Innovation

BioPak creates sustainable food packaging that is compostable, reducing the amount of organic waste and food packaging that is dumped to landfills. Many businesses and consumers are now using paper or cardboard packaging to reduce the amount of plastic in landfills and oceans. However, not many are aware that once the packaging is contaminated with food or nutrient, it is very difficult and costly for it to be recycled as it requires more time and labour. This means that the packaging along with the food scraps in it often gets dumped in landfills.

BioPak designs paper food packaging such as cups, trays, and bowls that are certified commercially compostable to Australian standards. Furthermore, they are made from rapidly renewable and sustainably sourced raw materials and uses soy-based ink. BioPak launched its own composting program because they "could not wait for industry or government to step in". They provide composting services to participating businesses to encourage its customers to bring back the used packaging to be composted. Biopak ultimately hopes that there will be green compost bins in public places to deal with food waste and food packaging.

Currently, BioPak works with a small number of composting facilities in every state and is slowly expanding the service. For instance, in South Australia and Adelaide, the waste in green bins are sent to a composting facility, so BioPak's paper products can be placed in a household green bin. BioPak is expanding this service so that more places in Australia can compost food waste and contribute to helping climate change.

Inspiration

The founder of BioPak, Richard Fine, worked in the plastic industry for 15 years prior to founding BioPak. He was well aware of the environmental impact of plastic in the environment such as ocean plastic pollution.

After reading Cradle to Cradle, a book that explores the idea of a circular pathway for natural materials, he thought about how he could "contribute to the packaging industry in a more sustainable and circular way". This lead him to start BioPak in 2006 and he brought in raw materials to see if there was an opportunity in the local manufacturing industry. There was a lack of interest in materials at that time so he started bringing semi-finished products such as food packaging to manufacturers.

Coffee cups was a starting point for BioPak as the coffee industry was a crowded market place. Cafes were interested in the compostable coffee cups and were willing to pay more for it as it distinguishes them from other competitors. After their start with coffee cups, they started innovating and creating other compostable products with Richard mainly involved in the innovation and a team of designers that is responsible for the product designs.

Overall impact

This innovation benefits the environment in the long run because it is reducing the amount of waste in landfills and the products are made from responsibly managed raw materials. Also, by having their logo and slogan "It doesn't cost the Earth" printed on their products, consumers might take an interest in learning more about packaging that does not have negative impacts on the environment. They may then make a conscious effort to think about the implications of their actions when purchasing food and drinks, which will then affect businesses to consider their choices in packaging.

Also, BioPak's products are making people become more aware of the need to compost organic and food waste instead of sending it to landfills. This may influence more policymakers to introduce green compost bins in homes as well as widespread compost bins in public places as an effort to fight the global war on waste.

Furthermore, BioPak offsets their carbon emissions in every stage of the products' life cycle by purchasing carbon credits, which further enhances the positive impact of their innovation.

Business benefit

Ever since BioPak was founded, they have a single focus on compostable packaging. They have been in the compostable packaging industry for the longest in the Australian market. Ever since their compostable coffee cups was well received at the early stages of the company, they ventured into making a variety compostable and sustainable single use products, such as cutlery, napkins, straws as well as commercially compostable bio-plastic cups and food containers. They are able to do so by constantly innovating and sourcing materials. This allows them to establish themselves as a leading sustainable packaging business in Australia. They lead the industry in their corporate social responsibility such as becoming a B certified corporation and ensuring their products meet the highest sustainability credentials.

Social and environmental benefit

This innovation is designed to divert food and waste and packaging away from landfills. When organic waste is dumped at landfills, they undergo anaerobic decomposition because they are not exposed to oxygen as they are buried. Anaerobic decomposition produces methane, a greenhouse gas that is 72% more powerful than carbon dioxide (Robinshreeves, 2008). By creating packaging that is designed to be composted along with the food waste, this helps to reduce the amount of methane that is produced which addresses the global pressing issue of global warming and climate change. Also, composting food and organic waste will result in a nutrient-rich soil that can be used to plant trees, further benefiting the environment and society.

Furthermore, by offering paper and cardboard food packaging, BioPak helps businesses and consumers move away from traditional plastic packaging which helps reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in rivers and oceans that endangers marine life and species.

References

Robinshreeves. (2008). Compost vs Landfill: Does it really make a difference? Retrieved from https://insteading.com/blog/compost-vs-landfill-does-it-really-make-a-difference/

Interview

Richard Fine, Founder, Product Development & Sustainability Director