Compostability standards, circularity and the unrealised potential of certified compostable packaging
From 1 February 2024, what went into council kerbside recycling was unified across the nation. Councils (most, some decided not to implement organics collections) got kerbside food scraps or food and garden (FOGO) collections, and some councils accept compostable bin liners and certain types of garden materials. So, kerbside collections are almost universal. Here we will discuss why compostable packaging was excluded and what would need to happen for that to change.
Why organic food scrap (FOGO) collections exclude compostable packaging
In short, packaging is not regulated and this lack of legal framework results in the contamination of FOGO bins. Beyond this, insufficient legislation and market oversight created opportunities for companies to overstate the environmental benefits of their products, including inaccurate compostability claims that hinder industry progress.
Where a product is certified compostable and the composts are processed to meet or exceed the standard, the likelihood of residual material derived from compostable products is minimised or avoided.
For certified compostable packaging to be accepted kerbside, the following would be required:
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Develop a red list for chemicals in packaging and ban this packaging
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Ban PFAS in packaging by implementing mandatory testing
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Phase out look-a-like petrochemical products that cause contamination (PET cold cups and PE lined coffee cups, PP cup lids)
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Regulate and educate on compostable products and certifications. A national approach to making compostable products visually distinguishable (using certification logos) to assist in correctly identifying compostable products for organics collection
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Design organics standards that introduce national compost standards (test standards) and universally accepted inputs
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Banning non compostable, oxo biodegradable (fragmentable) bags with additives will mean that people can only purchase certified compostable bags for FOGO that will compost with other organic matter
If a company states its products are “compostable”, this is a claim predicting future outcomes and such claims require substantiation, such as whether plastics will biodegrade within a certain time frame and under certain conditions. Only certification to international standards provides assurance to composters that the product material, including all other components of the product, e.g. colours, labels and glues is compostable.
READ: Compostable materials in the real world: Scion x WasteMINZ
The EN 13432 standard was developed in response to the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive
The European standard (EN 13432) defines the requirements for packaging to be considered recoverable through composting and biodegradation, developed in response to the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (94/62/EC).
EN 13432 is the reference standard for all certification bodies. The European Norm about compostability of packaging (EN 13432) requires (besides a clear and detailed description of the product) 4 tests:
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biodegradation (chemical breakdown)
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disintegration (physical breakdown)
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ecotoxicity (assess negative effect on plants)
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heavy metal content
*(AS 4736) includes an additional earthworm toxicity test.
The compostability of a product is certified through certification bodies to either industrial or home compostability standards. The main certification bodies are:
* TÜV Austria
* DIN CERTCO
* Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI)
* Australasian Bioplastics Association (ABA)
The criteria for industrial compostability of packaging are set out in the European standard EN 13432 and it is this standard which is the basis for all other compostable standards which require compostable products to:
— disintegrate after 12 weeks
— and completely biodegrade after six months. That means 90 per cent or more of the plastic material will have been converted to CO2. Any remaining material must be able to pass through a 2 x 2 mm mesh, and what remains is transformed into water and biomass – i.e. valuable compost. EN 13432 also addresses the ecotoxicity of the resulting compost and sets limits on heavy metal content. Materials and products complying with this standard can be certified and labelled accordingly.
READ: What’s the difference between biodegradable and compostable?
The government's new era for waste fails to recognise that packaging recyclability and reusability efforts are not enough
July 01, 2023, further single-use plastic bans come into effect as our government works toward eliminating #3, #6 and #7 plastics in select applications. The plastic bans are part of the Transforming Recycling work and a broader new era for waste management in Aotearoa, New Zealand, announced on March 29, 2022 a waste strategy that commits Aotearoa, New Zealand, to a low-emissions, low-waste circular economy by 2050.
Multinational and local businesses signed the New Zealand Plastic Packaging Declaration and or New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, pledging to use 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging in local operations by 2025. And while The Ministry for the Environment supports adopting certified compostable packaging where recycling efforts are failing, the emphasis remains on increasing recycling rates which are, at best, 28%. The 2022 waste strategy should have provided a considerable evaluation of the ethical responsibility of phasing out plastics for alternative materials. Because while compostable materials are cyclical like those of nature—produced with renewable and/or agricultural waste materials and recoverable at the end of their life for organics recycling, inadequate national infrastructure exists.
There were no updates to the government waste work programme until this in March. This current waste and resource efficiency strategy is only 6 pages. And while there is a call for collaborative solutions, there are zero targets and no plan. It remains unclear whether we will see any policy and regulation to support a reduction in waste disposal.
READ: Plastic recycling was never going to work, and the industry knew it
This PDF document, The economic value of the waste sectors [WasteMINZ] also points out that in 2022, the waste sector contributed 4.5% of total greenhouse gas emissions and 8.5% of biogenic methane emissions—the latter of which is the result of organic materials in landfills. Yet, composting is not an area of focus. This remains a point of frustration for our industry and those connected to it—primarily contracted waste service providers and composters, given that, based on overseas examples, composting can grow to offset a significant portion of landfilling while reducing biogenic methane emissions.
Project Drawdown ran the numbers and calculated that establishing new compost facilities costs US$61 billion less for a 36-year period than establishing new landfills. Operating compost facilities costs more than operating landfills but this also means employment opportunities in addition to reducing biogenic methane and waste landfilled. The work programme disregards the waste hierarchy (there is a large landfill focus), while at the same time, the strategy document states that landfills cause harm.
READ: Rhode Street School, the kura that composts
In conclusion, without further waste reform to ban plastic produce stickers, look-a-like non-compostable packaging and adopting standards for compostability and enforcing these standards, contamination challenges will remain, and FOGO collections will not be able to accept certified compostable packaging.
Imagine if all those food delivery orders, the leftovers and packaging could be composted. While councils have discretion over some materials accepted, mainly the use of compostable bin liners (they increase participation) and garden content (contamination of hazardous chemicals, namely glyphosphate), short and long-term actions in regulating packaging materials are needed if we are to realise the potential of FOGO collections fully.
Discounting compostable packaging as a part of the future of waste management limits our capacity to recover, transform and produce new materials and/or energy as part of a circular economy. Because beyond reduced virgin fossil resources inputs, compostable materials represent a unique opportunity to divert more organic matter from landfill. Designed to decompose with food scraps, compostable packaging materials help increase the separate collection of bio-waste by recovering food scraps attached to (food) packaging that would otherwise be lost if the packaging is removed from the bio-waste stream.
READ: Reclaim’s new food waste and certified compostable packaging collection
Achieving a truly circular economy by 2050 requires carbon systems to become biobased and renewable. Single-use plastic bans will achieve a balance shift in packaging material stock, yet beyond replacing fossil fuel plastics with a better alternative, to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable and carbon-neutral future, we must close the loop. We need collaborative approaches between experts on the circular economy, councils and people working in waste management to collect and process compostable materials at scale.
Could your business start composting
As business owners or those in procurement positions, we must continue shifting product preferences in line with ecological needs. We’re ready. Are our national waste management systems and enterprises ready?
With over 500 SKUs, we offer packaging alternatives to all existing single-use disposable plastics in use and a full circle recovery service—Compost Collect in select regions. For more information, please speak with your account manager or send us an email at info@ecoware.co.nz.
