Home Composting
The best conditions for our materials to degrade in the way that returns nutrients back into the earth is through home composting. Simply place your Shellworks packaging into the composter and watch it start to disappear. It’s not an overnight process – some of our products will naturally take longer to decompose. In the right conditions, our packaging will degrade within 52 weeks.
Industrial Composting
We know that access to compost heaps in urban areas is limited. Many local councils do provide composting bins that may be taken to industrial composting units, but check to see if they’ll accept compostable packaging. Every council has different regulations. If you get the green light, simply add your Shellworks packaging to either your food waste or composting bin and it will be taken to industrial composting facilities.
Recycling
Through our own testing we have established our packaging is recyclable in principle, but we still have some work to do to get it accepted by a recycling facility near you. Unfortunately, it can take time for any new material to be accepted for recycling. In the meantime, check with our brand partners. Some offer a take-back scheme where you can bring back your Shellworks packaging and they’ll recycle or compost it for you.
Litter
Not something we recommend, ever. But if your packaging does happen to end up outside of the compost heap, it can be processed through usual waste facilities without harming the environment. And whilst it remains in the environment, it is non-toxic and won't leave behind any microplastics.
Marine pollution
Shellworks packaging will biodegrade in marine environments; but that’s no excuse to throw it in the sea!
Landfill
It takes petroleum-based plastics hundreds of years to break down in landfill, and when they do, they generate microplastics. We really hope our material won’t end up in landfill, but if it does, the good thing is that it won’t break down into microplastics. We anticipate that it will break down the same way food sources, like a banana, might.
2350 BC
The first record of “making” compost in human history
Source2.7 million tonnes
the amount of compost produced in England in 2018
Source62%
of cosmetics packaging is not recyclable
Source80%
the amount of litter in the ocean that comes from plastic
Source2050
its estimated that by this year, plastic will outweigh all fish in the sea
Source6.1 million tonnes
the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfill in 2020 from the UK alone
Source