Compostable, biodegradable and 'plastic-free': what Australian packaging laws actually let you say

Why these three words cause the most confusion

"Compostable", "biodegradable" and "plastic-free" sound similar. To a shopper standing in front of a shelf, they often read as the same idea — packaging that disappears cleanly and doesn't hurt the environment. In Australian law and in the underlying science, they mean very different things, and the ACCC has specifically called out all three as high-risk terms when they are used without qualification.¹

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's December 2023 guidance Making environmental claims: A guide for business sets out eight principles that all environmental claims must meet. Packaging claims are singled out because consumer research repeatedly shows that shoppers over-estimate what "compostable" or "biodegradable" mean in practice.¹ The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) — which runs the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) — has said the same: unqualified degradability claims are one of the most common patterns that mislead Australian consumers.²

What "compostable" actually means in Australia

In Australia, "compostable" is a technical claim tied to two published standards:

• AS 4736–2006 — industrial (commercial) composting. Packaging must disintegrate and biodegrade within specified timeframes under the higher temperatures and controlled conditions of an industrial composting facility.³
• AS 5810–2010 — home composting. A stricter standard because home compost bins are cooler, slower and less controlled. Very few products meet it.⁴

The Australasian Bioplastics Association (ABA) runs the certification programmes that verify products against these standards and publishes a public register of certified items. A "compostable" claim without an AS 4736 or AS 5810 mark, or without stating which type of composting is required, is the exact pattern the ACCC flags under principles 1 (accuracy), 2 (evidence) and 3 (no omissions).⁵¹

There is an important gap: an industrially compostable pack thrown into a home compost bin will not break down as promised. A home-compostable pack sent to landfill won't either — landfills lack the oxygen composting needs. If the pack is "compostable" but the customer has no access to the right facility, the claim can still mislead. Principle 7 of the ACCC guidance (consider the whole life cycle) addresses this directly.¹

What "biodegradable" means — and why the ACCC is wary of it

"Biodegradable" simply means a material will eventually break down through biological activity. Everything organic biodegrades eventually — including a paper coffee cup, an apple core and, given enough centuries, even certain fossil-based plastics. That's why an unqualified "biodegradable" claim is one of the ACCC's longest-standing concerns.

The Federal Court has previously found unqualified degradability claims misleading. In ACCC v Woolworths (2011), the retailer was found to have made false representations that certain disposable tableware products were "biodegradable and compostable" when they were not, and paid penalties and costs.⁶ The case remains a reference point for how Australian courts read these words.

The ACCC's current guidance is explicit: a biodegradable claim should specify what breaks down, into what, in what timeframe and in what environment. "Biodegradable in a home compost bin within 180 days per AS 5810" is a defensible claim. "100% biodegradable" as a stand-alone banner is not.¹

"Plastic-free" — the trickiest of the three

"Plastic-free" reads to consumers as "contains no plastic at all". In practice, many products marketed this way still contain plastic in small components — a liner, a window film, an adhesive, a coating, a label, a cap seal, or a bioplastic (PLA, PHA) that behaves like plastic in the environment.

This matters because "plastic" is not a legally defined term for packaging in Australia, but the ACCC treats these claims through the same lens as any other environmental representation: principle 1 (truthful and accurate), principle 3 (don't leave out important information) and principle 5 (avoid broad and unqualified claims).¹ The 2023 ACCC internet sweep of 247 businesses across eight sectors found that 57% had made concerning claims — with vague and unqualified packaging language a repeat offender.⁷

International regulators have already taken action on this exact wording. In the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld complaints against "plastic-free" claims where products contained bioplastic components that behave like plastic in the environment — including a widely reported ruling against Moonpie and similar rulings against other brands.⁸ The reasoning translates directly to the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) test of whether the ordinary consumer would be misled.

Bioplastic ≠ plastic-free (and often ≠ compostable either)

Bioplastics such as PLA (made from corn starch or sugarcane) are often marketed as a plastic-free or compostable alternative. Two things need to be understood:

• Origin isn't the same as end-of-life. A plant-based bioplastic can still behave like conventional plastic in the ocean or a home compost bin. Some bioplastics are certified compostable under AS 4736 (industrial) but not AS 5810 (home).³⁴
• Kerbside recycling generally doesn't accept them. PLA contaminates conventional plastic recycling streams if consumers put it in the yellow bin. Clean Up Australia and APCO have both flagged consumer confusion between "bioplastic", "compostable" and "recyclable" as a leading contamination issue.⁹²

How to make packaging claims that hold up

The safest approach is to combine three elements on every claim: what breaks down or is absent, the standard or evidence behind it, and where and how the consumer should dispose of it. Some worked rewrites:

• Weak: "100% compostable packaging." Stronger: "Certified home compostable to AS 5810 (ABA licence #XXXX). Place in your home compost bin, not the yellow recycling bin."
• Weak: "Biodegradable — better for the planet." Stronger: "Made from unbleached kraft paper. In Australian kerbside paper recycling: recyclable. In landfill: biodegrades within approximately 6 weeks (industry data)."
• Weak: "Plastic-free packaging." Stronger: "Outer box and inner sleeve: plastic-free (100% recycled cardboard, FSC certified). Adhesive tape: contains a thin plastic film — remove before recycling."

Wherever kerbside recyclability is part of the story, use the Australasian Recycling Label rather than inventing wording. The ARL is the recognised Australian on-pack labelling system, administered by APCO, and it gives you the "Recyclable", "Check Locally" and "Not Recyclable" categories per component.²

A short pre-publish checklist

1. For every "compostable" claim, name the standard (AS 4736 or AS 5810) and, ideally, the ABA licence number. If neither applies, don't use the word.
2. For every "biodegradable" claim, state what breaks down, into what, in what timeframe and in what environment. Cite the underlying test data.
3. For every "plastic-free" claim, audit every component of the pack — including liners, films, adhesives, coatings, labels, closures and inks. Qualify per component.
4. Cross-check kerbside disposal against the ARL categories and update any packaging photography that shows the wrong bin icon.
5. Save the certificates, test reports and supplier declarations. If the ACCC issues a substantiation notice under ACL s 219, that file is what a response is built from.¹⁰

Related reading

For a broader view of enforcement risk and consumer expectations, see the recyclable packaging guide, the eco-friendly and sustainable claims checklist and the five website patterns that attract ACCC attention.