Built from the Inside Out

BioBreath was founded by Dylan Bel-Bachir, a mechanical fitter from Perth who spent years working FIFO across WA mine sites and noticed something most sustainability strategies overlook entirely.

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A Problem Nobody Was Talking About

Breath testing is mandatory across mining, law enforcement, transport, and construction in Australia. On a busy site or in a high-volume testing environment, that means hundreds or sometimes thousands of single-use plastic straws being used and discarded every single week.

It is not dramatic. It is not visible. And that is exactly why it never gets addressed.

Most sustainability efforts focus on the obvious areas: packaging, vehicles, energy. The small, routine consumables get overlooked. But when you are running thousands of tests a year, those consumables add up to a significant and completely unnecessary plastic problem.

BioBreath was founded by Dylan Bel-Bachir, a FIFO mechanical fitter from Perth who watched this happen every single day on site. Every entry. Every shift. Plastic straws, used once, thrown away. The more he saw it, the harder it was to ignore.

When he looked for a biodegradable alternative purpose-built for the devices already in use across Australian industry, there was not one.

So he built it.

THE PROBLEM RECYCLING COULDN'T FIX

Australian police forces conduct millions of breath tests every year. WA Police conducted 740,000 tests in 2012 according to their own tender specification, and the National Road Safety Data Hub confirms WA now runs the highest per capita rate of roadside breath testing of any Australian state. That figure from 2012 is over a decade old. The actual number today is larger. NSW Police conducted 3.4 million random breath tests in 2024, according to the NSW Parliament Budget Estimates tabled that year. Between WA and NSW alone, Alcolizer devices are being used for well over 4 million tests annually, each one producing a single-use plastic straw.

740,000+
WA Police breathalyser tests per year
Source: WAPOL11611 tender specification, 2012. WA now conducts the highest rate of roadside breath tests per capita of any Australian state (National Road Safety Data Hub, 2024). This figure is over a decade old. The real number today is higher.
3,400,000
NSW Police random breath tests in 2024
Source: NSW Parliament Budget Estimates 2024-25. NSW Police has held a continuous Alcolizer supply contract for over 20 years.
Case 01
WA Police and Green Moxie
In 2015, WA Police partnered with Green Moxie to recycle used breathalyser straws, melting them into posts, stakes, and bins. By 2017 the program had diverted almost one million straws from landfill and won a WA State Government award.

It still needed a dedicated recycling partner, a separate logistics chain, and ongoing funding to exist. And it only ever captured a portion of straws produced.

The result: Even the best recycling program in the country could not solve the problem completely. Recycling only works if someone does the recycling.
Case 02
Victoria Police and Pact Group
Victoria Police attempted something similar. After months of advocacy, the EPA reclassified used breathalyser straws from biomedical waste, clearing the way for recycling.

Victoria Police partnered with Pact Group's sustainability division to trial a program. The finding: police officers at booze buses did not have the time or resources to separate straws from their paper wrappers before disposal.

Of the approximately 4 million straws Victoria Police uses each year, only around 1 million were ever captured for recycling. Three million went to landfill every year, despite the program running.

Pact Group flagged inherent inefficiencies in scaling the approach.

The result: EPA intervention, an external recycling partner, and a dedicated trial. Still 75% of straws went to landfill every single year.

BioBreath removes the problem before it starts. No sorting, no logistics chain, no external partner, no recycling program. A straw that biodegrades on its own is simpler than a recycling program that only worked 25% of the time.

 A Practical Product for a Real Problem

BioBreath is not a concept or a campaign. It is a physical product, currently in development and moving toward commercial availability.

The BioBreath straw is made from 100% PBS (polybutylene succinate), free from BPA, plasticisers, and heavy metals. The resin is DIN CERTCO-certified compostable, compliant with EN 13432 and ASTM D6400 standards. It is designed to sit directly onto compatible Alcolizer devices. No adaptors, no modifications, no retraining required.

BioBreath has completed independent third-party flow resistance testing through Vipac Engineers and Scientists, recording 1,187 Pa against the AS 3547:2019 limit of 3,000 Pa. We are currently preparing for pilot conversations with organisations in law enforcement and the resources sector.

Single-piece biodegradable straw
No separate adaptor required. Sits directly onto compatible Alcolizer devices.
100% PBS
Free from BPA, plasticisers, and heavy metals.
DIN CERTCO certified
Compostable resin compliant with EN 13432 and ASTM D6400.
Device compatible
Direct 1:1 replacement for Alcolizer HH3, HH4, and LE5. No modification required.
Individually sleeved
Hygienic, ready-to-use packaging. Zero plastic components.
Perth, Western Australia
ACN 684 751 399. Founded and operated in WA. Built for Australian industry.

Honest. Practical. Built for Procurement.

01
Operational integrity
The product has to work. Familiar fit, familiar process, no disruption to existing testing workflows. BioBreath is a direct replacement. Your team will not notice the difference except for what ends up in the bin.
02
Material transparency
We only claim what we can document. Our resin is DIN CERTCO-certified compostable, compliant with EN 13432 and ASTM D6400. We will not overstate what that means, and we will not hide behind vague sustainability language.
03
Procurement readiness
From certifications to compatibility specs, we are building the documentation package that serious buyers need. Government agencies and mining operators ask hard questions. We are building the answers before they ask.
04
Australian roots
Founded in Perth. Built for Australian industry. BioBreath was conceived on WA mine sites and developed for the organisations that operate them. Starting in WA and expanding from there.

We are not here to greenwash. We are not here to make bold claims we cannot back up.

BioBreath is being developed with procurement-grade transparency in mind, because the organisations we want to work with ask hard questions, and they should.

Government agencies, mining companies, and transport operators do not have time for vague sustainability promises. They need a product that works, documentation they can rely on, and a supplier they can trust.

That is the standard we're holding ourselves to.

Designed for High-Frequency Testing Environments

BioBreath is relevant anywhere breath testing is routine, not occasional. The higher the testing volume, the greater the plastic reduction opportunity.

Police & Law Enforcement

Mining & Resources

Construction & Infrastructure

Transport & logistics

learn more

STARTING IN WA.
BUILT FOR THE NATION.

Our focus right now is Western Australia, the state we know best and the market where BioBreath is most immediately relevant.

The goal is to establish BioBreath as the trusted biodegradable breath testing consumable across WA law enforcement and industry first, then expand state by state as the product and brand build credibility.

The national opportunity is significant. Australian police forces conduct breath tests at significant scale each year. If BioBreath becomes the standard consumable across even a fraction of those tests, the plastic reduction impact is substantial.

But we are not getting ahead of ourselves. First things first: get the product right, earn the trust of the right partners in WA, and build from there.

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Perth, Western Australia
+61 474 177 625
dylan@bio-breath.com.au
ACN 684 751 399
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