23-24 Jul 2025
ICC SYDNEY

Packing it up: 5 companies championing sustainable packaging

Apr 6, 2018 Organics

The damaging and long-lasting environmental effects of excessive waste has gained significant awareness in recent years. From re-usable coffee cups to the ban on plastic bags, Australian consumers have been making strides in their efforts to recycle, re-use and better dispose of waste. Our industries are helping this cause too, with a growing list of companies investing in packaging that is sustainable, biodegradable and even compostable!

We’ve compiled a list of five organisations that are embracing technological advances to ensure that packaging isn’t clogging up our oceans, but instead leading the way for an eco-friendly disposal of waste.

DB Packaging

Designed to provide innovative and cost-effective packaging solutions, DB Packaging helps businesses grow while also lowering the bottom line. The company is the Australian and New Zealand distributor of two types of environmentally sustainable packaging: Aquapak and Free the seed.

Aquapak products are dissolvable, recyclable, biodegradable, flexible plastics and come in a range of different product forms. This material is particularly efficient for food waste collection due to its solubility. Free the seed products are made from 100 per cent organic materials, which compost naturally within six months from the time of disposal – no matter the soil or conditions.

Photo credit: Matt Beaver Photography

BioPak

Designed and manufactured with affordability, sustainability and artistic aesthetics in mind, BioPak makes it easy for consumers to enjoy food on the go without negatively affecting the environment.

BioPak offers a wide range of packaging options including compostable hot and cold cups, takeaway containers, straws, cutlery and more. The company’s bagasse packaging is made from the pulp of the sugarcane plant, making it lightweight, durable and inexpensive. Even more importantly, bagasse packaging biodegrades in 30 to 90 days when it is exposed to commercial composting conditions. The brand’s artistic designs create a unique point of difference and make their products stand out from the crowd.

Photo credit: BioPak

Vegware

Starting in the UK before branching out into the rest of the world, Vegware is a global company that provides eco-friendly packaging made from plants. Their award-winning catering disposables are low carbon, made from renewable or recycled materials and are primarily designed for use within the catering and hospitality industry.

Vegware not only manufactures environmentally sustainable packaging solutions, it also offers its Sydney customers a collection service as part of its Go Zero Waste initiative. This means that Vegware packaging and food waste can be composted all together, creating nutrient-rich compost that give back to the earth.

Go Green World

Founded in 2012, Go Green World is an online retailer and wholesaler of organic and sustainable packaging solutions. Offering a huge range of food-related packaging products, this company aims to eliminate food waste with its biodegradable wares made from sugarcane, kraft card, paper and pine. Each of their items are practical, have a low-impact on the environment and well-made and designed.

Go Green World understands that wastage is an issue that needs to be tackled on many fronts and their aims include collaborating with non-governmental organisations, village communities and other institutions to help people in need towards a brighter future.

Snact

Snact’s value statement is ‘fighting waste with delicious snacks’ and this UK-based brand is achieving that in two ways. Firstly, Snact’s fruit jerky and banana bars are made from oddly shaped fruit that would normally go to waste.

Secondly, Snact’s packaging is 100 per cent compostable without the need for special conditions, meaning that all consumers can decompose this packaging in a home composter before being used as fertiliser. Snact has worked with TIPA and Parkside Flexibles to create its packaging, which is highly durable and innovative.

About the Author: Annie Reid

Annie Reid is a qualified journalist, professional copywriter and published author with a passion for everything bricks and mortar. For many years, she’s written thousand of stories for newspapers, magazines and clients around the world. Somewhere between the heady buzz of headlines and deadlines, she discovered a niche for creating tailor made content for the property, real estate, architecture and design industries. Annie holds a Bachelor of Arts and is currently studying a Masters in Publishing and Communications, both from the University of Melbourne.

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