MATERIALS

Our bags are 100% biodegradable and 100% compostable and are made from plants (corn), PLA (made from corn + corn starch) and PBAT (a binding agent/resin added for stretch).

Many products claim to be ‘100% BIODEGRADABLE’ and please note that our happy plant bags are NOT plastic bags with a biodegradable agent added... companies that are selling these type of "biodegradable" bags are still using 75-99% plastic to make these which can release harmful and toxic microplastics as they breakdown into the soil. 

When you are finished using our happy plant bags, fill with food scraps or garden clippings and place in your home compost bin and watch it breakdown within the next 6 months. If you do not have a home compost you find an industrial compost facility in your area by searching for one here.

If you currently do not compost at home, you totally should, it's way easier than you think and you'll be making an environmental impact by reducing your waste and will be left with amazing nutrient dense garden soil in return.

• Read this article about how to start a home compost •

If you do not compost and do not have an industrial facility in your area then the next best place to put the bags is your trash as they will still break down in the landfill, it will just take roughly 2 years as oppose to 90 days. Plastic bags can take up to 1000 years! 

Please do NOT put these plant based bags in your recycling bin as they will not be accepted by any standard recycling plant.

 

OUR MATERIALS:

PLA (Polylactide) is a bio-based, 100% biodegradable material made from renewable plant material (corn starch).

The field CORN we use to create our bags is not suitable for consumption but is great to use as an end use for packaging materials like our bags. The use of PLA makes up less than 0.05% of the annual global corn crop, making it an incredibly low-impact resource. PLA also takes over 60% less energy than regular plastics to produce, it’s non-toxic, and generates over 65% fewer greenhouse gases.

PBAT (Polybutyrate Adipate Terephthalate) is a bio-based polymer which is incredibly biodegradable and will decompose in a home compost setting, leaving no toxic residues in its place.

The only negative is that PBAT is partly derived from a petroleum-based material and made into a resin, which means it’s not renewable. Surprisingly, it is the PBAT ingredient that is added to make the bags degrade quickly enough to meet the home compostability criteria of 190 days. There are not currently any plant based resins available on the market.