Biodegradable Trash Bags – The Biobags of the Future
21 Mar
Our weekly visit to the grocery store often includes a visit to the cleaning products aisle to check out the latest green products, one aspect which is still woefully lacking is the availability of biodegradable trash bags. We have searched far and wide but nowhere appears to stock them yet.
image by Cezary Okupski
The reason may be that no large corporations are producing biodegradable plastic bags, we did manage to find small biodegradable dog waste bags, but we really wanted a solution for our kitchen and other household waste.
A quick internet search uncovered several smaller companies emerging as producers and retailers of the much sought after “biobags”. This is our round up of the most interesting out there;
1/ Lets Start by Defining “Bio-Degradable”
The terms biodegradation, biodegradable materials and compostability are very common but frequently misunderstood. Hopefully we can clear that up by defining the characteristics that a material must have in order to be defined as “biodegradable” or “compostable”. A recent European standard stated that a compostable material must have the following characteristics:
Biodegradability is determined by measuring how fast something degrades or metabolizes into carbon dioxide. To be classed as biodegradable 90% of a product must be essentially “gone” in less than 6 months.
Compostability involves seeing how quickly a product dissapears into compost. The test literally measures how much of the product you can still see in a pile of compost after 3 months! Other key tests involve actually using compost including the product to measure its effects on plant growth, essentially an ecotoxicity test. If you want to read more there is a great site maintained by the association of European Bioplastics;
http://www.european-bioplastics.org/
2/ Biodegradable Bags in the USA
BioBag is a US company that sells certified 100% biodegradable and 100% compostable bags made from a patented material, Mater-Bi. Their product is available in select natural food stores throughout the US and I will be trying to track one down locally.
When placed in a composting environment their BioBags will biodegrade in 10 – 45 days, leaving no harmful residue behind.
You can find out more information regarding BioBags at their site;
3/ Biodegradable Bags in the UK
Another company priding itself on creating biodegradable plastic alternatives is Biopac in the UK;
Their products are made from 100% waste potato starch and their new “Biopac Good Bag” rots down completely and safely turning into healthy compost in just 12 weeks if put on a compost heap. The Biopac bags can also be discarded within domestic food-waste trash. The bags ultimately turn into carbon dioxide, water, and non-toxic raw materials, and all that from a potato!
Another cool product is their cornstarch cups which are an equal quality alternative to plastic, and being smash proof, they are perfect for outdoor events! They produce cold cups which are available in different sizes with the option of both slot and dome lids.
You can find out more information regarding Biopac products at their site;
http://www.biopac.co.uk/cornstarchbagsnews/
So happy shopping and let us know if you find any local suppliers of biodegradable plastic alternatives, the future for landfills looks alot brighter!
If you want to read more about biodegradable plastics there is a great book available from Amazon.com all about green plastics;
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Best, strongest and cheapest bioplastic bags:
US/Canada http://www.indaco.ca
UK http://www.comp-bio.co.uk
Europe http://www.sphere.eu
Australia/N.Z http://www.biopak.com.au
Israel http://www.isracaps.com
Bag manufacturers can buy the bioplastic used to make these bags the best, strongest and cheapest from:
UK/Worldwide http://www.stanelcoplc.com
Europe/Worldwide http://www.sphere.eu
Germany/Worldwide http://www.biotec.de
Australia/N.Z http://www.biopak.com.au
Israel http://www.isracaps.com
Hi Paul, thanks for the great list of links, we will be sure to check them out. We are still trying to find a local supplier of biodegradable trash bags here in Texas and will keep everyone posted.
As far as biodegradable/compostable technologies are concerned, as well as Strach base which has been around more than 10 years and currently used by other manufacturers worldover, now there is an another very unique Enzyme based biodegradable technology which is 100% biodegradable and compostable as per EN 13432 standards with the lowest cost addition and its called BIOPLAST ENZYME BASED BIODEGRADABLE BAGS.
You can find out more information regarding Bioplast Enzyme based biodegradable technology at their site;
http://www.bioplast.com.tr
Thanks for the info Bioplast, the unique enzyme based technology looks very interesting. We will take a look through the site and maybe post an article just about the new technologies.
I found the most incredible deal on biodegradable bags on a site for restaurant products.
http://www.prs-online.com/products.asp?dept=120
These bags are made with recycled plastic and are biodegradable. I used them and was amazed with the durability and strength. This is the best priced bags on the web.
Allen – Thanks for the link, the Pride Green bags look great.
Allen, thank you! I was paying about 400% more for perf go green. PrideGreen is a much better deal. I am hooked!!
you can find them at: http://www.prs-online.com/products.asp?dept=120
Thanks for the link, we will be sure to check out the PrideGreen biodegradable bags, if we can be green AND save money then that’s a bonus!