Biscuit Bags Gain Australian Compostable Certification

A cellophane gingerbread biscuit bag has become the first packaging of it kind in Australia to be certified compostable.

Made from NatureFlex cellophane film, the Gingerbread Folk range of biscuits is the brainchild of former architect, turned biscuit-maker, Karen Sharman and her husband, Dominic Mason. Two years ago they decided to make their gingerbread business as sustainable as possible from the sourcing of the ingredients through to the packaging. 

 
Based in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, Gingerbread Folk now carries the ‘seedling’ logo to confirm their hard won compostable certification. To be certified the material must undergo a stringent test regime, carried out by independent accredited laboratories only, in order to confirm that its inclusion will have no negative effect on soil or compost quality.

Outlining why Gingerbread Folk opted for NatureFlex, Karen Sharman says, "We were looking for environmentally sound packaging to compliment our all natural gingerbread and ethical business philosophy. We tried many films but loved the look and feel of NatureFlex and found the material's properties the most suitable for our purposes. The key factor was home-compostability because we wanted to show the Australian public that it was OK to put these bags in their own home compost bins."

Karen adds that NatureFlex, which is marketed in New Zealand by Convex Plastics, is also well suited to automated production like flow-wrapping or bag making. “The material requires very little machine adjustment and can run in harmony with conventional materials through the same machine. NatureFlex is also a very easy material to print and convert. Speeds are not reduced so conversion costs remain on par with other substrates.”