In exciting news from around the country, BioPak has partnered with Canberra waste management company Goterra to bring the BioPak Compost Service to the capital city. This will allow Canberra businesses to compost BioPak foodservice packaging and food scraps instead of sending them to landfill. This initiative aims to cater to more environmentally minded consumers and will help forward-thinking Canberra businesses and their sustainable practices stand out. Already, customers are recognising and rewarding businesses such as these. BioPak, Australia’s leading sustainable foodservice packaging brand, looks to increase the end-of-life options for compostable packaging and food waste around the country. To achieve this they are partnering with like-minded companies such as Goterra. This Canberra partnership will allow businesses, customers, and staff to dispose responsibly of used coffee cups, takeaway food packaging, and food scraps in designated collection bins at cafes and workplaces.

How does it work?

Goterra will collect and process the contents of these organic waste bins weekly. Their facilities are specially designed for high waste volumes and the company can manage waste without the large amounts of hauling and trucking needed for conventional waste management systems. Goterra uses robotic insect farms where black soldier fly larvae consume food scraps and compostable packaging. Their system is fully automated, secure, and capable of managing 5,000kg of organic waste per day. Olympia Yarger, Goterra founder and CEO, said she hopes to help more businesses reduce their landfill contribution and create useful resources instead. “Our system consumes waste rapidly and when our insects are done eating they can be used as a livestock protein or in industrial applications. As with any process, it is important to manage health, safety, and quality through rigorous testing, research, and ongoing assessment of our processes,” said Ms Yarger. Not only this, but the insects also create frass, a natural fertiliser containing minerals and nutrients.

What impact will it have?

Richard Fine, BioPak founder and Sustainability Director, said their aim was to reduce the impact of compostable, disposable packaging. He is confident this will help business owners and customers alike be more sustainable in their everyday lives. “In Australia, we send more than eight million tonnes of organic waste to landfill every year, including 1.5 million tonnes of food waste,” Mr Fine said. “The problem with this is that when food waste decomposes in landfills, it releases methane, which is a greenhouse gas 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide, resulting in enormous damage to our environment. “Switching to compostable foodservice packaging can divert much of this material from going to landfill.”More than 200 businesses across Australia and New Zealand that have signed up to the Compost Club. BioPak’s Compost Service has already reduced the amount of organic waste heading to landfill by more than 660,000kg. By becoming part of BioPak’s Compost Club a single business can reduce the landfill it creates by up to 60 per cent.  

All information taken from the BioPak blog. For more information about how your business can be more sustainable, read our post here.