Plastic Biodegradable Bags Made by the Green Genius Company
February 12, 2010 
12 Comments
Have you ever tried finding truly biodegradable trash bags?
Plastic Biodegradable Bags by "Green Genius"
Well look no more, we found an amazing product made by a wonderfully green US company. Sam Paul was a business owner who sold traditional plastic bags until his kids convinced him to re-think plastic trash bags and find a greener alternative.
Sam rounded up a team of “Green Geniuses” and got to work inventing a biodegradable trash bag that had the strength and price of regular trash bags. About five years after his kids got him thinking about it, the “Green Genius” company was born.
The Green Genius Range of Bags
I found the Green Genius folks whilst searching my Twitter account, I noticed lots of green tips from the Green Genius tweeters and saw an offer to get a free sample of their biodegradable trash bags… Needless to say I signed up just about as fast as I could type in my details! My next step was to keep browsing their very interesting website, they have lots of information on how their biodegradable plastic works and I found the whole site easy to navigate.
Check out the Green Genius website here;
Checkout the Green Genius Website
So why are plastic biodegradable bags so important?
The Green Genius team realized that virtually every piece of plastic ever invented (unless it was incinerated) still exists! It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that everlasting pieces of trash are a bad thing indeed.
Americans use 3 billion pounds of plastic bags annually, the vast majority of which end up in landfills.
This figure truly inspired the Green Genius team to find a biodegradable plastic that really worked so that consumers could buy strong plastic bags guaranteed to break down in a landfill leaving no trace of plastic behind. The solution they found was a plastic bag that is completely edible by microbes.
Here’s how the Green Genius biodegradable bags work:
Step One: They combine plastic with a proprietary additive called EcoPure that bonds organic “nutrients” to the plastic’s molecular structure. The addition of this additive allows the plastic to be eaten by microbes, making the whole bag biodegradable.
Step Two: Whenever a Green Genius plastic bag is disposed of in a microbe-rich environment like a landfill, the microbes are attracted to the embedded “nutrients” in the plastic.
Step Three: Microbes feed on the nutrients, which actually converts the plastic into simpler organic matter like sugars, fatty acids and amino acids.
Step Four: The bag is now entirely edible by microbes, which attracts even more microbes, and a feast ensues!
Step Five: Microbes continue to feed until only the simplest organic matter remains — water, bio-gas (carbon dioxide and methane) and bio-mass (humus).
The biodegradability of these wonderfully eco-friendly bags was determined by the ASTM D-5511 test, for our boffin readers here is the lab report summary:
Treated Green Genius trashbags when tested by ASTM D 5511, which determines anaerobic biodegradation of plastic materials under high solid anaerobic digestion conditions, were found to be biodegradable. This procedure simulates the conditions that would be in a properly operated landfill treating pre-treated household waste as a sole substrate.
Not only are they biodegradable but the Green Genius drawstring trash bags contain 40% recycled plastic content and are still “ridiculously strong”. In fact, their bags match or exceed the puncture resistance of the national brands.
We ordered a big box of the Green Genius tall kitchen bags from Amazon.com and can’t wait to get them and start filling them safe in the knowledge that they will completely biodegrade once they reach the landfill. You can buy your own Green Genius bags on Amazon, see below;
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Emily Longway
Email: emily@thegreengenius.com
Phone: (888) 338-3138
www.biodegradablog.com
www.thegreengenius.com
Andi Larson
Email: andi@thegreengenius.com
Blogger, Green Genius
www.biodegradablog.com
www.thegreengenius.com
GET YOUR FREE BAG SAMPLES:
http://www.thegreengenius.com/sample/
This is a great product and would make a great addition to my organic clothing line. i will have to look into purchasing these to give to all my customers with each product
Hello! I just found this site and also ordered a sample bag. You have a very informative blog – really love it.
I’m also writing to inquire if you are interested in being a guest writer on our magazine: Live Well For Less. We would love for you to contribute a 400 word or less post on eco-friendly household products or ways to "go green" (Previously published material is just fine).
Please take a look at our magazine to get a feel for our readers, and at your convenience contact me.
http://www.livewellforless.wordpress.com
and
livewellforlessmag@gmail.com
Kind regards,
Nikola
I like that it utilizes recycled plastic but there is still a problem with this bag – it does not compost according to the ASTM D6400. So if you want to use a bag for composting food scraps etc. doggie bags or yard scraps to go to compost, you need to use a bag that is ASTM D6400, which will disappear completely during composting conditions.
Hi Amy – I did some research and have to disagree with your comments;
The ASTM D 6400 is a standard specification focused on testing and validating compostable plastics, passing this standard specification will validate that the compostable plastic will be acceptable to professional composting environments. It is not a validation that the compostable plastics will biodegrade in home composting environments.
The Green Genius Biodegradable trash bags are verified to ASTM D5511 Which is the Standard Test Method for Determining Anaerobic Biodegradation of Plastic Materials Under High-Solids Anaerobic Digestion Conditions – Standard test method for anaerobic biodegradation for landfill environments.
Because the Green Genius bags are certified to ASTM D5511 they are guaranteed to biodegrade in landfill environments.
Thanks for your interest in our blog, we hope this information was useful?
Biodegradable plastic and packaging is a modern necessity for our ever-endangered environment.
Now PLA has been used to line the indoors of Paper Cups in place of the oil based lining additional usually used, create Plastic Cups, Plates, Carrier Bags, Food Packaging and even Nappies.
Eco Pure is our proprietary blend of organic materials that does not modify the base resin to which it is added.
Thanks a lot for your information
To produce plastic biodegradable bags is a great choice！To protect our environment is the duty of everyone. We should promote the low-carbon life and do it in our daily life.
I rec’d a sample w/$2 coupon – but need to know where I can redeem it — and also purchase the bags for my home.#1
#2 — I want to present your program to my
soil and water conservation group for resale — to help them with fund raising; please advise – Donna
I started buying your great bags at Whole Foods in Reston, VA but they have stopped carrying them. I want to know where I can order them. Thanks
Where can I purchase in Syracuse New York. I bought a box I don’t remember where I got them
Hello: I purchased some of ur bags at Shaws in New Hampshire…..LOVE them! I went back to get more…and they had stopped selling them! What is the matter with people? Fully plastic anything should be banned in this country.
I’ve been looking….but, cannot find a single place to buy your wonderful product! I moved to Maine a few weeks ago…but cannot find them here either!!
Thank goodness I saved one box and now have your site & info on my computer. I will advertise for you whenever I can – (just put your info up on facebook)
Thanks for caring…and G-d bless your kids for talking you into making biodegradable bags!!!!!