because waste percentages vary by grade.
Mill operators must account for fibre yield losses accurately so that certified output quantities do not exceed certified input volumes. Scrap management records demonstrate whether processing losses remain within standard industry tolerances for particular cartonboard weights.
Supply Thresholds
Percentage claims on packaging print depend upon strict threshold boundaries defined in chain of custody rules. Converter scope auditing verifies whether a facility meets the minimum physical input percentage required to label mixed products responsibly. Facilities failing to maintain required separation thresholds lose certification eligibility for specific product lines immediately.
Procurement managers adjust supplier contracts when auditing reports reveal discrepancies between declared fibre origins and delivered mill shipments.