Frequently Asked
Questions

Our coordinated design is evident in our product range, this provides an opportunity to create a coordinated identity for food service presentation. Combine our branded products with matching apparel (we will supply our logos for you to overprint your t-shirts) and get a great fresh brand image for your operations.

UniPak requires all manufacturers to undertake a rigorous examination of their business practices. Our Green Choice manufacturers have each supplied detailed information based on the UniPak online Supplier Assessment Form and they each meet our required standards. These standards align with current sustainable business practices, such as efficient energy and water use, waste and emissions management, raw material types, production quality controls, packaging types, human resource management, and sustainable practice ethics.

The G and C are combined to form a common shape, we chose green and blue to reflect the earth and our environment. We believe Kiwis want to choose green products whenever they can, hence the words "Green Choice". The brand name and the logo design are both trademarked, they cannot be reproduced without our permission.

Disposable products refer to things that are designed for one-off use and can be discarded after use. Disposable food and drinks containers, cutlery and serviettes are the same things you would need at a seated restaurant, except the consumption is done remotely and there is no return of these items for washing and storing. With the busy lifestyles experienced by most, it is unlikely the demand for disposables will ever decline. Hygiene and cleanliness are less of a worry as there are fewer concerns about collecting, washing or cleaning reusable items.

New Zealand currently has the following Commercial Composting Sites,
and local waste/recycling/composting collectors are responsible for arranging
collection and drop-off services to the sites.

Auckland/Waikato Region:

• Home Grown Waiheke Trust, Auckland
• Envirowaste Hampton Downs, Mercer, Waikato
• Envirofert, Tuakau, Waikato

Central North Island (coast to coast):

• Revital/Remediation (NZ), Cambridge, Waipa
• Revital/Remediation (NZ), Mt Maunganui, Tauranga City
• Revital/Remediation (NZ), Uruti, New Plymouth BioRich, Hastings

Lower North Island:

• KaiCycle/WorkerBe Oasis, Wellington City
• Capital Compost/Southern Landfill, Wellington City (facility does not process PLA or PLA lined materials)

Upper South Island:

• Motueka Community Gardens, Tasman
• Innovative Waste Kaikoura, Kaikoura

Reference: The Packaging Forum Composting Facilities Report 2017

Yes, our products can be trusted, they have earned the required levels of food safety certification. All products have passed SGS EU 10/2011 and EN 1186-1/9/14:2002 food safety testing methodology (tolerance to high temperatures and fatty substances, and absence of heavy metals). PLA is fairly unsuitable for very high-temperature applications. It has been approved for use in the manufacture of disposable products as the temperatures of any hot drinks or food have to be safe for humans to avoid scalding. We would not recommend placing hot liquids in clear PLA cups, as these are designed for cold drinks, and we would not recommend using any PLA-lined Green Choice products in a microwave as the high temperatures may separate the PLA lining. All our products are free of petroleum-based plastics and all inks are food dyes.

Some are recycled, but most are sent to landfills. This is because used containers are nearly always contaminated with oil and grease from leftover food and drinks. With our busy lifestyles and our consumption of convenience food and drink, we must all take responsibility for disposing of used packaging correctly. We encourage people to check their local council recycling guidelines, as not all recyclable plastics are recycled in local centres (contamination and costs can be barriers). Everyone must take ownership of waste disposal and we promote the correct recycling of used packaging where possible. We must divert as many recyclable plastics away from landfills as we can. You can view and download the recycling information guide from the Emperor website.

Yes, but we do not recommend this. Products that contain PLA are not designed to compost in home systems. While they will not create any toxicity problems, it is unlikely that a home system will generate enough heat and air movement to break the products down into compost. Thinner and softer products, like coffee cups and card containers, will break down faster than denser and stiffer products, like cutlery, clear cups and coffee cup lids. Any products that do not contain PLA (like our cardboard containers, wooden cutlery, paper cups and paper straws) can be home-composted, and we would recommend you break these into smaller pieces first to aid decomposition.

"How quickly they decompose and how much is decomposed depends on the composting environment. If our products are buried in an approved Landfill, which is the most likely scenario given that NZ only has 11 Commercial Composting Facilities currently operating, it is impossible to state how long it would take our products to decompose and eventually become converted into compost (if they would at all). There is no way of knowing in advance what sort of composting conditions may exist in a landfill. If our products are buried close to other organic matter, and microbes exist in the right conditions, then they could biodegrade faster as the microbes are attracted to natural materials. If our products are buried alongside fossil-fuel-based plastics it would take much longer as the microbes are not attracted to unnatural materials.

If the landfilled products do not convert into compost (which is essentially a fertiliser we want to use “above” the ground), they simply decompose into organic matter that will not harm our ecosystem (unlike fossil-fuel-based products).

Our products are plant-based (organic matter), so it may help to consider what happens to an apple when left to decompose. Left indoors with no control (changes to temperature, humidity, air movement and the likely existence of bacteria), the apple may only stay edible for up to a week. It will start to rot and will eventually decompose, especially if temperatures increase. Left outdoors with no control (exposure to the elements, bacteria and animals), the apple may not last a couple of days. It will decompose and likely be completely eaten till nothing is left. If the apple is binned and sent to a landfill, the apple will eventually decompose into food matter. It may not become suitable as compost because the right temperature, humidity, air movement and bacteria conditions may not exist.

Nevertheless, it remains a decomposed food matter and will not harm our ecosystem. This is what happens to Green Choice products in a landfill. If the apple was placed in a controlled composting bin (higher controlled temperature, higher controlled humidity, higher controlled air movement and high levels of bacteria), then the apple will decompose and convert into compost (the residue has transformed into a material that is suitable for adding to the soil and plant nourishment). This is what happens to Green Choice products in a commercial composting facility."

"This depends on the landfill conditions. Effective landfill management requires the waste to be stored as solids or else the landfill will collapse, so the correct sealing of landfills is key to this. Keeping moisture, air and microbes out of a landfill is a challenge. If air is present, and the temperatures and moisture levels are right, natural waste in a landfill is likely to be consumed by microbes, and this includes PLA.

As part of this natural consumption process, methane will be produced and this will increase if more air is added. This is normal, it is the decomposition process at work. The rate at which this happens depends on the conditions within the landfill and how well conditions are controlled. The number and activity levels of these microbes are affected by these conditions.

Scientific tests have concluded that extremely low levels of methane are generated during the digestion of PLA molecules. Methane gas is being captured by some landfills as an energy source. Methane released into the atmosphere adds to the natural generation of methane, as we need methane in our atmosphere to form clouds and produce water. However, an excess of methane is not good as this raises global temperatures. The majority of this excess in NZ comes from increased agricultural farming."

This depends on the composting environment. Thinner and softer products, like coffee cups and card containers, will break down faster than denser and stiffer products, like cutlery, clear cups and coffee cup lids. Our products have passed EN 13432 standards and achieved OK to Compost verification. Under the required breakdown conditions, in an approved commercial composting facility, at least 90% of the card and soft PLA lined materials will disintegrate within 3 months and 90% of the denser materials will biodegrade within 6 months (after which 100% biodegradation occurs). The resulting compost will not be adversely affected by any additional materials (such as food dyes or paper etc.) and safe plant germination is assured.

"Yes. Everything degrades (or decomposes) over time, but some things take longer than others. This depends on the base material and the conditions in which the thing is decaying (temperature, humidity, air and time). A general rule of thumb is that if something is a natural product it breaks down naturally (mother nature at work), whereas a man-made product can take forever to decompose (think about concrete when you think about petroleum-based plastics). Natural degradation is a better option.

Biodegradation means that the molecules (that form the material) are created and bound in such a way that natural ""living"" micro-organisms (bacteria, fungi and algae) will consume and break down the molecules. This releases the bonding of the molecules and thereby speeds up the degradation. There are chemical and physical degradation processes taking place, both accelerated due to the involvement of living organisms (hence the term biodegradation)."

"Just about all takeaway products are recyclable, however only some products are biodegradable and compostable.

Recyclable means the packaging could be recycled if the material is clean and not contaminated with greases and oils, and the local council/waste management contractor has processes in place to recycle the material. We recycle very few plastics in NZ and it is now becoming more difficult to sell our recovered plastics overseas, with importers now placing huge reductions on the number of plastics allowed in their processing lines.

Biodegradable means that the material will break down (degrade) faster by undertaking specific biological processes. “Bio” means that living organisms will increase the degradation of a material. Biodegradable materials are not always compostable, as some biodegradable plastics are still petroleum-based plastics and take hundreds of years to degrade. Making petroleum-based plastics biodegradable does not make them a green option, it simply speeds up the decay and the plastic molecules just become smaller (and more dangerous) sooner than later. Petroleum-based plastics should be recycled and not designed to biodegrade.

Compostable means that the material is made of organic matter, it will naturally biodegrade, and, in the right conditions, it can be converted into compost. The length of time it takes for organic material to break down depends on the conditions in place (temperature, moisture, air, pressure) and the material. This is all very difficult to accurately ascertain as the conditions vary so much. All plant-based products are biodegradable and breakdown can take a few weeks to a few months.

Green Choice products are biodegradable and compostable. This is because they are plant-based (kraft cardboard, sugar cane, bamboo and plant starches) so they naturally break down and can become compost in the right conditions. This means that the remaining matter is suitable for use as compost (fertiliser) and safe to become part of the soil system."

Compostable products are made of organic matter, so they contain natural molecules that will naturally biodegrade. This is because bacterial microbes are attracted to natural molecules as food sources. When they do consume these molecules, the residue is still natural matter and therefore less damaging to our environment. Compostable material is naturally biodegradable and the residue does not harm the ecosystem (plant matter returning to the soils as plant matter). PLA (Polylactic Acid) is made from corn starch or sugar cane (biomass products), and these natural molecules will biodegrade.

"This depends on the composting environment. All Green Choice products containing PLA comply with EN 13432 (09-2000) standards and AVI/OK 1 testing for ""OK COMPOST"" confirmation. So if the Local Council Authority manages the collection of organic waste and deposits it in an approved Commercial Composting Facility, then yes it will be converted into compost. At this stage, New Zealand currently has far more landfills than composting facilities. More pressure on Local Authorities and Central Government is needed to establish a policy to address this imbalance.

Our products are safe to be deposited in home-based composting systems but it is unlikely they will convert to compost as quickly as they would in a commercial system. How long it takes to convert into compost will be determined by the system's ability to create an effective environment (temperature, humidity, air movement and bacteria activity). To better understand the NZ requirements for composting facilities, please refer to the Compost NZ Consent Guide produced by the Waste Management Institute of New Zealand."