Compostable vs Recyclable Food Packaging — What’s the Difference?

“Compostable” and “recyclable” are often used interchangeably in the packaging industry — but they mean very different things. Understanding the distinction helps you make better purchasing decisions and communicate more accurately with your customers.

What Does ‘Recyclable’ Mean?

Recyclable packaging can be processed through kerbside or drop-off recycling programs and turned into new materials. In Australia, paper-based packaging without plastic linings is generally recyclable. The key caveat: contaminated packaging (food residue) often can’t be recycled in practice, even if the material is technically recyclable.

What Does ‘Compostable’ Mean?

Compostable packaging breaks down into natural materials within a defined timeframe in specific conditions. There are two categories:

• Commercially compostable (AS 4736): Breaks down in 90 days in an industrial composting facility at high temperatures.

• Home compostable (AS 5810): Breaks down at ambient temperatures in a backyard compost. Higher standard, harder to achieve.

Which Is Better for Your Café?

Aqueous coated cups like those in Equosafe’s range are both commercially compostable and widely recyclable.

For most Australian cafés, commercially compostable is the most achievable and impactful standard. It works in food organics bins (increasingly available in Melbourne and Sydney), is accepted by most commercial composting services, and is recognised by Australian sustainability frameworks.

Equosafe’s aqueous coated coffee cups, sugarcane bowls and meal trays, and wooden cutlery all meet commercial compostability standards. Contact us at info@equosafe.com.au to find a distributor in your area.