Our mission is to improve the environmental outcomes of the hospitality industry. Our vision is to contribute towards the industry transitioning to carbon neutrality and playing a leading role in environmental conservation. It's a massive task because the industry itself revolves around the consumption of raw materials and resources (energy, food and the packaging it comes in). Furthermore, recent trends in hospitality and food service have focused on providing even more convenience to customers to maintain competitiveness.

By this, we mean that people are all generally time poor these days so grabbing a coffee or some breakfast/lunch on the go appeals to many. Then when we get home exhausted from our busy lifestyles the convenience of getting takeaway for dinner or even getting it delivered by the many cheap delivery services available these days makes sense too. Unfortunately, all of this means we are consuming more and more resources for every sale made (packaging for takeaway and the fuel to deliver it).

One of the biggest contributors to excessive resource consumption in this dynamic is the packaging itself. Most of it ends up in landfill or our local waterways which creates both a waste and contamination problem that is getting harder by the day to address. We like to think that everyone recycles plastic packaging but unfortunately our track record with both disposing of recyclables correctly and having the facility/industries to effectively utilise the end result. Most of our recyclable waste used to go to China but as you may have recently heard that will no longer be the case. This provides an opportunity to shift the industry towards a more sustainable foundation, one that values the benefits of a circular economy and makes the most of renewable resources rather than outdated materials and technologies. This is why we choose to distribute BioPak.

Instead of using oil to make plastic products that probably won’t get recycled they make as many products as possible from paper, sugarcane and bioplastic. They use FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) certified paper and rapidly renewable sugarcane pulp (a by-product of the sugar refining industry that would otherwise be burnt). BioPlastic is made from renewable plant-based resources (mostly corn) to save fossil fuels and results in 75% less greenhouse gases than the conventional plastic it replaces. On top of the selection of more environmentally friendly materials, BioPak goes several steps further to ensure the best outcomes are being achieved. They have recently become fully B Corp certified and have been certified carbon neutral since 2010 (offsetting over 99,000 tonnes of carbon by investing in renewable energy). BioPak pledge a massive 7.5% of profits to environmental restoration initiatives and community programs including the purchase of three hectares of threatened Daintree rainforest and planting over 5000 trees.

Their production facilities are certified to ISO environmental, quality and food safety standards which means only the highest quality end products get delivered to customers and everything is either 100% compostable or recyclable. The focus on composting is important for achieving a sustainable circular economy for packaging materials because as previously mentioned Australia doesn’t effectively recycle plastics. It's all about placing a value on the materials used so that value can be transferred to the next potential use. By diverting packaging waste from landfill and composting it instead we can start to close the loop and ensure that the best environmental outcomes are realised. Landfill isn’t ideal for anything to decompose as the bacteria created by organic matter breaking down produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming and climate change. If that same waste is is diverted to a commercial composter then the gas is tapped and used for something else like cooking or energy while the waste itself generates heat for further energy generation or decomposes into soil for use in farming/landscaping. This soil can be used to grow more plant material for packaging or even food itself.

At the end of the day by closing the loop we solve one of the greatest environmental challenges facing the industry and many others. The importance of composting packaging waste is something we are very committed to seeing happen as soon as possible. We will be encouraging all of our customers to register for our compost collection service and place a bin for all compostable packaging and food waste in their business. Furthermore, we have committed to planting a tree with Carbon Neutral for every order placed with us to further offset the carbon generated from our operations. These are the reasons that we choose to distribute BioPak and the reasons that you can choose to serve it at your restaurant or café. More updates about our composting and tree planting coming soon... The Planet Friendly Packaging Team

*Update* Compost collection services are now available in Brisbane and other major cities. We also plant a tree with Carbon Neutral for every order shipped, helping to give something back to the environment. Head to the store to see the full product range and make the switch to eco-friendly packaging today.