Participation
Joining the Soilganics diversion program earns your business Tier 1 participant status. Identify the site and the materials you collect there.
Standards & measurement
How we measure diversion.
Your diversion rate shows what share of your site’s compostable materials was recovered. It includes verified composting and recycling. We count each load once, at the site it came from and in the period the records cover.
The method
Calculate the share diverted.
Divide the verified weight recovered by the total weight of all compostable materials your site discarded in the same period. Multiply by 100 to get the diversion rate.
The total includes compostable material that went to landfill, to composting, to recycling, or to another destination. Already-recycled paper and cardboard count in the total and, once verified, in the recovered weight. Exclude material outside the compostable categories.
Use the incoming weight of material confirmed as processed, after subtracting rejects. For mixed batches, use documented proportions to allocate recovered weight to each source. Missing or estimated weights and pending loads count as recovered only once Soilganics verifies the weight and outcome. Soilganics confirms the rate before it awards a seal.
In this example, the site discards 10,000 kg of compostable material. It sends 6,500 kg to a composter and 3,500 kg directly to landfill. The composter rejects 500 kg and confirms recovery of the remaining 6,000 kg. The diversion rate is 6,000 ÷ 10,000 × 100 = 60%, within the Bronze range.
Measuring a decrease in landfill waste. Use documented landfill waste from the prior 12 months at the same site. Compare equivalent time spans or average monthly weights when periods differ. The medal percentage uses compostable materials from the current reporting period.
Food scraps to compost
One site · One reporting period
- Total compostable material at the site
- 10,000 kg
- Collected for composting
- 6,500 kg
- Sent directly to landfill
- 3,500 kg
- Sent to landfill by the processor
- 500 kg
- Recovered through composting
- 6,000 kg
- Total sent to landfill
- 4,000 kg
- Landfill diversion rate
- 60%
Eligible materials
What can count?
The program covers food waste, paper, cardboard, landscape debris, and other compostable materials. The material’s category determines whether it belongs in the total. Its verified destination determines whether it counts as recovered.
For example, a cardboard box belongs in the total whether it goes to a recycler or to landfill. If the recycler confirms recovery, count that weight as diverted. If the box goes to landfill, it counts only in the total.
The three program tiers.
Recovery Statement
Soilganics issues a Recovery Statement when your site has six months of collection history in the program and records that confirm how much material the processor recovered. The statement identifies where that material went.
Full certification
Full certification requires Soilganics to verify the route from collection through processing and confirm that at least 50% of the site’s compostable materials were diverted. Tier 3 has no fixed minimum reporting period.
Tier 3 · Full certification
Landfill diversion seals.
What does 50% diverted mean?
Bronze starts when at least half of the site’s compostable material, by weight, is verified as recovered during the reporting period.
For example, a café discards 100 pounds of compostable material in one month. It continues recycling 40 pounds of cardboard, starts composting 10 pounds of food scraps it used to send to landfill, and sends the remaining 50 pounds to landfill. Once verified, the 40 pounds recycled and 10 pounds composted give the café a 50% diversion rate.
How much less went to landfill? Suppose the café’s landfill records for the prior 12 months show an average of 60 pounds per month. This month it sent 50 pounds, a 10-pound decrease. The café was already recycling its cardboard during that earlier year.
Bronze
50% to under 70% diverted
Silver
70% to under 85% diverted
Gold
85% or more diverted
Accountability
Review and corrections.
Each review covers one site, a reporting period, and the materials listed in its records. If a weight, destination, or result is incorrect, Soilganics checks the original records and corrects the statement or directory listing.
To request a correction, identify the listing or statement, describe the change, and give the team a reply email. Include the site and reporting period if you know them.
Request a correction