Sustainability and broad social awareness of environmental, nature and climate issues are important topics today. This includes, not least, an increased awareness of what ends up on our plates.

Many people would like to make themselves at least to some extent more independent of the sometimes less sustainable products from the food industry. Out of this desire, recreational kitchen gardening has recently experienced a strong revival:

More and more people want to enrich their menu with homegrown food. Be it just a few fresh herbs from the windowsill or - depending on the space available - enough potatoes to keep them supplied for months.

However, the underlying horticultural necessities are characterized by handling seeds that are very fragile in their original state, small seedlings and plants that are ready for planting. This is where compostable packaging can play an extremely clever and versatile role. On the one hand, the seedlings and seeds are protected by such packaging materials. Moreover, as a result, completely ecologically sound plants grow up.

But what is compostable packaging? What are they made of and why are they so popular with gardeners? We will now show you everything you need to know about this green topic.

What is compostable packaging?

To answer you this question, we must first address what is the most important "basic product" of the gardener, namely soil or soil. It is the natural habitat for virtually all gardening relevant plant varieties.

If we concentrate only on the actual soil matter and disregard the layers of air and water present in it, then natural soil consists of two things:

• Mineral components: Various types of rock, clay, lime, etc.
• Organic components: The remains of decayed plants, fungi, and various animal life forms.

This is where compostable packaging comes into play: Everything that is in any form dead plant or animal decomposes under the influence of atmospheric oxygen, water and microorganisms as well as soil organisms. The process is called composting, and the product is compost.

As an intermediate product, this compost is an important part of the natural cycle. On the one hand, it contains important water-soluble minerals that plants need as nutrients. On the other hand, it is transformed into humus by the rotting process.

The soil, in turn, is a central component of the soil due to its structure. It is an important habitat especially for the not particularly deep-rooted crops, and its loose structure enables root penetration, water storage and provides nutrients.

In other words, humus from decomposed organic material is the most important fertilizer in a natural ecosystem and is therefore of central importance for natural, ecologically safe gardening.

Due to their structure and the materials used, compostable packaging is able to undergo this process of composting in a similar way to garden or vegetable kitchen waste, for example. This is not only good in terms of general disposal, but is also extremely useful for gardeners.

Strictly speaking, only intentional decomposition of organic material is called composting.

What materials are used to make compostable packaging?

For packaging to be compostable, both its base material and all other materials used (such as printing inks) must meet various conditions:

1. All components must be "biodegradable". This means that they must be able to be broken down into their components by living organisms.
2. The entire packaging material decomposes or rots completely, making it indistinguishable from other materials in the compost after only a short time.
3. There are no ingredients that have a negative impact on the compost habitat or later in the humus, the plants and their consumers.
   

To achieve this lofty goal, today's compostable packaging can only be based on materials that are themselves made from basic plant materials. These are, for example:

1. Starch obtained from particularly starchy plants, such as corn and other cereals.
2. Long-fiber plants, such as hemp or jute.
3. Cellulose papers produced from numerous plants. This also includes various types of cardboard and paperboard.
4. Straw and grasses, for example, wheat straw or bamboo.

The packaging industry has recently done a lot of development work in this area. As a result, it is even possible to produce various bioplastics. Corn starch, for example, can be used to produce films that have the same properties and appearance as conventional (= petroleum-based) plastics, but which gradually decompose in nature.

"Gradually decompose" is an important keyword, however: because by no means every natural packaging material is suitable for the high demands of packaging that can be composted in the garden.

Is all biodegradable packaging compostable?

A clear no. In fact, "compostable packaging" is the highest grade of all biodegradable packaging. For this purpose, there is the DIN-EN-ISO 13432 standard, which defines exactly when packaging is to be classified as compostable.

Let's first take a look at the basic differences:

• Biodegradable: As explained above, the material must be able to decompose naturally. Ideally down to its elementary components. However, even the standards behind this do not specify any specific time periods. Therefore, sheet steel packaging, for example, would be "biodegradable" because it decomposes - just over many years.
• Compostable: These packaging materials must be biodegradable within a period of only several weeks. They must also release nutrients for plant growth and not pollute the humus.

Now here is the DIN-EN-ISO 13432 mentioned above: It makes strict specifications as to what properties a package must have in order to be officially considered compostable.

1. After 90 days, at least 90 percent of the organic material must have decomposed.
2. The packaging manufacturer must disclose all ingredients and these must comply with the respective applicable limits for heavy metals.
3. After 90 days, the resulting compost must be sieved through a two-millimeter sieve. No more than 10 percent residue of the original mass may remain.
4. The packaging components must not have any negative effects on the composting process.
5. Among other things, the resulting compost must pass an eco-toxicity test to demonstrate its effects on plant growth.

However: These standards are based on industrial composting plants. There, composting takes place under precise ideal conditions at high temperatures from 55 °C. However, if we are talking about compostable packaging specifically for horticultural purposes, then the NF T51-800 or "DIN Tested - garden compostable" standard is decisive.

The specifications for this are similar to those of DIN-EN-ISO 13432, but unlike the latter, the packaging components must undergo the processes at temperatures below 30 °C - which is what prevails in a private compost heap, for example.

What are the advantages of (garden) compostable packaging from a gardener's point of view?

Of course, this easy and rapid transformation of a packaging into a biologically valuable base material - i.e. humus - is an enormous advantage in itself.

• No additional energy is required,
• there are no climate-damaging transport routes and disposal work after the end user.

Yes, there are not even any risks if such packaging is not disposed of properly. After all, it decomposes in the wild just like a carelessly discarded apple remnant.

Such packaging is therefore ecologically sound in the best sense of the word, as it combines a minimum of pollution with a maximum of closeness to nature. Of course, this is also important for hobby gardeners and other plant lovers. But for them, compostable packaging delivers other benefits as well.

To explain them, it is necessary to go into more detail about some typical processes of gardening:

• The preplanting: In this process, seeds are allowed to germinate under controlled conditions of light and heat in high-quality humus. This method is not least popular with hobby gardeners who rely on seed-proof plant varieties and obtain their own seeds from them.
• The creation of cuttings: These are cuttings from adult plants, which are also stimulated to form roots in a high-quality soil.
• The handling of seedlings: These are young plants that have emerged from pre-grown seeds or cuttings. They are ready to be planted out - whether in the open, in greenhouses or in planter boxes, flower pots and similar containers.

However, there is always one overarching necessity: all these little plants are extremely sensitive. Simply removing a seedling with its soil ball from a non-compostable seed pot, for example, poses an enormous risk to the hair-thin roots. Even with the most careful handling, it is possible to cause damage in the process, from which the seedling perishes or through which it does not develop as it could.

This is where compostable packaging can show its great advantages. With them, after filling with soil and sowing seeds or planting a seedling, it is no longer necessary to touch it directly.

This means that plants of all development stages, from seeds to seedlings to already larger specimens, can be directly exposed together with their packaging.

No matter whether they are accomplished amateur gardeners or beginners in the field of gardening: Compostable outer packaging gives them all the opportunity to do so in the simplest way imaginable.

The packaging is placed in the soil. Since it is garden compostable, it behaves no differently there than any plant component.

• It rots,
• offers no obstacles to the spreading roots,
• also releases valuable nutrients during composting, which act as a fertilizer.

In fact, it would even be possible to specifically enrich the packaging material with further nutrients to intensify this effect. For example, corrugated cardboard with lime fertilizer between the layers.

This makes compostable packaging for plants an excellent approach when gardeners are the target audience. In fact, even packaging for other products can be constructed with a secondary use by these individuals. For example, compostable folding boxes that are actually used to package other products could be specifically designed to become growing pots - which would have a positive effect, not least on the sustainable image of the company behind it.

Conclusion: Garden compostable packaging is the ideal packaging medium for gardeners

Garden compostable packaging is exposed together with the plant. Thus, such packaging is not only the fulfillment of a sustainable idea, but has a utility value especially for the target group of (hobby) gardeners that goes far beyond mere packaging.

If your business is aimed at such people, you should definitely think about going this way. There is practically no better choice for nature, environment, climate and your target group.

FAQ

1. Can compostable packaging be printed?

   Yes, there is nothing to be said against this from a technical point of view. In addition, printing inks now exist that also meet the high demands of compostability.

2. Is compostable packaging more sensitive than conventional packaging?

   Factually, no. The same rules apply as for other packaging made of comparable materials. This primarily concerns a certain sensitivity to moisture.

3. Is compostable packaging really sustainable?

   Especially garden compostable packaging absolutely is. This is because no additional energy is required for composting, as the process is already complete at normal garden temperatures.

4. Does compostable packaging rot just as quickly as garden waste?

   No, it takes a little longer. Purely organic organic waste largely decomposes after a maximum of four weeks. With compostable packaging, it takes about three times as long - but that is the only significant difference.

5. Can only industrially compostable packaging also decompose in the garden?

   Yes. But because they are designed for industrial composting, the decomposition process in the garden takes much longer and can be several months.