All of our compostable products are BPI (Biodegradable Products Institute) certified to meet the ASTM D6400 standards specification. We’ve taken it a step further to ensure composters trust our products through the Compost Manufacturing Alliance certification to support composters and the important work that they do. To ensure the compostable products you are using are truly compostable, check out our guide and also look for certifications.

Yes they do. Because compostable products are designed to break down, the materials and processes used to create are not as permanent as plastic bags. The degradation process doesn’t truly start until they conditions for composting a just right like they are at an industrial composting facility. However, even on their own, compostable bags will begin to weaken after about 1 year. After a year of sitting on a shelf, the seams of the bag will begin to lose some of the strength that a new bag has. To gain extra time with your bags, store them in a cool dry place and out of direct sunlight.

Here are some tips:

1. Do not put plastics, glass, cans, or any non-organic items in the food scraps collection bin.
2. Check the website of your local composter or municipality to learn about “what is” and “what is not” accepted in your food scraps collection bin
3. Ensure that any compostable items such as compostable bags, utensils, cups, etc. are BPI and CMA certified. These certifications ensure that the items are easily identified and will compost properly in a commercial compost facility.
4. Lining your kitchen bin with an EcoSafe® compostable liner will keep your bin clean and help reduce odors and fruit flies.

Since society started the migration from rural to urban centers, we have struggled to control food waste. In the 20th Century, we moved to a highly automated “tip and dump” system that included food and organics with trash destined for landfills. In some progressive cities and countries, recycling was added, but there is still a lot of work to be done to achieve Zero Waste in a growing society of over consumption.

Additionally, industrial agriculture practices have depleted healthy soil after years of pesticide use and tilling practices. With hotter temperatures on the rise, droughts and flooding is also on the rise. This is causing major negative impacts on farmland by increasing soil erosion, washing away the areas we need to grow food, and creating less resilient communities.

The good news is that by composting, we can keep nature in balance by replenishing the soil with nutrient-rich organic matter that maintains the natural biocycle. The healthier the soil, the more carbon is placed back into the soil. We must accelerate the collection of food scraps to produce compost that can be returned to local farmers in order to support regenerative agriculture. This video from Kiss the Ground explains the benefits of food scraps that are diverted from landfills.

EcoSafe®’s compostable bags, liners, and products do not require anything more than what already exists in an active commercial compost pile to break down into healthy compost. Microorganisms give off enzymes in a compost pile which break down the material’s flexible polymer chains into small parts. The material is then digested by the organisms with the other organic materials i.e., food scraps. At the end of the composting process, our bags break down into nothing but water, a small amount of CO2 (this is produced by all food or products in the composting process), and humus (a nutrient-rich organic material).

EcoSafe® compostable resins are made of compostable biopolymers, PBAT and PLA. We do not put a product in market without industry-best testing and confirmation of compostability.

Unlike traditional plastic bags and other single-use plastic items that last for decades in landfills, EcoSafe®’s compostable products are strong like traditional plastic – yet – when disposed of in a commercial compost facility, the material will decompose within 10 – 45 days depending on the type of composting technology being used.

Composting facilities can take 2-6 months to fully compost organic matter. Commercial compost facilities send our collected bags/products along with other food scraps and organic matter through a grinder that partially disintegrates material to speed up the composting process. A feedstock mixture of carbon materials (brown items such as lawn waste) and nitrogen materials (green items such as food scraps and our bags) are full of microorganisms that give off enzymes to break down all of the material. Commercial compost facilities apply high heat in an intense composting phase that generally lasts 3-6 weeks to sanitize and break down most of the organic material. This composting stage is where most facilities vary in their process.

Finally, all compost must undergo a curing process that reduces heat and finalizes material breakdown, lasting 2-4 months depending on the composting process. At the end of the composting process, our compostable bags/products have broken down into nothing but water, a small amount of CO2 (this is produced by all food or products in the composting process), and humus (a nutrient-rich organic material).

Thank you for taking the steps to ensure you are compliant with local policies. If your city doesn’t accept compostable bags or other compostable products, it is most likely due to the lack of composting infrastructure that can support processing them. We are currently working with the government across North America on all levels to ensure that composters can accept our compostable film products. If you’re looking to advocate for the transition from plastics to compostables, notify your local MP orcontact us, we’d be happy to help!

Terms like “biodegradable”, “oxo-degradable”, and “photo-degradable” sound like they are the same as “compostable.” However, these products will not compost at a commercial compost facility as they contain components of plastic and will need to be removed manually by the facility to avoid contaminating an entire batch of compost.

The term “biodegradable” or similar terms are often used as a marketing tactic in film plastics to make consumers think they are environmentally friendly. The truth is most of these products are just polyethylene products that have additives which cause them to fragment into smaller pieces of plastic which remain in the environment for years to come.

There is no standard specification against which to measure the term “biodegradable”, thus it really doesn’t mean much of anything. “Certified Compostable”, on the other hand, is measured to ASTM D6400, the standard specification test for compostability, which allows manufacturers to print the BPI logo on their products and packaging.

Contamination is the presence of an undesirable item that spoils the composting process and makes inferior soil material deemed unsuitable for growing purposes. Compost must be nearly entirely free of visual impurities which is why managing contamination is critical. Items such as plastic bags, produce stickers, glass bottles, uncertified compostable products, and other inorganic items should stay out of food scrap and organics collection programs.

The success of the composting industry depends on the strength of the end-markets for finished compost, that is why EcoSafe® heavily focuses on addressing contamination through our food scrap collection programs.

Climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions is wreaking havoc on our natural ecosystems, so it is critical to reduce waste and human impacts where we can. Food scraps is an amazing resource that should not be mistaken as trash destined for landfills. Collecting food scraps for compost is essential to solving the climate crisis, and it doesn’t have to be complicated!

When food is sent to landfill, it degrades anaerobically (without oxygen) which emits methane, a greenhouse gas that is 28x more harmful than CO2. The single most important thing we as an urban society can do is compost our organic waste and return it to the soil as a nutrient rich organic supplement that replaces chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides.

Compost is the foundation of the natural biosphere that has evolved for more than a billion years. Everything that lives, flora or fauna, must die. Through nature’s carbon cycle, it gets returned to the soil to support the intricate balance of life on our planet.

The proper way to compost is to avoid combining common recycling practices with your compost, often considered “contamination”. Plastic bags, produce stickers, bread tags, and other plastics, glass, or non-organic items are considered “contamination” items that must not get mixed into food scraps and organic waste collection systems. Composters are responsible for processing this material into compost, and for the compost to be useful in a healthy soil environment, we need to keep non-organic items out.

Visit our “Where to Buy” page to find out more information on where you can buy EcoSafe’s compostable bags and products. If you are an institution or organization that purchases supplies from a distributor, contact them to see if our compostable products are available. If they are not, contact us and we can direct you to the most appropriate method of purchasing our industry leading products through our national distribution customers. If your business would like to sell EcoSafe compostable products, please contact us to discuss!

If you already have bins, or have your desired bins in mind, head over to our bag size calculator. There you can search by bin name or by inputting the dimensions of your bin. There is also a right fit guide that can help you find the right bin from a list of some of the most widely used bins, and see the corresponding properly fitting EcoSafe compostable bag.

The main purpose of compostable products to assist in the collection and diversion of food scraps to composting. Composting facilities can use pipes, probes, and other technologies to better monitor and regulate air flow, temperature, and moisture levels in composting piles. This allows commercial composters to efficiently process large volumes of municipal food waste. At the same time, it helps to ensure that compostable packaging is given enough time to break down in these advanced systems.

Home composting will not be able to produce the same results in the same timeframe without the controls, mechanical processes, and operating systems as commercial compost facilities. Temperatures in home compost piles typically don’t reach the levels of those in commercial or municipal facilities, and many of these products require higher temperatures to break down adequately.

We don’t recommend composting our bags and other compostable products in backyard composters because it will take a very long time for them to break down in your backyard compost bin. Although technically all certified compostable products will break down in the presence of oxygen and microbes, we recommend sending compostable products to a commercial scale or industrial compost site.

Food scraps are not waste – they are a resource! Diverting food “waste” is important because it processes food scraps that sometimes are considered waste into a valuable climate positive resource – compost!

EcoSafe® compostable bags and liners are used to line kitchen compost bins and collection carts. This is an easy way to keep them clean, control odours, and reduce insects such as maggots, fruit flies, and wasps. Our compostable bags have proven to increase participation from residents and employees in our food scrap collection programs too! It’s a win-win for waste generators, haulers, and composters because together we ensure plastic bags stay out of the food scraps collections while keeping food out of landfills.

We do this without any compromise because our compostable bags are super strong, moisture-resistant, and have excellent heat-sealing properties too. They are a great solution to reduce climate change impacts and are an innovative option for food service applications who aim to achieve Zero Waste.