The Ministry for the Environment has issued a warning regarding compostable packaging, comparing it to single-use plastics.
Because it devalues their final product, composting facilities don’t want packaging made from plants.
Photo: 123RF
Because it devalues the final product, composting facilities don’t want it. Councils don’t pick it up at the curb.
According to the Ministry for the Environment, A cautious approach to compostable products should be takenThey are single-use and have no nutritional value or economic value.
It is also concerned about the possible effects of compostable products upon soils and the food supply chain. Therefore, it is conducting research to better understand these impacts.
Chris Purchas, chair of WasteMINZ organic materials, said that when a compostable package was placed in a garbage bin and sent to the landfill it decomposed slowly.
“Compostable products are designed for the process of reducing in composting. This process relies on a number of factors, but good aeration is crucial, and lots of airflow. You can place something in a landfill because it is compacted and contained, and has very little airflow.
“So, it’s not very practical to take a compostable item, use it once, and then dump it in the landfill.”
In 2019: A statementWasteMINZ stated that composters are “gravely concerned that a wide variety of compostable materials could devalue compost” and that they were being offered on the market.
Purchas stated that commercial composters were striving to create a nutrient-rich product that would improve soil fertility. Therefore, they were reluctant to accept packaging that did not enhance the quality of their compost.
They also worked to remove contaminants. It was often difficult to determine if items in feedstock could be composted – other than pulling them out to check – as there was no national standard on commercial compostability.
There are 15 facilities. accept compostable packagingAotearoa has strict acceptance criteria.
In kerbside greenwaste or food waste bins, it is not acceptable to accept plant-based and compostable packaging.
Purchas stated that it doesn’t make sense to claim that something can be composted in New Zealand if it’s unlikely that the material will actually get picked up and used in a composting process.
“There are limited options for taking a packet of compostable pasta and putting it into a composting process because most of our New Zealand processers do not accept this type of material.”
Both packaging providers and product suppliers were searching for single-use packaging solutions. However, compostable packaging was still single-use packaging.
The founder of For the Better Good said that the company developed its own collection network, composting facilities, and processing facilities to make its plant-based bottles.
Photo: Supplied / For The Better Good
They bring with them a lot more challenges and problems than they do a single solution.
Kiri Hannifin (Director of Sustainability at Countdown) stated that the supermarket does not use compostable packaging for any of its products.
She said that it was confusing to consumers, who often believed they were doing the right and recycling them.
“All that does is contaminate recycling so they can be better to go into the landfill. It feels like greenwashing since they are meant for compostability, but there is no place for them to go.
“The product also has very little nutritional value when it goes into compost, so it’s a bit murky.
“It feels so good, but there is no end to their lives at the moment.”
Jayden Klinac, founder and CEO of For the Better Good, developed a Water bottle made from compostable plantsThe Better Bottle, also known as the Better Bottle, is designed to give consumers other options than oil-based plastic containers.
Photo: Supplied / For the Better Good
He had difficulty finding a commercial facility that would process them so he set up a collection network with composting facilities to collect them and create a closed-loop environment.
Better bottles that were contaminated with food were thrown away, while clean bottles were reprocessed and turned into 3D printing filament.
He stated that plant-based products can be composted and recycled, but that it was dependent on the infrastructure.
“In principle, they can be recycled but we don’t have any recycling lines in New Zealand so you can’t put them in your kerbside recycle bin.
“But that’s also the case with all polymers plastic, compostable or non, oil-based plastics such as PET and HDPE, are recyclable, but they can’t even be recycled together.”
Jayden Klinac stated there was no one-size-fits all approach to compostable packaging.
“A circular economy means using renewable feedstocks as often as possible and extending the useful life of materials.
“Imagine a world in which materials are made from renewable resources. They can be recycled over and over again. If they get too old, they can be composted.”
He stated that more work was needed to improve New Zealand’s recycling and composting infrastructure in order to support a circular economy.
