Australia has a waste problem – one that requires an urgent solution. In many parts of the world, many of these solutions centre on encouraging recycling as part of an alignment with the circular economy.

However, the topic of recycling in Australia is a contentious one. Just 42% of household waste is recycled – significantly less than most other developed nations[1]. WWF Australia bluntly describes the recycling sector as a “mess”[2]. In its defence, the Australian Council of Recycling argues that the recycling industry adds almost $6bn to the country’s GDP, and that many of the issues faced by the sector are outside its control[3].

Compostable packaging has emerged as a potential solution to the many issues plaguing the sector. While often thought of as a sort of competitor to recyclable packaging, the situation in Australia demonstrates how compostable technology can instead complement it, easing the pressure on the creaking recycling industry and helping to solve Australia’s waste problems for good.

A series of setbacks

The recycling sector has been built on shaky foundations for some time. Australia’s recycling sector is highly fragmented, made up of a patchwork of different systems and regulations that vary wildly between states and territories. Some local authorities have the capability to recycle waste materials themselves, while others contract this to the private sector.

This resulted in a recycling sector that was heavily reliant on exporting waste to Asia; a practice that screeched to a halt in 2018 when, led by China, Asian countries stopped accepting waste from the rest of the world. This created a backlog of waste that the country has yet to fully catch up with.

While 2019’s National Waste Policy Action Plan[4] attempted to provide a harmonised waste management framework to mitigate some of the issues, efforts to improve recycling were dealt a further blow in 2022 when the REDcycle program collapsed. This scheme, which operated at 2,000 retailers across the country, was dedicated to collecting and recycling soft plastics. After the collapse of the scheme, it emerged that huge quantities of flexible plastic items had simply been stockpiled rather than recycled[5], as the operator struggled to overcome a lack of capacity.

No magic bullet solution

All of this is to say the issues with Australia’s recycling infrastructure are deep-rooted and complex. There is no magic bullet solution, and simply designing packaging to be recyclable is effectively an empty gesture if the infrastructure does not exist to actually recycle it.

This is where compostable packaging can enter the conversation. In theory, every pack sent to the compost heap is a pack that avoids landfill and, in this case, avoids an overstretched recycling system too. However, compostable materials have their own questions to answer.

One of these questions is, ‘How compostable is compostable packaging?’. There are two types of compostable materials that can be used in packaging – industrially compostable and home compostable. Home compostable packaging must biodegrade within a certain timeframe and disintegrate into small pieces in normal domestic composting conditions. Industrially compostable packaging must be sent to a commercial organic waste processing facility as it requires artificially raised temperatures to break down within the required timeframe. Home compostable packaging can also be sent to these facilities, where it will compost even faster than it would in a domestic compost heap. However, it faces the same challenge that recyclable packaging does – namely, there is a lack of infrastructure available to collect and process it.

The latest estimates are that there are around 150 commercial composting facilities in Australia[6], and the regulatory framework that governs them is fragmented. For example, New South Wales requires specific applications to allow compostable materials in organic recycling facilities, while single-use compostable plastic items are banned altogether under the single-use plastic bans of 2022, which targeted items like plastic straws and cutlery. Within that jurisdiction, the City of Sydney is trialling collecting compostable materials alongside food waste[7].

Overcoming challenges through education

This all means that the regulations covering individual states are confusing and trying to stay on top of what is - and isn’t - compostable on a national scale is even more difficult. As part of its National Composting Packaging Strategy, the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) has launched a certification program consisting of two logos[8] – one for home compostable materials and one for industrially compostable products. The aim is to improve education and awareness about which materials can be safely sent for composting. Gaining consumer buy-in through education will prove to be vital as compostable materials grow in acceptance and adoption.

While these standards are among the highest in the world for compostability – for example, AS 4735 includes an additional requirement for a worm test, which assesses the non-toxicity of the resulting compost on earthworms – they remain voluntary, which limits their effectiveness.

Many of the challenges faced by industrially compostable packs can be avoided by home compostable materials. Packaging designed as home compostable can be composted in a domestic compost heap, meaning that consumers can effectively create their own miniature closed loops. If home compostable innovations can deliver the level of performance that consumers expect, and if they can count on the continued support of Canberra to encourage the use of compostable solutions as part of a broader waste management strategy, they should see many opportunities over the coming years.

At Parkside Flexibles, we have been at the forefront of investment in compostable packaging innovation in the APAC region and around the world for over a decade. We have been involved in studies around the globe – such as the UK’s Compostable Coalition project[9], which included a successful six-week consumer behaviour trial – to prove the viability of compostable packaging at a local scale.

While many problems still exist within the Australian waste management sector, there is also hope and opportunity. Compostable materials now present a viable alternative to non-recyclable plastics for many applications, and the frameworks are in place to improve consumer education and regulations as necessary. This means it now presents a realistic option that can share some of the burden of the circular economy with the recycling industry – and be the missing piece of Australia’s packaging waste puzzle.

Notes to editors

Parkside is an innovative packaging solutions provider specialising in compostable, recyclable, paper-based and innovative plastic flexible packaging solutions for the food, personal & household care and tobacco sectors. Established for over 40 years, the company is a global supplier with manufacturing sites in both the UK & Asia and is headquartered in Normanton, West Yorkshire. For further information, please visit our website Parkside Asia - Parkside Flexibles and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

For further media enquiries, please contact Rebecca Iaconianni-Gould at Think B2B Marketing Ltd.
Tel: +44 (0) 1977 708643
Email: rebecca.iaconianni-gould@thinkb2bmarketing.com

For more information on Parkside and its activities, please contact Think B2B Marketing Ltd, First Floor, Zucchi Suite, Nostell Business Estate, Wakefield, WF4 1AB. United Kingdom. 
Tel: +44 (0) 1977 708 643
Email: hello@thinkb2bmarketing.com

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