Sold and marketed as environmentally friendly, compostable food packaging has been exploding in popularity in Australia. But is it any better than the plastic it's replaced?
There is a voluntary certification system through the Australian Bioplastics Association, but because the industry isn’t regulated, all sorts of materials are being called “compostable”.
Only South Australia has a statewide system allowing compostable packaging to be put in green FOGO bins.
When organic material such as plant-based packaging breaks down in landfill, it creates emissions of the very powerful greenhouse gas, methane.
Tony Chappel, the CEO of New South Wales’s Environment Protection Agency, says the more inert — or chemically stable — a material is, the safer it is in landfill.
PFAS — or “per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances” — are a group of chemicals used in products ranging from cookware and clothing to cosmetics and food packaging.
Despite “compostable” products meeting the Australian standard for certification, a CSIRO study found their presence in soil meant earthworms and roots did not grow normally.
The original article contains 938 words, the summary contains 139 words. Saved 85%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
There is a voluntary certification system through the Australian Bioplastics Association, but because the industry isn’t regulated, all sorts of materials are being called “compostable”.
Only South Australia has a statewide system allowing compostable packaging to be put in green FOGO bins.
When organic material such as plant-based packaging breaks down in landfill, it creates emissions of the very powerful greenhouse gas, methane.
Tony Chappel, the CEO of New South Wales’s Environment Protection Agency, says the more inert — or chemically stable — a material is, the safer it is in landfill.
PFAS — or “per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances” — are a group of chemicals used in products ranging from cookware and clothing to cosmetics and food packaging.
Despite “compostable” products meeting the Australian standard for certification, a CSIRO study found their presence in soil meant earthworms and roots did not grow normally.
The original article contains 938 words, the summary contains 139 words. Saved 85%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!