In this work, I’ve learned something profoundly simple: people ask questions because they care.

Recently, I received a thoughtful email from a longtime compostable bag user and lifelong environmentalist, someone who cares deeply about what ends up in our soil, water, and bodies. They had some honest questions about our bags. Not just surface-level questions, but ones rooted in life cycle thinking. What happens if a compostable bag doesn’t make it into a commercial composting facility? Does it still break down? Does it leave microplastics?

These are important questions. And no matter how advanced we get, we owe it to our communities, and to the land itself, to answer them with honesty.

Let’s Get Real: Compostable ≠ Magic

At EcoSafe, our certified compostable bags are engineered and third-party certified twice (!!) to fully break down in industrial composting facilities or municipal composting systems. Think of those facilities as nature’s fast-forward button: heat, microbes, moisture, and aeration work together to turn organic matter and certified compostables into nutrient-rich soil.

Our EcoSafe compostable bags are made from advanced compostable resin, which includes:

• PLA (polylactic acid): a plant-based plastic derived from corn, sugar beet, or sugarcane.
• PBAT (polybutylene adipate terephthalate): a certified compostable polymer that adds strength and flexibility, partly derived from petrochemical.

Without PBAT, compostable plastic alternatives would absorb moisture, tear easily, and fail in real-world use, especially for wet food scraps or longer storage.

This is where “compostable vs biodegradable” really matters: biodegradable materials may break down eventually, but not necessarily into natural elements or within composting conditions. Compostable products, however, are tested and certified to safely return to the soil.

The Hard Truth: What Happens to Compostable Bags in Landfill

When compostable bags end up in landfill often due to lack of compost pickup or contamination, they will decompose, but far more slowly than in the environment they were designed for.

Landfills aren’t made for decomposition. They’re sealed, low-oxygen environments built to store waste, not transform it. In that setting, even a banana peel can last for years. So while our EcoSafe compostable bags won’t break into toxic microplastics, they also won’t return to the earth as quickly as we’d like.

Understanding how compostable bags decompose helps us see why composting infrastructure is so vital to climate goals.

What We’re Doing About It

The solution isn’t just better bags, it’s better systems.

At EcoSafe Zero Waste, system change is the backbone of our work. We focus on:

• Advocating for composting infrastructure and policy
• Supporting composting policy and legislation through public consultation
• Engaging haulers and municipalities with our compostable liners for organic waste for haulers
• Collaborating on circular packaging systems with partners in policy and operations
• Educating processors and leaders on clean organic waste streams and certified materials

We are also actively involved in Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) frameworks that now govern compostable and recyclable packaging. Programs like those administered by the Circular Action Alliance are reshaping accountability: manufacturers (including compostable packaging companies) must contribute to the cost of collecting and processing their materials.

EcoSafe works within these frameworks because we believe in designing EPR compostable packaging that fits into circular waste management systems, not just conceptually, but operationally.

Eyes Forward

We’re proud to work alongside the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI), the US Composting Council, the Circular Innovation Council, and the Compost Manufacturing Alliance, whose real-world field tests ensure that certified compostable liners perform exactly as intended.

 

We’re also watching the innovation space closely. Materials made from seaweed, fungi, and agricultural byproducts are on the horizon. But until those are market-ready, high-performance, and certified compostable, our EcoSafe compostable solutions remain one of the most effective tools available to support commercial composting systems and reduce contamination at the source.

Our commitment is simple: to tell the truth, even when it’s complicated, and to keep improving how compostable plastic alternatives fit into a circular economy.

Gratitude for the Question-Askers

To everyone who takes the time to ask “what happens next?”, thank you. Your curiosity keeps us grounded and drives change across industrial composting facilities, circular packaging systems, and policy frameworks alike.

This work isn’t perfect, but it’s done with integrity, transparency, and a love of soil. Whether we’re lining a kitchen bin, speaking in a council meeting, or filing government comments, we’re doing our best to support a future where compostable bags and microplastics aren’t part of the same sentence.

Here’s to the long game,

Sammy

Director of Sustainability & Brand

EcoSafe Zero Waste Inc.