Certified compostable products are made of materials that do not leave behind any toxic material, breaking down readily in a commercial, or sometimes home, composting system. This can include items that look like plastic, such as bowls, cups and bags. Labelling on these products must clearly state the item is certified compostable, preferably including the relevant AS certification logo, to assist consumers and businesses to purchase compliant products and to use appropriate disposal pathways. Australia has two of the highest standards in the world when it comes to certification:

AS 4736:2006 Biodegradable plastics suitable for industrial/compostable composting and other microbial treatment

This certifies the product can be composted through a commercial composting facility. In the majority of South Australian council areas, in workplaces and schools with organics collections, and at public events, this means the material can go into the available green-lidded organics bins.

 AS 5810:2010 Biodegradable plastics suitable for home or commercial/industrial composting 

This certifies that the product can be composted in your home compost bin. It is also suitable to go into a green-lidded organics bin.

Commercial composting facilities generate much more heat than a home compost bin and use oxygen and water to break down materials into compost. Both AS 4736:2006 and AS 5810:2010 certified compostable products can be processed at commercial composting facilities in South Australia.

As home composting facilities do not reach the same high temperatures that are reached at commercial composting facilities, only AS 5810:2010 certified compostable products are suited to home compost systems.

South Australian households currently receive AS certified compostable (AS 4736:2006 and/or AS 5810:2010) bags from their local council or can purchase them separately to line household food waste caddies. AS certified compostable caddy liners are accepted in all green-lidded organics bins where food waste is accepted alongside garden organics. More than 80% of South Australians have access to this service. Food and garden organics collections are routinely industrially composted in South Australia, contributing to a reduction of food waste in landfill and increased production of high-quality commercial compost.

Previous research in South Australia found that 3 times as much food waste was diverted in a ventilated kitchen caddy with a caddy liner compared to households using an unlined kitchen caddy. In a separate study within a metropolitan council in South Australia, 2 supermarkets provided AS certified compostable barrier bags for loose fruit and vegetables. The trial resulted in 117% more food being diverted from landfill by residents in the council area.

All barrier bags which are AS certified compostable will need to be clearly marked with their relevant AS compostable certification details so suppliers, business owners and consumers can easily identify compliant bags when purchasing them, and know that they can be disposed of in the green-lidded organics bin.

Note: Plastic straws, plastic cutlery and plastic stirrers made from any type of bioplastic will remain banned under current South Australian legislation as these products do not contribute to the capture of food waste from landfill.

There will be a 12-month delay, until 1 September 2025, for AS certified compostable barrier bags to replace plastic barrier bags used to contain or protect unpackaged meat, poultry, dairy and fish.

The definition of fish includes molluscs and crustaceans to capture all seafood.

Industry and businesses have requested additional time to research and test AS certified compostable bags for use with these products. Initial investigations have found that not all compostable bags are compatible with these types of products and, therefore, the delay will provide sufficient time for appropriate AS certified compostable bags to be sourced and labelled.

Plastic shopping bags under 35 microns have been banned in South Australia since 2009, and the legislation specifically excludes plastic shopping bags that are AS certified industrially compostable (AS 4736:2006). A number of South Australian businesses provide AS certified compostable shopping bags to customers in compliance with the Plastic Shopping Bags (Waste Avoidance) Act 2008 (Shopping Bag Act).

Both AS certified compostable barrier bags and compostable shopping bags can be used as liners for kitchen caddies to divert food waste.

For this reason, it is proposed that the use of AS certified compostable shopping bags is retained with the inclusion of plastic shopping bags under the SUP Act.

During the consultation process, representatives from the charity sector highlighted an issue with managing donated plastic film shopping bags after they are banned. After 1 September 2024, it will be an offence to supply a plastic shopping bag as a means of carrying goods purchased from a retailer (including a thrift shop or charitable retail shop). 

However, the general public may use plastic shopping bags that they already have in their possession for any task, including reusing them to donate items to a local charity. Typically, these bags have been reused by a thrift or charitable retail shop to provide a bag to customers who may buy items from them. As a result, an exemption has been put into place to allow these charitable organisations to reuse and supply these donated plastic shopping bags to customers to carry home their purchases. By September 2027, it is expected that the number of plastic film bags being used to donate goods will have significantly decreased and the exemption will no longer be required.

This exemption does not permit charity thrift stores or charity retail stores to purchase and supply new plastic shopping bags to customers.

No. Under the legislation, if you are a business, enterprise, association, organisation or other body, you may not sell, supply or distribute a prohibited plastic product to another person (including charitable organisations).

However, the legislation does not apply to an individual re-using a plastic film bag after 1 September 2024 for any purpose including donating goods to a charity (e.g. putting clothes for donation into a plastic film bag and dropping the bag into a clothes donation bin).

There is a temporary 3-year exemption until 31 August 2027 for plastic film shopping bags used to donate goods to charitable organisations to enable these to be reused as a shopping bag for items purchased or supplied from a thrift shop or other charitable retail outlet run by the organisation.

The SUP regulations include plastic shopping bags already banned in SA under the Plastic Shopping Bags (Waste Avoidance) Act 2008 (Shopping Bags Act) and broaden the scope of banned plastic shopping bags by including plastic film shopping bags of any thickness from sale, supply or distribution in South Australia along with plastic laminated paper shopping bags in the bans.

Prohibiting all plastic shopping bags under the SUP Act promotes consistent, contemporary offences and penalties and therefore the Government is seeking to repeal the Shopping Bags Act. Under the SUP Act, it will be an offence to sell, supply or distribute plastic bags that are designated as prohibited plastic products. 

The maximum penalty to an individual under the Shopping Bag Act for providing a plastic shopping bag is $5,000. The SUP Act contains a maximum penalty of $20,000 for a manufacturer, producer, wholesaler or distributor.

The SUP Regulations include plastic shopping bags already banned in SA under the Plastic Shopping Bags (Waste Avoidance) Act 2008 (Plastic Shopping Bags Act) and broadens the scope of banned plastic shopping bags by including plastic film shopping bags of any thickness from sale, supply or distribution in South Australia along with plastic laminated paper shopping bags in the bans.

An summary of the differences between the Plastic Shopping Bags Act and the new thick plastic shopping bags ban under the Single-use and Other Plastic Products (Waste Avoidance) Act 2020 (SUP Act) is as follows:

• Penalties under the SUP Act are broader and higher than those under the Plastic Bags Act.
• Under the Plastic Shopping Bags Act, the offence of providing a plastic shopping bag is limited to a retailer. However, the SUP Act contains an offence to sell, supply or distribute a banned item.
• The maximum penalty to an individual under the Plastic Shopping Bag Act for providing a plastic shopping bag is $5,000. 
• The SUP Act contains a maximum penalty of $20,000 for a manufacturer, producer, wholesaler or distributor and $5,000 in other cases such as for a retailer.
• The new regulations under the SUP Act, while expanding the ban to include thicker plastic bags, contain new exemptions allowing reusable shopping bags made from plastic materials such as nylon, polyester, woven polypropylene and non-woven polypropylene. 
• The new regulations also allow a new 3-year time-limited exemption (until 1 September 2027) for charitable organisations who receive donations of goods from the public in plastic film bags and then reuse these bags for sales of second-hand goods in their retail shops.
• Under the new regulations under the SUP Act, a certified compostable plastic bag must be labelled if it is to be considered exempt from the ban as being certified as Australian Standards for home compostable or industrially compostable products.

During the consultation process, representatives from the fresh produce sector made clear that fibre-based food bag tags are not suitable for weights of 2kg or greater, or in damp storage conditions. Changing packing technology will require significant capital investment and will take some years to occur. A time-limited exemption allows producers to investigate alternative technologies and make changes to packing lines.