Pixel Burn has gone greener. Since August 2026, around 70% of the packaging used across our standard orders has been switched to certified home compostable materials. And for just 90 cents at checkout, you can choose our Go Green Compostable Packaging upgrade, which allows us to pack your entire order using home compostable packaging materials certified to AS 5810, the Australian Standard for materials designed for home composting.
With more than 200 orders leaving Pixel Burn each day across our sales channels, even relatively small packaging changes add up quickly. Here is what we changed, what home compostable actually means, how our 90c Go Green upgrade works, and where we are heading next.
In this article
- What changed at Pixel Burn in August 2026?
- What does home compostable actually mean?
- What is the 90c Go Green upgrade?
- Greener delivery with Team Global Express
- What is next for us?
- How do you dispose of our packaging?
- Frequently asked questions
What changed at Pixel Burn in August 2026?
We make personalised gifts that people keep for years. Engraved boards that come out every Christmas, keepsakes that sit on a shelf for decades, plaques that outlive the occasion they were originally made for.
It always sat a little oddly with us that something designed to last that long could arrive wrapped in conventional plastic packaging that may be discarded within days.
So in August 2026, we started changing it.
Rather than changing just one part of the parcel, we began switching the packaging around it as well. Our satchels, void fill and packaging tape were moved across to home compostable alternatives wherever practical. Today, around 70% of our standard packaging by weight is home compostable, included automatically with eligible orders at no additional cost.
For a workshop dispatching more than 200 orders a day across our sales channels, that represents a significant amount of conventional plastic packaging we are no longer sending out.
What does home compostable actually mean?
There is an important difference between home compostable and commercially compostable packaging in Australia.
They are covered by different Australian Standards and are designed for different composting environments.
| Standard | Designed for | Composting environment |
|---|---|---|
|
AS 5810 Home compostable |
Home composting | Typical household composting conditions without the controlled industrial temperatures used by commercial facilities. |
|
AS 4736 Commercially compostable |
Commercial composting | Controlled commercial composting facilities using managed conditions such as temperature, moisture and aeration. |
For our home compostable packaging, we chose materials certified to AS 5810 because the standard is specifically designed around home composting conditions.
The Australasian Bioplastics Association administers Australia's Home Compostable Verification Programme. Products verified to AS 5810 undergo independent testing to demonstrate that they can break down appropriately under home composting conditions.
You can read more about the verification programme directly from the Australasian Bioplastics Association.
Made from coconut husk fibre, a renewable by-product, and personalised with your own text or artwork.
What is the 90c Go Green upgrade?
If you want us to take your order all the way, you can.
In your cart you will see an option called Go Green Compostable Packaging for 90 cents. Select it and we will pack your order using our fully home compostable packaging setup, including the satchel, protective packaging and tape.
That means the packaging materials used under the Go Green option are designed to be disposed of through an appropriate home composting system rather than conventional plastic packaging.
| Standard packaging | Go Green upgrade — 90c | |
|---|---|---|
| Home compostable content | Around 70% by weight | 100% packaging setup |
| AS 5810 certified materials | Used throughout our compostable components | Used throughout the Go Green packaging setup |
| Additional cost | Included | 90c per order |
We deliberately kept the Go Green upgrade as a 90 cent choice rather than simply building the additional cost into every product on our website.
Fully compostable packaging materials currently cost us more than conventional alternatives. Instead of quietly increasing the price of every gift to absorb that difference, we would rather give customers the choice to upgrade their entire order for 90 cents.
It also helps us work towards the bigger goal.
Every customer who selects Go Green increases the volume of compostable packaging we purchase. As that volume grows, it gives us a better opportunity to reduce the cost difference and move closer to making fully home compostable packaging our standard packaging option across every order.
That is where we want to get to.
Solid timber, laser engraved in our Brisbane workshop and designed to be used for years.
Greener delivery with Team Global Express
Packaging is only one part of getting an order from Pixel Burn to your door. Transport matters too.
Team Global Express, one of the delivery partners we use for overnight express orders, has been expanding the use of electric vehicles throughout its Australian network, including a major electric truck programme supported by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
When the option is available to us within the Team Global Express network, Pixel Burn selects the option to attempt delivery using an electric vehicle.
That does not mean we can guarantee that a particular parcel will arrive in an electric vehicle. Final vehicle allocation is determined by Team Global Express and can depend on the destination, local depot, route, operational requirements and vehicle availability on the day.
But where the option is available to us, we select it.
It is a relatively small choice at the individual parcel level, but across the number of orders we dispatch throughout the year, we believe choices like these are worth making wherever the network allows us to.
You can read more about Team Global Express and its electric vehicle programme on the Team Global Express sustainability page.
What is next for us?
We are proud of the switch, but we are not finished.
The remaining portion of our standard packaging covers a smaller number of products and order types that need additional protection in transit. For those applications, we are continuing to look for home compostable alternatives that can provide the strength and protection we require without compromising the condition in which an order reaches the customer.
Our Go Green upgrade already allows us to provide a fully home compostable packaging setup when selected, but our longer-term goal is to reach the point where that becomes our normal packaging standard rather than an optional upgrade.
We are also looking further up our own supply chain.
Like most businesses, some of the materials and products delivered to our workshop still arrive from suppliers wrapped or protected in conventional plastic before our team has even touched them. Changing that part is more complicated because it involves working with manufacturers and suppliers outside Pixel Burn, but it is another area we want to keep improving.
This was never intended to be a one-off packaging change. It is something we intend to keep working on.
Natural slate personalised with names, a date or your own design. Made to be used and enjoyed for years.
How do you dispose of our packaging?
If you selected our Go Green Compostable Packaging upgrade, the home compostable packaging can be placed into an appropriate home composting system. Cutting or tearing larger pieces into smaller sections can also help increase the surface area available to the composting process.
If you received our standard packaging, simply separate the compostable components from any remaining conventional packaging and dispose of each appropriately.
If you want to place compostable packaging into a council FOGO, green-waste or organics bin, check your local council's requirements first. Acceptance rules vary between councils, and certification to AS 5810 does not automatically mean an item is accepted in every kerbside organics programme.
If you are ever unsure about a particular piece of packaging, your local council's waste and recycling guide is the best place to check.
Frequently asked questions
Is Pixel Burn packaging home compostable or commercially compostable?
Our compostable packaging materials are selected as home compostable materials certified to AS 5810. AS 5810 is designed specifically for materials intended to break down under home composting conditions.
AS 4736 is a separate Australian Standard covering materials intended for controlled commercial composting environments. The two standards have different testing conditions and requirements, so one should not be treated as automatically equivalent to the other.
Is all Pixel Burn packaging compostable?
Around 70% of our standard packaging by weight is currently home compostable and is included automatically on eligible orders at no additional cost.
If you select the 90c Go Green Compostable Packaging upgrade in your cart, we use our fully home compostable packaging setup for your order.
How much is the compostable packaging upgrade?
90 cents per order — not per item.
Whether your order contains one gift or several products, selecting Go Green in your cart applies the upgrade to the packaging for the entire order.
Why does the fully compostable option cost 90 cents?
Fully compostable packaging materials currently cost us more than the conventional alternatives they replace.
Rather than increasing the price of every product on the Pixel Burn website to absorb that difference, we decided to make the fully compostable option available for 90 cents per order.
As more customers choose it and the volume of compostable packaging we purchase increases, our aim is to continue working towards making it our standard packaging setup without requiring an additional charge.
Are Pixel Burn orders delivered by electric vehicle?
Where Team Global Express provides us with the option, Pixel Burn selects the request to attempt delivery using an electric vehicle.
We cannot guarantee that an individual shipment will ultimately be allocated to an EV. Vehicle allocation is controlled by the carrier and depends on the route, destination, depot, operational requirements and availability on the day.
Team Global Express is actively expanding its electric vehicle fleet across Australia, so we select the EV delivery option whenever it is available to us.
Does compostable packaging protect my order as well as conventional packaging?
That was one of our most important considerations before making the change.
We tested the packaging before rolling it into our operation because reducing conventional plastic is not particularly useful if products then arrive damaged and need to be manufactured and shipped again.
Our packaging still needs to do its primary job first: protecting your order while it travels from us to you.
Eligible Australian orders also continue to include Pixel Burn Parcel Protection, regardless of whether standard packaging or the Go Green upgrade is selected.
Add Go Green at checkout for 90c
Shop any eligible personalised gift, then select Go Green Compostable Packaging in your cart and we will use our fully home compostable packaging setup for your order.
Shop Personalised Gifts →Same-day production is available on eligible orders placed before the applicable cut-off, with next-day delivery options available Australia-wide. New here? Start with our 2026 guide to personalised gifts in Australia.
