I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 10112 

To amend the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 

to establish a system to regulate compostable agricultural packaging, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 12, 2024 

Mrs. CHAVEZ-DEREMER introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To amend the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade 

Act of 1990 to establish a system to regulate 

compostable agricultural packaging, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Compostable Agri5 culture Packaging Act of 2024’’ or the ‘‘CAP Act of 

6 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PACKAGING AND CLAIMS KNOWLEDGE ACT OF 2024. 

2 Section 1472 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, 

3 and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5402) is amended by 

4 adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(e) COMPOSTABLE PACKAGING.— 

6 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 ‘‘(A) ACCREDITATION.— The term ‘accred8 itation’ means a determination by a recognized 

9 accreditation that a third-party certification 

10 body meets the applicable requirements for 

11 verifying compostable material. 

12 ‘‘(B) ACCREDITATION BODY.—The term 

13 ‘accreditation body’ means a person that per14 forms accreditation of third-party certification 

15 bodies. 

16 ‘‘(C) ACCREDITED THIRD-PARTY CERTIFI17 CATION BODY.—The term ‘accredited third18 party certification body’ means a third-party 

19 certification body that a recognized accredita20 tion body has determined meets the applicable 

21 requirements and is accredited to evaluate, de22 velop, and authorize compostable claims and in23 structions for consumer product packaging. 

24 ‘‘(D) CLAIM.—The term ‘claim’ means any 

25 statement or representation on labeling that is 

26 conveyed through any means, including through 


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1 writing, symbols, marks, graphics, or electronic 

2 or digital links, except that a claim shall not in3 clude any instructions regarding how to com4 post packaging. 

5 ‘‘(E) COMPOSTABLE.—The term 

6 ‘compostable’ means the packaging will break 

7 down into, or otherwise become part of, usable 

8 compost (e.g., soil-conditioning material, mulch) 

9 in an appropriate industrial composting facility, 

10 or in a home compost pile or device, within a 

11 reasonable and specified period of time. 

12 ‘‘(F) CONSUMER PRODUCT.—The term 

13 ‘consumer product’ means any tangible product 

14 which is sold, offered for sale, or distributed in 

15 the United States, or intended to be sold, of16 fered for sale, or distributed in the United 

17 States, to a person that is an individual con18 sumer, which is normally used or consumed by 

19 an individual consumer, including, but not lim20 ited to, for personal, recreational, educational, 

21 family, household, or personal property mainte22 nance or care purposes, and shall include prod23 ucts that are ordinarily available for purchase 

24 by individual consumers. 


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1 ‘‘(G) LABEL.—The term ‘label’ means a 

2 display of written, printed, or graphic matter 

3 upon, or attached to, packaging. 

4 ‘‘(H) LABELING.—The term ‘labeling’ 

5 means all labels and other written, printed, or 

6 graphic matter accompanying such packaging 

7 at any time or to which reference is made on 

8 the label or in literature accompanying the 

9 packaging. 

10 ‘‘(I) PACKAGING.—The term ‘packaging’ 

11 means any material that is used for the con12 tainment, protection, handling, delivery, and 

13 presentation of a tangible product, including 

14 food, that is sold, offered for sale, or distributed 

15 in the United States. 

16 ‘‘(J) PERSON.—The term ‘person’ means 

17 an individual, trust, firm, joint stock company, 

18 corporation (including a government corpora19 tion), partnership, association, State, munici20 pality, commission, political subdivision of a 

21 State, or any interstate body and shall include 

22 each department, agency, and instrumentality 

23 of the United States. 

24 ‘‘(K) RECOGNIZED ACCREDITATION

25 BODY.—The term ‘recognized accreditation 


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1 body’ means an accreditation body that the Sec2 retary has determined meets the applicable re3 quirements and is authorized to accredit third4 party certification bodies. 

5 ‘‘(L) THIRD-PARTY CERTIFICATION

6 BODY.—The term ‘third-party certification 

7 body’ means a person that is eligible to be con8 sidered for accreditation to evaluate, develop 

9 and authorize compostable claims and instruc10 tions for consumer product packaging. 

11 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF SYSTEM FOR REC12 OGNITION OF ACCREDITATION BODIES AND ACCREDI13 TATION OF THIRD-PARTY CERTIFICATION BODIES TO

14 AUTHORIZE COMPOSTABLE CLAIMS AND INSTRUC15 TIONS FOR CONSUMER PRODUCT PACKAGING.— 

16 ‘‘(A) RECOGNITION OF ACCREDITATION

17 BODIES.—No later than 18 months after the 

18 adoption of this section, the Director shall— 

19 ‘‘(i) establish a system for the rec20 ognition of accreditation bodies and begin 

21 accepting applications from accreditation 

22 bodies; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) promulgate regulations to estab24 lish model accreditation criteria for recog25 nized accreditation bodies to use in accredVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:13 Nov 13, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10112.IH H10112

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1 iting third-party certification bodies who 

2 shall evaluate, develop and authorize 

3 compostable claims and instructions for 

4 consumer product food packaging. 

5 ‘‘(B) ACTION ON APPLICATIONS FOR REC6 OGNITION OF ACCREDITATION BODIES.—The 

7 Director shall act on an application from an ac8 creditation body within 120 days after receipt 

9 of the accreditation body’s application by deny10 ing the application or recognizing the accredita11 tion body. 

12 ‘‘(C) FEES.—The Secretary shall have no 

13 authority to collect fees as part of the applica14 tion process for accreditation bodies. 

15 ‘‘(D) DURATION OF RECOGNITION.—Rec16 ognition of accreditation, once granted, shall 

17 not lapse unless the recognized accreditation 

18 body voluntarily ceases to accredit third-party 

19 certification bodies or the recognition of accred20 itation is revoked under this section. 

21 ‘‘(E) FINAL AGENCY ACTION.—Denial of 

22 an accreditation body’s application by the Di23 rector shall constitute a final agency action that 

24 may be challenged in the United States District 

25 Courts. 


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1 ‘‘(F) DIRECT ACCREDITATION.—If, by the 

2 date that is 4 years after the adoption of 

3 Compostable Agriculture Packaging Act of 

4 2024, the Director has not identified and recog5 nized an accreditation body, the Secretary may 

6 directly accredit third-party certification bodies. 

7 ‘‘(G) PUBLICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR

8 RECOGNIZED ACCREDITATION BODIES.—The 

9 Secretary shall publish a list of recognized ac10 creditation bodies on the Environmental Protec11 tion Agency’s website. 

12 ‘‘(H) LISTS OF ACCREDITED THIRD-PARTY

13 CERTIFICATION BODIES AND PUBLICATION RE14 QUIREMENTS.—Recognized accreditation bodies 

15 shall provide a list of accredited third-party cer16 tification bodies to the Secretary and the Sec17 retary shall publish a list of accredited third18 party certification bodies. 

19 ‘‘(I) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—A recog20 nized accreditation body shall not be owned, 

21 managed, or controlled by any person that owns 

22 or operates an accredited third-party certifi23 cation body. 

24 ‘‘(3) DEVELOPMENT OF MODEL ACCREDITA25 TION CRITERIA REGULATIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) REGULATIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A compostable 

3 claim for consumer product packaging, and 

4 instructions for how to compost consumer 

5 product packaging, may be used only if au6 thorized by an accredited third-party cer7 tification body that a recognized accredita8 tion body has determined meets the model 

9 accreditation criteria developed by the Di10 rector. 

11 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary 

12 shall promulgate regulations to establish 

13 model accreditation criteria for— 

14 ‘‘(I) the use of compostable 

15 claims for consumer product pack16 aging that are not false or misleading, 

17 and in so doing shall— 

18 ‘‘(aa) work with the Federal 

19 Trade Commission and coordi20 nating on issues relating to the 

21 use of compostable claims for 

22 consumer product packaging that 

23 are not false or misleading; 

24 ‘‘(bb) incorporate prominent 

25 standards in place on the date of 


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1 the enactment of this Act and 

2 that relate to use of compostable 

3 claims for consumer product 

4 packaging; 

5 ‘‘(cc) consider different 

6 types of consumer product pack7 aging materials; 

8 ‘‘(dd) consider different col9 ors, shapes, and sizes of con10 sumer product packaging mate11 rials; 

12 ‘‘(ee) consider the use of dif13 ferent methods, including any ex14 isting, emerging, or future tech15 nologies, in authorizing a range 

16 of disclosure options for claims 

17 that consumer product packaging 

18 is compostable; and 

19 ‘‘(ff) have no authority to 

20 require, compel, or otherwise 

21 mandate a person to make a 

22 claim that consumer product 

23 packaging is compostable. 

24 ‘‘(II) use of acceptable labeling 

25 instructions for how to compost conVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:13 Nov 13, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10112.IH H10112

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1 sumer product packaging that are 

2 clear and readily understandable, and 

3 in so doing shall— 

4 ‘‘(aa) incorporate prominent 

5 standards in place on the date of 

6 the enactment of this act and 

7 that relate to use of labeling in8 structions for how to compost 

9 consumer product packaging; 

10 ‘‘(bb) consider different 

11 types of consumer product pack12 aging materials; 

13 ‘‘(cc) consider different col14 ors, shapes, and sizes of con15 sumer product packaging mate16 rials; 

17 ‘‘(dd) provide for the use of 

18 different methods, including any 

19 existing, emerging, or future 

20 technologies, in authorizing a 

21 range of disclosure options for in22 structions for how to compost 

23 product packaging; and 

24 ‘‘(ee) have no authority to 

25 require, compel, or otherwise 


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1 mandate a person to include in2 structions for how to compost 

3 consumer product packaging. 

4 ‘‘(B) EVALUATIONS OF THIRD-PARTY CER5 TIFICATION BODIES.—Prior to accrediting a 

6 third-party certification body, a recognized ac7 creditation body may perform such reviews of 

8 the internal systems and undertake other inves9 tigations of the third-party certification body to 

10 determine whether each accredited third-party 

11 certification body has the systems in place to 

12 ensure the model accreditation standards are 

13 met when the accredited third-party certifi14 cation body evaluates, develops, and authorizes 

15 compostable claims and instructions for con16 sumer product packaging. 

17 ‘‘(C) NON-CONSUMER PRODUCT PACK18 AGING.—Any regulations or requirements im19 posed under this section shall not apply to non20 consumer product packaging except that 

21 compostable claims for non-consumer product 

22 packaging are subject to other provisions of the 

23 law. 


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1 ‘‘(4) RECORDS ACCESS AND PROCEDURES FOR

2 REVOCATION AND REINSTATEMENT OF RECOGNIZED

3 ACCREDITATION BODIES.— 

4 ‘‘(A) RECORDS.—Following the recognition 

5 of an accreditation body, or the accreditation of 

6 a third-party certification body by a recognized 

7 accreditation body, the Secretary may, at any 

8 time, request the recognized accreditation body 

9 or any accredited third-party certification body 

10 to provide records and other documents for pur11 poses of determining compliance with the model 

12 accreditation criteria established under law. 

13 ‘‘(B) REVOCATION OF RECOGNITION OF AN

14 ACCREDITATION BODY.—The Secretary may re15 voke the recognition of any accreditation body 

16 found to have knowingly and intentionally ac17 credited a third-party certification body that is 

18 not in compliance with the model accreditation 

19 criteria. 

20 ‘‘(5) USE OF RESIN IDENTIFICATION CODES.— 

21 Packaging that is not eligible to bear a compostable 

22 claim shall not bear a Resin Identification Code 

23 (RIC) that is surrounded by 3 chasing, triangulated 

24 arrows, except that such packaging may bear a RIC 

25 that is surrounded by an equilateral triangle, conVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:13 Nov 13, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10112.IH H10112

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1 sistent with ASTM International Standard D7611/ 

2 D7611M–19. 

3 ‘‘(6) MISBRANDED PACKAGING.—Packaging is 

4 misbranded if it knowingly and intentionally— 

5 ‘‘(A) bears a compostable claim that is 

6 false or misleading; or 

7 ‘‘(B) is consumer product packaging that 

8 does not conform to the requirements, including 

9 any regulations established by the Secretary, 

10 under this section. 

11 ‘‘(7) ENFORCEMENT.— 

12 ‘‘(A) ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY.—The 

13 Secretary shall only have the authorities speci14 fied in this section to enforce violations of this 

15 subtitle, including the lack of any authority to 

16 recall any products, or to assess criminal pen17 alties or seek imprisonment, on the basis of 

18 whether any packaging for such products is 

19 misbranded under this subtitle. 

20 ‘‘(B) JURISDICTION.—In order to facilitate 

21 the efficient regulation and enforcement of the 

22 provisions of this subtitle, it is established 

23 that— 

24 ‘‘(i) the Secretary shall exercise pri25 mary jurisdiction over a claim that any 


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1 packaging, including packaging for con2 sumer products and non-consumer prod3 ucts, is compostable; 

4 ‘‘(ii) the Federal Trade Commission 

5 shall exercise primary jurisdiction over 

6 other matters regarding advertising that 

7 packaging is compostable; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) the Secretary and the Federal 

9 Trade Commission shall enter into a 

10 memorandum of understanding for the 

11 purpose of joint planning and coordination, 

12 exchange of information, and the careful 

13 selection of the procedure of either Agency 

14 promising greatest benefits to the public. 

15 ‘‘(C) PROCEEDINGS IN THE NAME OF THE

16 UNITED STATES.—All such proceedings for the 

17 enforcement, or to restrain violations, of this 

18 subtitle shall be by and in the name of the 

19 United States. 

20 ‘‘(D) PREEMPTION.—No State or political 

21 subdivision of a State may establish, enforce, or 

22 continue in effect any provision of law or a legal 

23 requirement that is not identical with any re24 quirement, including any regulations promul25 gated by the Secretary, under this section, and 


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1 no person shall be liable under the laws of any 

2 State or any political subdivision thereof for 

3 making a compostable claim for consumer prod4 uct packaging that is authorized by an accred5 ited third-party certification body. 

6 ‘‘(E) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—A civil action 

7 may be brought only in United States District 

8 Court to enjoin the sale, distribution, or impor9 tation into the United States of packaging that 

10 is misbranded within the meaning of this sec11 tion. Such actions may be brought by the Sec12 retary, or by the Attorney General, in any 

13 United States District Court for a district 

14 wherein the violation occurred, or in the United 

15 States District Court for the district wherein 

16 the defendant is found or transacts business. 

17 ‘‘(F) COMPLIANCE DATES.—Packaging 

18 shall not be subject to any of the requirements 

19 imposed under this subtitle, including any 

20 standards that are promulgated, until January 

21 1, 2028, or at a later date, if the Secretary de22 termines additional time is needed.’’. 

Æ 


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