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(Updated 5 Sept. 2025) A new research study highlights how South Australia is composting their food waste and certified compostable packaging via council provided kerbside FOGO bins.
South Australia and the City of Adelaide are often celebrated as leaders in the composting space. From Rundle Mall’s green bin trial to council bins that accept certified compostable packaging, South Australia is leading the way.
But despite these impressive efforts, there has been very limited research into the impact of certified compostable packaging on improving food waste and packaging diversions. By partnering with Edge Impact and BioPak, Compost Connect set out to better understand the role certified compostable packaging plays in organic waste recovery.
Amongst many key takeaways, the research found that South Australia’s existing organic recovery system is both successful and capable of ramping up its volume, and that certified compostable packaging has had no documented negative effects on the quality of the end product – compost. However, there are significant challenges that the organic facilities face before it is viable across the board, including distinguishing and separating certified compostable packaging to uncertified materials.
This article will summarise the research report, including:
After recognising the need to research certified compostable packaging, it became abundantly clear that South Australia was the place to do it. Compared with the rest of Australia, South Australia has the most established systems, policies and infrastructure in dealing with food organics and garden organics (FOGO).
The primary objective of the project was to understand compostable packaging recovery outcomes, success factors, and the impact of compostable packaging on improving food waste and packaging diversion.
We had three key objectives.
To complete this study, we used a combination of quantitative and qualitative research across three phases.
There is limited data on the impact of compostable packaging on South Australia’s organic waste diversion, though existing evidence suggests that the scale of the use is not yet significant enough to warrant further research. This limitation indicates that overall compostable packaging currently has only a marginal impact on South Australia’s (SA) organics recovery system, with no evidence of negative effects on compost quality.
While certified compostables are generally compatible with existing composting infrastructure, distinguishing them from uncertified materials remains a challenge. SA’s strong organics recovery performance is driven by widespread FOGO services, landfill levies, and reinvestment in recycling infrastructure, though contamination and PFAS concerns remain ongoing issues. Consistent council acceptance, public education, and continued collaboration between industry and regulators are key to improving outcomes as compostable packaging use grows.
There is limited data on the impact of compostable packaging on South Australia’s (SA) organic waste diversion, though existing evidence suggests that the scale of its use is not yet significant enough to warrant extensive compositional auditing and measurement at end-of-life commercial composting facilities due to cost and other difficulties. This limitation indicates that overall compostable packaging has had marginal impact on SA’s current organics recovery systems and has had no documented negative effects on the quality of the end products supplied to users of composted materials.
Distinguishing and separating certified compostable packaging from other uncertified or waste materials presents a challenge in assessing its true impact on waste diversion, as noted by stakeholders and environmental groups that were surveyed and interviewed.
SA’s high organics recycling rate demonstrates the effectiveness of the existing recovery system, with FOGO services and reliable food waste data collection being key success factors. Infrastructure processing capacity within the current system could potentially support increased recovery, processing and diversion of organics, including compostable packaging, if material inflows were to increase.
In SA, Organics recycling facilities use a range of processing technologies such as open windrow (Peats) and forced aeration (Jeffries) composting. The local industry tends to allow organics and compostables to break down to desired products during composting, (especially when inputs are in compliance with AS4736 and AS5810 standards) and non-composted inorganic contaminants are separated after processing. As certified compostable packaging does not appear to be a problem for organics processing facilities in terms of processes or end-products.
The estimated 2% contamination rate of kerbside FOGO, despite being relatively low compared to national benchmarks, still underscores a challenge to achieving efficient resource recovery outcomes. Some SA organics processors employ advanced separation technologies, but they require significant investment and are not capable of fully decontaminating loads. Inorganic contaminants still regularly compromise compost end-product quality. The presence of harmful chemicals such as PFAS/PFOS in waste inputs has created challenges to producing safe and quality end products in Australia. SA has adopted a consultative approach between industry and regulators to determine the best future outcome in addressing PFAS/PFOS and avoiding blanket bans on all compostable packaging acceptance in organic waste inputs.
SA’s organics recovery outcomes are significantly influenced by state initiatives, including the uniform rollout of FOGO programs and landfill levies. While the portion of the waste levy collected that is reinvested in the waste and resource recovery sector varies by state, in SA at least 50% of the levy is ring-fenced for GISA to be reinvested in the sector, which is higher and more transparent than other states. However, inconsistencies in councils’ acceptance of compostable packaging in kerbside organics recycling streams pose challenges to the uniformity of recovery outcomes across the region.
The state-administered landfill levy encourages landfill avoidance, with funds collected by the levy invested back into the materials recovery industry to support SA’s capacity to manage and process organic and other compostable materials.
Compliance with Australian Standards for compostables (AS4736 and AS5810) and processed compost (AS4454) is rigorously enforced, ensuring low risk and contamination of finished products. Collaboration between the government and industry, evidenced by regular consultations and shared strategies, helps drive the successful integration of these standards into practice.
Advanced separation technologies and a range of composting infrastructure across the state, such as open windrow and static pile forced-aeration composting, play a crucial role in the success of organics recovery, despite their cost and complexity. There is no data to suggest that one technology is more effective than others for compostable packaging. The alignment of public education programs with these technologies, particularly campaigns to enhance source separation and reduce contamination, is essential for optimising recovery outcomes.
While the findings are overall positive, they’re not without their challenges.
There’s still work to be done to reduce contamination and ensure organic waste and packaging end up in the right place. Here are some of the ways we can instigate widespread change and ensure successful composting initiatives.
Public Education
As individuals, we need to become clear on the Certified Compostable Logos so we can support businesses doing the right thing and combat greenwashing. Public education campaigns, like the “Which Bin?” campaign, can help to prevent contamination and promote sustainable waste management.
Legislation and Policy
We also need action from a government level. Perhaps one of the main reasons why South Australia’s composting initiatives have been so successful is because they have large-scale state initiatives, like the uniform rollout of FOGO. Not only that, South Australia enforces compliance with Australian Standards for compostables (AS4736 and AS5810), leading to a lower risk of contamination.
Separation Technologies
Some South Australian organics processors have advanced separation technologies, and this can play a major role in reducing contamination. But unfortunately, they require a significant investment and are not capable of fully decontaminating loads. In the meantime, SA has adopted a consultative approach between industry and regulators to help determine the best way to address PFAS/PFOS contamination, while avoiding blanket bans on all certified compostable packaging.
Certified compostable packaging is designed to break down in composting systems and can be collected together with food scraps in South Australia, making waste separation simpler. For foodservice packaging, this is especially relevant since most used packaging is contaminated with food and therefore not recycled in practice. Composting offers a practical alternative that keeps compostable packaging out of landfill in South Australia.
When paired with food waste recovery, certified compostable packaging could contribute to a more circular economy by turning materials that would otherwise be wasted into nutrient-rich compost, supporting soil health and closing the loop on resources. To make this work at scale, clear standards, effective education, and collaboration between industry, regulators, and local councils are essential.
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