Montague Farms is trialling a home compostable barcode sticker on its Jazz apples during the 2025 harvest, marking a new step in reducing packaging waste in fresh fruit.
The Sinclair – T55 sticker, developed by supplier J-Tech, is certified safe for home composting by the Australasian Bioplastics Association and meets global composting standards. The sticker trial will run for about three months at Montague Farms’ packing facility in Narre Warren North, Victoria, which processes over 350 million pieces of fruit annually.
The trial follows a successful February pilot on plums sold through Coles and Woolworths. The compostable sticker is designed to match the performance of conventional fruit stickers and to be compatible with existing labelling systems.
Sinclair’s T55 compostable fruit label was recently named a finalist in the ‘Sustainability Initiative of the Year (Products & Services)’ category at The Grocer Gold Awards 2025. The label is the first for fresh produce to achieve certification for both home and industrial compostability, meeting international standards.
“The Sinclair – T55 sticker represents over 17 years of research and development. It has only been recently possible with the advancement of technologies and environmentally conscious materials. As well as ensuring the compostable end-of-life performance of the sticker, key to ensure the application performance was equivalent to conventional fruit stickers and worked on existing labelling systems a viable choice,” said Duncan Jones, senior marketing manager, Sinclair.
The compostable stickers will be identifiable by a green border on JAZZ apples at Woolworths, Coles, Costco and independent greengrocers.
Montague Farms is a member of the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO), which oversees industry compliance with packaging sustainability goals set under the National Waste Action Plan (2019) and National Plastics Plan (2021).
“This innovative trial of the T55 compostable sticker met our expectations, with sticker retention on the fruit performing in line with supply chain requirements,” said Rowan Little, head of strategy and innovation, Montague Farms.
“While still in the early stages, the success of initial trials represents a promising step forward in Montague Farms' ongoing efforts to improve sustainability within the fruit industry.”
