FAQ’s

• We are a small local business who helps keep our local economy healthy
• We are B Corp Certified
• Our rates are identical to Biopak
• We have a fabulous rewards system saving you money (when you order via your web account)
• Our freight fees and delivery times are identical to if you go direct to Biopak
• We are Biopak partners and have a very close relationship with them

• Biopak are a B Corp Certified business (as are we!)
• Biopak products are 100% carbon offset. This means that they purchase carbon credits to compensate for the unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions created through the production, transportation and disposal of Biopak products – the Climate Active Certification body independently verifies and reports on our emissions.

If we receive your order before 9.30am, your order will be dispatched from the closest warehouse on the following day. If you are in a Metro area, it can arrive same day or next day after being dispatched. If you are in a regional area, in depends on distance and volume of courier service to your area.

Occasionally the closest warehouse might not have stock so some of your order may be dispatched from a different warehouse or you might be given the option to swap to a similar item to avoid delays. Sometimes your order will arrive in separate deliveries/on different days.

If you are in a Metro area of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and order 4 or more boxes (wooden cutlery and napkins count as ½ box each), it is free freight. Orders in Darwin and Hobart are not eligible for free freight.

If you are in a Metro of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, the base rate for orders of less than 4 boxes is $16.50.

Freight costs are subsidised depending on size of order, location and volume of courier service to your area. We are happy to give you a freight quote – get in touch.

Yes.

Yes, you can arrange for your order to be picked up at the nearest warehouse near you. Please call us or email support@goinggreensolutions.com.au for more details.

Please let us know as soon as possible by phone or email and we'll work with you find a solution. This could be re-shipping an item, or crediting you the missing box.

Our sales team do their best to be accurate when taking and placing the orders however there will be some glitches in the process and in these cases, we will definitely take full responsibility. Just call or email us straight away and we will do our best to sort things out immediately.

Why are the materials that BioPak uses more sustainable?

• Ingeo™ bioplastic: Using Ingeo™ reduces raw materialCO2 emissions by 80% compared to regular plastic resin.
• Paper and wood: Sustainably sourced from managed plantations and made from FSC™ certified sources wherever possible.
• Sugarcane pulp: By-product of the sugar refining industry, which is both rapidly renewable and sustainably sourced.

• All Biopak products are manufactured overseas and Biopak accounts for and offsets all emissions associated with the production, distribution and disposal of their products.
• Biopak have an exclusive partnership with five production facilities located in China and Taiwan. All suppliers are thoroughly audited to ensure they meet their stringent quality and environmental standards. Production facilities are best of breed and Biopak have processes in place to ensure consistent quality and adherence to environmental practices, including certifications – ISO14001, ISO9001, ISO22000 and many more. Biopak audit them every year to conduct reviews on their processes and business practices and work on an advanced program of continual improvement.

• Traditional plastics, which are made from fossil fuels, are a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. That is why Biopak focus on natural, renewable and fully compostable materials for our packaging. Biopak are a signatory of the Ellen MacArthur New Plastics Economy commitment, the NZ Plastic Packaging Declaration and an active member of the APCO working groups dedicated to find sustainable solutions for the packaging industry. They have publicly pledged to remove plastic from our range by 2025.
• Biopak are working relentlessly on phasing out any remaining plastics in our portfolio and adopt new materials as soon as they are commercially viable for our customers.

BioPak's compostable products are certified to the Australian Industrially Compostable AS4736 standard and/or the Australian Home Compostable AS5810 standard and can be composted where the infrastructure exists. The BioPak Compost Service provides the link between BioPak customers using compostable packaging and this composting infrastructure. It is available in 15 major cities in Australia and New Zealand covering over 2100 suburbs.

BioPak is driving demand for growth of commercial composting infrastructure by proving that it is an easy local solution that works. They have launched the Compost Connect platform which aims to divert organic waste from landfill by connecting foodservice businesses to composters and certified compostable packaging suppliers. It also connects end users to responsible cafes and councils who choose composting. BioPak's long-term goal is to have council Food Organics and Garden Organics, or 'FOGO' bins, that accept compostable packaging available for residents nationally and beyond. Some councils are leading the way and already offering FOGO bins that accept compostable packaging to their residents. Biopak are actively working with government and industry to push for this to happen. You can help by starting up a local petiton for FOGO bins that accept compostable packaging in your area.

Biopak advocates for reusables wherever possible, but where single-use items are the most viable option, BioPak is committed to providing the most sustainable option possible.

What is FSC™️ (Forest Stewardship Council™️) Certification?

With so many packaging products made from paper, it’s important to ensure our forests are not irreparably damaged in the creation of paper-based packaging. The Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC™) is an international non-profit that acts to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests. BioPak is FSC certified to ensure the paper-based packaging they create is produced in a sustainable manner, with minimal environmental impact.

• Home composting and industrial composting
• There are two broad categories of composting, home composting and industrial composting. Home composting involves piling organic waste and aerating it over several weeks. An industrial compost facility optimises the composting process by controlling oxygen content and temperature in a commercial facility to ensure rapid biodegradation of organic material to produce a high quality, toxic-free compost. Home composts also produces rich compost at the end of the process but may not maintain the right temperature and oxygen conditions for composting PLA products.

The terms 'biodegradable' and 'compostable' are not equivalent or interchangeable. 'Biodegradable' simply means something will be broken down by microbes over time, which is true for most materials on the planet. Since this term applies to almost everything, it is a meaningless claim that has been abused through greenwashing.

In contrast, 'compostable' means something will break down in a defined amount of time and in set conditions (humidity levels, temperature, etc), such as the ones encountered in home compost bins or in composting facilities.

Like any other environmental claim though, it needs to be substantiated. That is why our compostable products are certified to the Australian Home Compostability AS5810 standards or/and Australian Industrial Compostability AS4736 standards. These testing programs also ensure that the packaging does not hinder compost

Most BioPak products are certified industrially compostable to the Australian AS4736 compost standard. AS4736 requires that the product disintegrates after 12-weeks in industrial compost conditions and completely biodegrades after six months. That means that 90 percent or more of the material will have been converted to CO2 and the remaining share is converted into water and biomass. AS4736 also requires that the quality of the compost is not hindered by the products and is safe to be applied to land, quality and that the compost produced can safely be applied to land.

The Australia compostability certification is the same as European Union (EU) with the addition of an earthworm eco-toxicity test.

BioPak’s certified compostable range will decompose in an industrial compost facility within 12 weeks.

• The BioPak home compostable ranges are usually fine to be placed in the FOGO bins, however, each local council has its own requirements so you need to contact your council directly for confirmation.
• BioPak PLA products are accepted in residential FOGO in Hobart, South Australia and some parts of Western Australia.

All BioPak products that hold home compostability certification (AS5810) or products made from wood and processed fibrous organic materials (Wooden cutlery, unlined bioboard, paper bags, and napkins) can be disposed in your home compost.

• Home compostable range
  • You can safely put BioPak's home compostable product range in your worm farm. It is recommended you shred the packaging before you place it in your worm farm for the best results.
• Commercially compostable range
  • Some customers have successfully processed our compostable coffee cups in their worm farms – it takes a bit longer but the worms do eventually get through them. Clear PLA products, PLA cutlery and PLA lids should not be processed in a worm farm.

Food packaging must be clean from food and beverage residue to be eligible for recycling. If contaminated products end up in the recycling they can send a whole truckload to a landfill!

• • The products below are generally accepted in co-mingled recycling when clean, but it's best to check with your local council to confirm:
    • Paper board trays (not coated with PLA)
    • Paper board boxes (not coated with PLA)
    • Sugarcane plates
    • Sugarcane bowls
    • Sugarcane trays
    • Sugarcane containers
    • Sugarcane clamshells
    • PS coffee cup lids (white only)
    • PET transparent lids

PLA bioplastic is considered inert in landfill, however our fibre-based products biodegrade in the absence of oxygen. This creates methane, a potent greenhouse gas. This is why it is so important to compost our products after use. Products like paper straws, wooden cutlery, napkins and unlined papers can be composted in backyard compost bins while products containing PLA need to be processed by an industrial composting facility.

Biopak products are made of renewable materials that have a lower environmental impact than conventional plastic derived from fossil fuels. We source our products responsively and donate 5% of profits to associations that restore forests, help communities in need and grow composting capacity. Some of our products can also be recycled if not too contaminated with food, visit our website for more information.

When food decomposes in landfills it releases methane which is a greenhouse gas 26-38 times more potent than carbon dioxide and a significant contributor to the climate crisis. We support composting as a circular economy solution for food scraps and compostable packaging, as it avoids methane emissions from landfills and converts this waste into compost which can then be applied to land and sequester even more carbon from the atmosphere back into the soil.

Visit Compost Connect to find out if one of your local cafes or restaurants is using a compost service. You might be able to use their bin for small quantities of packaging (with their permission). You can also contact your council to find out if certified compostable packaging is allowed in the green bin. If there's no green bin yet, tell them they are needed! Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is crucial to get Australia on its way to Net Zero, a necessary step to fight climate change.

• Home composting
  • Much of the BioPak range is certified home compostable to the Australian AS5810 compost standard. This means it will break down in standard home compost conditions in 12 weeks. Home compostable ranges include BioBags, BioBoard, BioCane, BioCutlery and BioNapkins.
• Residential FOGO bin
  • BioPak's long-term goal is to have council Food Organics and Garden Organics, or 'FOGO' bins, that accept compostable packaging available for residents nationally and beyond. Local councils in Hobart and Adelaide are leading the way and already offering FOGO bins that accept compostable packaging to all residents. We are actively working with government and industry to push for this to happen. You can help by starting up a local petition for FOGO bins that accept compostable packaging in your area.
• General waste bin
  • You may have to put the compostable packaging in your general waste bin for now – but it is still a significantly better option than conventional plastics made from oil. Our products are made from rapidly renewable plant materials and are certified carbon neutral. This means that the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production, transport and disposal of our products have been independently assessed and offset by investing in infrastructure and activities that offset carbon emissions.

• Compost Connect is a not-for-profit composting initiative developed by BioPak, to help connect foodservice businesses to composting services and divert waste from landfills.
• From as little as $1 a day, you can divert your food scraps and compostable packaging from landfills and avoid the methane gas this would produce there.

• Joining Compost Connect is easy!
• Go to Compost Connect to find your closest composter and request a quote.
• Sign up and you will receive a back of wheelie bin ready for weekly collection at the frequency you choose.
• Fill your bins for regular collections.

• Compost Connect offers commercial organic waste collection in over 2,200 postcodes across Australia and New Zealand. Pricing varies by location, please request a quote from your local composter.

• Yes, they can service once-off collections in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. Pricing is case-by-case depending on location, bin size and the number of bins. Email info@compostconnect.com for more information.

• Our compost partners can only accept packaging that is certified to AS4736 standards. We can only accept packaging if the company name is officially listed on the Australasian BioPlastics Association website as a verified compostable packaging provider. BioPak is currently the only food packaging company with food-service packaging certified to the AS4736 standard.

• Many Compost Connect members report that their customers love the initiative and do bring their cups and packaging back for composting. We encourage cafes to offer a loyalty card scheme, where each BioPak product returned for composting earns a stamp towards a free hot drink or treat.

• Yes! Compost Connect provides a wide range of promotional and educational material to communicate the benefits of choosing to divert your organic waste from landfills. Promote your sustainability efforts with your free Compost Club pack. Your suite of marketing collateral includes a window sticker, a bin sticker, a composting Do’s & Don’ts poster and your front-of-house paper compost bin.
• You will receive a free Compost Club pack for every venue that you sign up for a compost service. We also sell additional compost club packs at the cost price of $26.

• Your organic waste will be transported to a commercial compost facility where it will undergo several stages of processing and maturation. In 12 weeks time, it will be a high-quality compost ready for application to land.
• For more information, watch "BioPak Compost Service - How does composting work?" video.

• 12-month service is the shortest contract length we offer for the compost collection service. Trial periods are available in some areas at the discretion of our collection partners. Email info@compostconnect.com for more information.

The Residential Efficiency Scorecard is a home energy rating tool predominantly used for existing homes of any age throughout Australia.

Like appliance star ratings, the Scorecard star rating reflects the estimated annual cost to run your home, based on your current building shell and main fixed appliances. It also has a 'comfort' section that shows how comfortable the home is likely to be without any heating or cooling in hot or cold weather.

To create a Scorecard Certificate, our Accredited Assessor has to look at and collect data about a range of features of your home, including the building shell (draughts, ceiling, wall and underfloor insulation, window frames, glazing, coverings and external shading) and the major fixed appliances (heating, cooling, hot water, lighting, renewable energy).

Our assessors use Scorecard as a great baseline tool for our service, because it gives a homeowner an idea of how energy efficient their home is compared to similar houses. We also find it useful because we can model our recommended upgrades in the tool and show people a practical plan of the steps they could take to get to 10 stars - or as high as possible.

Our Scorecard assessments take anywhere between 1.5-3.5 hours, depending on the size and complexity of the home, and how many questions the householder might have.

A 2BR home or unit is likely to take 1.5 hrs, 3BR around 2.5-3, and 4BR+ up to 3.5 hrs.

We take as much time as we need to make sure we understand your motivations and goals with having the Assessment done, and after we've looked over your whole home and collected the data we need, to talk through all of our recommendations and answer any questions you might have.

Above all, we want our service to be of value to you and we want to leave knowing that we've talked you through your opportunities in way that makes sense and meets your goals, budget and family.

There are 4 main parts to the site visit.

1. We start with a conversation about your home and the people who live there, your goals and motivations in getting it done, and any challenges you might have in implementing upgrades. This can take 15-30mins.
2. Then we ask you to take us on a very quick tour of the home so we can see the layout, and also show us where your outside appliances units are (hot water system etc).
3. After that, we have anything from 45mins-1.5 hrs of data collection to do (depending on the size and complexity of the home). We can do this bit on our own so you can whatever you wish while we work.
4. Once we have a draft Scorecard certificate and have noted all of our recommendations, we sit down with you again to run through all of our suggestions. We'll explain why we are recommending something, how it impacts on either your comfort or energy use, and point you to resources to help you upgrade it (this could be DIY videos, professional trades, rebates you may be eligible for).

Then within a week of the site visit, we will send you the finalised Scorecard Certificate, a Tailored report for your home, and a Guide to energy efficiency upgrades for further links and resources.

The things that are included in the Assessment are:

• Onsite assessment, where your assessor talks with you about your goals and your home, collects the data to create the Scorecard certificate and explains their recommendations and how to achieve them.
• The types of things we look at are the building shell (draughts, ceiling, wall and underfloor insulation, window frames, glazing, coverings and external shading) and the major fixed appliances (heating, cooling, hot water, lighting, renewable energy).
• Follow up tailored report, where all recommendations are listed in order of priority, and suggested upgrades are modelled on the Scorecard tool to show how they impact on your energy star rating and comfort.
• Links to suppliers, installers, articles and DIY guides for various upgrades
• Information on rebates and financial incentives