You can happily put your old beeswax wraps in the compost bin because they’re made from food ingredients!
There comes a time when that quick refresh job you’ve been doing every month or so just isn’t doing the trick anymore and we have to say farewell to our beeswax wraps. While they are incredibly long-lasting they are not forever, and in the interests of sustainability we wouldn’t want them to be either – a product that doesn’t break down (into eco-friendly particles) isn’t sustainable.
We take full responsibility for our product – every step of the way
As individuals, we need to consume to survive, and one of the biggest challenges we face today is how to responsibly manage the production and disposal of consumable products.
For our business, this means considering how a product is made, what it is made from. How it is packaged and sold to the consumer, what happens to it and its packaging at the end of its life. This is the responsibility of both the manufacturer and the consumer. There has to be consideration for the impact of a product taken by the manufacturer before it makes its way into your homes as well as what happens to it at the end of its use.
Can you put beeswax wraps in the compost?
Apiwraps are made from simple, recognisable food ingredients. Which means that yes, you can just toss your old beeswax wraps into your home composter or green waste bin. There is nothing that will harm growing plants – no nasty chemicals, no elements that won’t break down. Even the dyes we use to print the designs are certified organic!
Every ingredient was carefully chosen to ensure that Apiwraps are not only safe for using with your food, but that they are able to nourish the soil at the end of their life – feeding the flowers that feed the bees that make the beeswax that our wraps are made of.
Full circle, just like it should be – how cool is that!
What materials are our beeswax wraps made from?
There are four ingredients in our beeswax wraps:
💚 GOTS Certified organic cotton – printed with organic inks
💚 Australian beeswax
💚 Organic coconut oil
💚 Pine gum rosin
All of these ingredients are safe to eat and nourishing for your garden worms.
How do you know if your Apiwraps are “done”
You’ll know your Apiwrap is ready to be retired when the wax becomes too thin after a year or two of use. Or it will have lost its tackiness and no longer seals. Or something might have been forgotten and left wrapped for several weeks in a school bag over the summer holidays and now the wrap – along with the food item – is barely recognisable (it happens!).
We don’t recommend re-waxing your apiwraps as the good thick coating we put on them is sufficient for several years of use. By the time the wax has worn thin we’ve found the cloth itself will be close to wearing through. Adding more wax won’t bring back the clean, fresh cotton that you started out with, and beeswax is precious – you won’t be wanting to leave wax all over your kitchen trays, or using paper towels to mop up the mess – wasting the precious wax.
Our subscription club is a great way to keep adding to your collection at an affordable price, meaning you don’t need to be too worried about your worn out Apiwraps and you’ll always have a nice fresh wrap in the right size handy.
How to compost Apiwraps
To compost your old beeswax wrap, shred it into strips. The thinner you cut the quicker they will break down, though they would also break down left fully intact if it came to it, just taking a little longer. Use kitchen scissors to cut small slits along one side, every few centimetres, and tear with your hands until the entire wrap is shredded. Throw the strips in your compost or green bin. That’s it!
Zero-waste Hero Tips!
If you wanted to further extend the life of your Apiwrap before it makes its way into your compost, the strips also make great ties for vines, vegetables or plants in your garden! Just use them to tie the plants to stakes instead of using twine or ties. With the wax coating they are waterproof and will last a long time this way. The smell of beeswax may even encourage bees into your garden to pollinate your plants. Plus, they look great!
Another way to make use of the precious beeswax left on the wraps is to use your old beeswax wraps as fire starters. Even the thinnest old Apiwraps have enough wax in them to get a good fire started! If you’d like to use Apiwraps for your bbq, smoker or backyard fire check out our factory outlet fire starter scrap boxes here.
Old and used beeswax wraps are made from natural food ingredients and can be composted in a home compost bin or worm farm. They break down quickly and easily to make soil that is rich and nourishing, ready to grow flowers that feed the bees and complete the circle. Good for you, good for the bees, good for the planet.
If your Apiwraps are starting to wear, our subscription club is an affordable way to continue topping up your collection.