Published 27 February 2020

Stop all the greenwashing already

Plastics NZ and the WasteMINZ Organic Materials Sector Group have made the call.

Plastics NZ and the WasteMINZ Organic Materials Sector Group have made the call.

They want to see the end of confusing ‘greenwashed’ marketing speak relating to compostable products and packaging.

What is ‘greenwashing?’

 “ Greenwashing is the practice of making an unsubstantiated or misleading claim about the environmental benefits of a product, service, technology or company practice. Greenwashing can make a company appear to be more environmentally friendly than it really is. ” - According to Investopedia

In a joint effort, they have produced a guide on how plastics and compostable products/packaging should be advertised. The guide has a Q&A format and provides an answer to questions such as:

• Can compostable plastics be advertised as “plastic-free”?

• Can plastic products be advertised as “plant-based” or “bio-based” (or as bioplastic) if they also contain fossil fuels?

• Can partially bio-based plastic be advertised as being made from renewable resources?

The guide addresses the assumptions that all bio-based plastics are compostable - which is NOT TRUE - and that all compostable plastics are bio-based - which is ALSO NOT TRUE.

If you are interested in learning more about the commonly used bioplastics click here.

Or find to a place to take your compostables, check out Waste MINZ map below

To read the best practice Guide to the Advertising of Compostable Products and Packaging click here.

The guide was developed by a working group made up of polymer scientists, compostable packaging brands, composters and territorial authority (council) waste staff.