Australia is facing a looming landfill crisis. For cafés, the question isn’t whether to act – it’s how?
Certified compostable packaging might be part of the answer for Australia’s growing waste problem, but sustainable packaging leader BioPak believes the path forward is anything but simple.
According to the NSW Environment Protection Authority, Greater Sydney is expected to exhaust its landfill capacity by 2030. Nationally, Australians send more than five million tonnes of organic waste to landfill every year (National Waste and Resource Recovery Report). In 2020–21 alone, 2.96 million tonnes of packaging went to landfill, with much of it food-contaminated, meaning it couldn’t be recycled even if it started as recyclable material (Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation).
For café owners, this isn’t an abstract policy problem – it shows up on their countertops every day.
The café problem nobody’s talking about
It’s well documented cafés generate a steady stream of waste, mostly from spent coffee grounds and food scraps, to the packaging that goes out the door with every takeaway order. Much of it ends up in landfill – not because it can’t be recovered, but because the systems to process it aren’t always available, according to BioPak Founder Richard Fine.
“The reality is that most waste coming out of cafés is organic,” he says. “When those materials are captured and composted instead of buried in landfill, they can be turned into a valuable resource rather than producing methane.”
The moment a conventional plastic-lined cup touches food scraps, it becomes contaminated and disqualified from the recycling stream.
According to BioPak, that’s not a recycling problem, rather it’s a design and systems failure. This is where certified compostable packaging enters the conversation, and where things can become “both promising and complicated”.
What ‘compostable’ really means
According to BioPak, packaging labelled ‘green’, ‘biodegradable’, or ‘eco-friendly’ means virtually nothing without certification. In Australia, two logos carry the most weight, with both managed by the Australasian Bioplastics Association (ABA).
Products certified with the Seeding logo can break down in a commercial composting facility; the kind that controls temperature, humidity, and oxygen levels to reliably process organic waste. These are the facilities that sit at the end of a functioning Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) system.
Products with the Home Compostable logo certification break down in a backyard compost bin. These conditions are harder to control, so the process takes longer but it doesn’t require industrial infrastructure.
“Certification is critical because it gives councils, composters and businesses confidence that a product will break down as intended,” says Richard. “Without clear standards, compostable packaging risks becoming another confusing claim rather than a genuine environmental solution.”
The key opportunity is simple: certified compostable packaging can be processed together with food waste. A compostable cup with leftover coffee grounds, a certified bag with food scraps, in the right system, all of it can go into the green bin and be turned into nutrient-rich compost rather than methane-generating landfill.
Except there’s one major catch: the right system isn’t everywhere yet.
The infrastructure gap: a nation divided
Australia has dozens of waste systems: state by state, council by council. What a local council accepts in the green bin can differ from the suburb next door.
South Australia is considered the leader. The state is recognised for strong FOGO coverage, council acceptance of certified compostable packaging, and progressive plastics bans creating something close to a functioning circular system. Western Australia reportedly has clear FOGO mandates and widely accepts compostable liners, while Tasmania is expanding its programs.
Elsewhere, the picture becomes more complicated. NSW has announced an ambitious statewide FOGO rollout, but certified compostable packaging is currently restricted in most systems. Victoria is rolling out universal FOGO but many councils don’t accept compostable packaging. Queensland’s uptake remains inconsistent, while the ACT and Northern Territory are still developing their organics infrastructure, BioPak says.
For businesses trying to make responsible choices, that patchwork can be frustrating.
“For café owners, sustainability decisions also have to make operational sense,” says Guy Brent, CEO of the BioPak Group. “Businesses want to do the right thing, but they need clarity: what their council accepts, what customers expect, and what systems actually exist to process that waste.”
What Australians actually think
Commissioned in 2024, research from Compost Connect paints a revealing picture.
Seventy per cent of Australians say correct bin disposal matters to them. One in three composts at home, and more than half say they would like to start.
But only one in five believes their council makes composting easy, and one in 10 can recognise official compostable certification logos.
Seventy per cent say they would look for certification logos when buying everyday products if they knew what to look for – a place where cafés play an under-appreciated role.
Richard notes that cafés are a daily touchpoint for thousands of Australians who broadly want to do better but often don’t know how.
“If customers start recognising certification logos at cafés, that awareness quickly spreads into households,” he says. “Education at the point of purchase can have a surprisingly powerful ripple effect.”
The good news: meaningful action doesn’t necessarily require waiting for policy to catch up.
“For many cafés, compostable packaging is part of a broader strategy,” says Guy. “That includes encouraging reusable cups, reducing unnecessary packaging, and making sure any single-use items that remain are designed for the best possible end-of-life outcome.”
Taken together, the BioPak team believes Australia is facing isn’t simply a waste problem, instead it’s a systems problem.
The technology to recover organic material and turn it into compost already exists – and it works. South Australia proves that when policy, infrastructure and public education align, food waste and compostable packaging can be diverted from landfill at scale.
What’s needed is consistency
According to BioPak, investment in organics infrastructure, clearer national standards, and better public education is required for compostable packaging to become a scalable solution.
And the company believes cafés sit at a powerful intersection within that system by simply purchasing packaging, generating organic waste, and interacting with thousands of customers every week.
“The coffee industry is uniquely placed to influence how Australians think about waste,” says Guy.
“When businesses make thoughtful choices about packaging and waste systems, it sends a strong signal to both customers and policymakers.”
And in a country running out of landfill, those choices potentially matter more than ever.
BioPak’s top tips
Choose certified, not just labelled
Look for suppliers with the ABA Seedling Logo or Home Compostable Logo. Avoid vague claims like “biodegradable” without certification.
Separate your food waste
Even where compostable packaging isn’t accepted, separating coffee grounds and food scraps for a commercial composting service is a direct win.
Educate at the point of disposal
Clear bin signage removes guesswork. If your packaging is certified compostable, explain what that means.
Reduce before you replace
Less packaging is always better than alternative packaging. Incentivise reusable cups, such as Huskee, and remove unnecessary single-use items wherever possible.
For more information, visit biopak.com.au
This article appears in the April 2026 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
