What exactly are they made from?
HEROPACKS are made from home-compostable materials, mainly corn starch and PBAT (a compostable ingredient which bonds the renewable ingredients together).
How do we compost them?
To compost them at home, it’s best to remove any labels, cut them up and place in your compost bin as “brown” materials. These will completely break down within 90-120 days in a home-compostable environment - sometimes even sooner!
These can also be sent to composting facilities to be properly broken down and composted. If you are in Australia, please CLICK HERE to find a composter near you. You can also ask your local council if they can provide a composting green bin for you. Another great option is to visit www.sharewaste.com to find a local home-composting enthusiast near you!
What happens if they end up in landfill?
Our goal is to ensure all our products are disposed of correctly. This means encouraging our business customers and consumers to not send any packaging to landfill. It's most important to help your customers home-compost our products to take full advantage of the environmental benefits. In a home-compost, HEROPACK mailers take 90 days to break down. As most landfills are deprived of oxygen, all materials ending up in landfill do not degrade as intended, including our compostable products. Due to the nature of the landfill process, this will add to methane production. If a landfill is exposed to oxygen, then our home-compostable materials with degrade much faster than other materials. In contrast, traditional plastic shipping mailers (including recycled plastic mailers) take 400 years or more to break down, and still release deadly methane gas into the atmosphere. The bottom line is that encouraging businesses and households to compost is on of the best solutions against fighting climate change.
How do your mailers compare to Australia Post (Auspost) mailer sizes?
Australia Post has the following sized mailers:
500g - 220x355mm
1kg - 265x385mm
3kg - 310x405mm
5kg - 435x510mm
The closest mailers we have are as follows:
500g - Use our Small-Medium mailer (220x340mm)
1kg - Use our Medium mailer (265x380mm)
3kg - Use our Medium (265x380mm) or Large (360x480mm)
5kg - Use our X Large (550x550mm)
How does shipping work for HEROPACKs (compared to Australia Post pre-paid mailers)?
When you purchase HEROPACKs, you are purchasing the mailers only (not the shipping). To pay for shipping, you will need to go to an Australia Post shop and get labels printed or if you use e-Parcel or Sendle, you can print and pay for labels at home. If you need any more information, head to our blog post - Check it out here!
What happens in water?
They are water resistant but if they are placed in water for a long time, they will break down there too. It takes much longer to break down in water because of the cooler temperatures.
How can I tell my customers about the compostable packaging?
If you place an order with us, you will receive a link to our Retailer Media Pack, including images and information sheets to send to your customers and/or display on your website.
Are the white strips covering the adhesive also compostable?
The white strips are not compostable at this stage, and are considered a soft plastic. This is because if a compostable material was used to cover the adhesive, it would not peel off effectively and would mean the mailer is unusable and not sealable. The best method of disposal for these white strips is using a commercial soft plastics recycling company by searching here, or using a Community Recycling Centre in NSW, Australia, which accept all recycling for free (search for similar organisations in other states). It's important to note that once mailers have been reused and are ready for final disposal, the white strips covering the adhesive have already been removed, leaving the compostable mailer ready for your customers to home or commercially compost.
Is the backing paper for your HEROLABELs compostable or recyclable?
The label backing material is not compostable at this stage, but is recyclable through a specialised process which separates the paper from a thin silicone material (the shiny part which allows the label to peel off the backing paper easily). The best method of disposal for the backing paper is through
TerraCycle and their Office Supplies Zero Waste Box. We're working on a return to store type program to also assist in the recycling of our label backing material (more on this coming soon).
What's the difference between compostable and biodegradable?
In short, a biodegradable product simply breaks down into smaller micro-plastics which still contaminate the environment. Certified home-compostable products break down as if they were never there, and can also be safely eaten by worms. Therefore, a compostable product is always more preferable over a biodegradable product.
Do your compostable mailers have a shelf life?
Yes. As our compostable mailers are made from renewable ingredients, they have a shelf life of approximately 9-12 months when kept in cool and dry conditions, out of direct sunlight. This should be considered when ordering mailers in bulk. We recommend ordering for a 3-6 month period of shipments when purchasing mailers. We are also working on many mailer design improvements which will see this life expectancy increase in the future.
Where are your products made?
All of our HEROPACKs and HEROBUBBLEs are produced in China. There are good reasons for this and we would love to tell you! Head over to our Where Are They Made page for all the information.
Our boxes are made in Australia - they are FSC certified and 100% recycled.
Our accessories are made in USA, Germany and Australia.
