We hear a lot about the importance of making less trash, but what about the bags we throw it in? Here's a primer on some more eco-friendly alternatives to plastic trash bags.
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The typical trash bag is made of strong, stretchy polyethylene—the world's most widely used type of plastic1. Often derived from petroleum or natural gas, these bags linger in the environment for hundreds of years, if not longer. "Compostable" and "biodegradable" bags are often marketed as eco-friendly alternatives.
While those two terms may sound interchangeable, they're not exactly the same. If a bag is biodegradable, it means that when left in a totally natural environment, over time it will eventually start to degrade with the help of biological helpers like bacteria or fungi.
While certainly a nice idea on paper, the term doesn't say anything about how long this process takes to happen, so it's a bit vague and leaves room to be abused or misused as greenwashing.
If a bag is compostable, it means that it will break down in a very specific set of controlled conditions within a certain amount of time, without leaving any toxic residue in the environment. While this term can also be misused, it's more strictly regulated.
Compostable bags are usually made from plants like corn or potatoes instead of petroleum. If a bag is certified compostable by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) in the U.S., that means at least 90% of its plant-based material completely breaks down within 84 days in an industrial compost facility.
"All products certified by BPI are tested in independent, accredited testing labs," a company representative tells mbg. "Those test results are then evaluated by a third-party technical reviewer." Nearly 12,000 products are now third-party certified by the BPI and carry its signature leaf-and-tree seal.
If you're looking for a trash bag that can quickly return to the earth after you're done with it, that's the seal to look for.
The answer to this one is less cut-and-dried than you might think since a compostable bag is only compostable in certain places.
Industrial compost facilities create the ideal conditions (hot, moist, and well-aerated) for these bags to break down quickly and without a trace.
Though it's important to note that not every industrial composting facility will accept these bags: "Some [facilities] are completely fine with compostable bags. Others don't want it because it can open the door for contamination with noncompostable bags," Alyssa Eiklor, an environmental analyst at the waste management division of Vermont's Department of Environmental Conservation, previously told mbg.
So check in with your local composter before sending them bags they can't use. If they don't accept them, they'll have to ship them off to the dump, where they won't degrade nearly as quickly.
This is where things get complicated: When a compostable bag is tossed in the landfill, it's starved of the oxygen it needs to break down. Instead, it just sits there and can stick around for a similar amount of time as that plastic garbage bag. (Though it still took fewer fossil fuels to create in the first place, an environmental plus.)
This means that to function as designed and marketed, compostable trash bags actually need to be filled with compost (organic food and yard waste) and not trash (everything else).
They also need to be disposed of properly: If they end up as litter, research shows that they will not biodegrade in the natural environment, at least not within three years2.
Most likely, no. At-home composters usually find these bags tricky if not impossible to work with: Since they're designed for an industrial site, they'll take a long time to break down in a backyard heap (if they do so at all).
Now that you know a little more about what compostable bags are made of and how they work, here are some options to shop:
These cornstarch bags are certified compostable by BPI. They come in multiple sizes, with their 2.6-gallon size being ideal for countertop compost bins. They're affordable and have thousands of five-star reviews for their thickness and sturdiness (read: no leaks here).
Primode 100% Compostable Trash Bags ($14.95 for 100 bags)
PrimodeAlso made from cornstarch, these smell-proof bags are designed with pets in mind. They come in an easy dispensing recycled box, and reviewers report that they're extra thick, leakproof, and easy to open for those moments when your cat or dog has just gotta go. Most industrial composting facilities don't accept pet waste, though, so these are usually destined for landfill.
Doggy Do Good Compostable Dog Waste Bags ($24.98 for 60 bags)
Doggy Do GoodIf you are using compostable bags for your normal, landfill-bound trash (again, these will be more planet-friendly in the sense that they're not made of plastic, even if they don't break down right away), Unni's 13-gallon size is a popular pick. The BPI-certified bags are corn-based and sturdy. They also come in a drawstring option for easier handling.
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Biodegradable Trash Bags 5 Gallon.
UNNI ASTM D 100% Compostable Trash Bags, 13 Gallon ($18.95 for 50 bags)
UnniSince the potatoes used for If You Care's BPI-certified bags are not grown to be eaten, they require less water and don't have to be managed as closely. The company claims that in addition to being better for the environment, this also makes them a sturdier bag material, interestingly enough.
If You Care Compostable Trash Bags ($6.31 for 30 bags)
If You CareWhile compostable trash bags are a better waste management solution than plastic, they're not perfect. If you're looking for a bag for your compost, unwaxed paper bags should work too, and they're easier to break down in an industrial or backyard facility. For landfill-bound trash, bags made from recycled plastics are also an option that's a cut above conventional.
Compostable trash bags are made from plant matter instead of petroleum, but they usually only break down in very specific conditions. At the end of the day, the most eco-friendly thing you can do on the trash front is throw out less stuff (and cycle through fewer bags) in the first place. Get started reducing your household waste with these approachable tips.
If you save food scraps for composting, lining your kitchen collection bin with a bag labeled as compostable or biodegradable may seem like a great way to keep it clean and transport all those veggie peels and coffee grinds to your compost heap or municipal dropoff point. However, whether or not you actually need to buy those liners depends on several factors—and in fact, many experts say it’s better to forgo liners altogether or just reuse paper bags instead.
Here's what you need to know about compost bin liners, why they may do more harm than good even if they’re compostable, and how you can keep your kitchen tidy without them.
Compostable bags may look and feel similar to plastic produce bags made from petroleum, but they’re manufactured out of plant-based materials, such as vegetable starches, wood pulp, lactic acid, or soy proteins. These materials are designed to be consumed by microorganisms that help them decompose into the soil-like organic substance we know as compost.
The problem is that not all composting systems create the right environment for these bags to fully break down. Typically, only municipal or commercial composting facilities—not home composting setups—generate enough heat, moisture, and airflow to allow for full decomposition. But these facilities can also differ in their capacities, so even if your food scraps get collected for off-site composting, compostable bags may still be prohibited.
It depends. Just as every town seems to have its own set of rules about what kind of recycling it accepts, one composting system may differ from another in its ability to take compostable bags.
The most important thing you can do is confirm with your municipal collection, compost drop-off, or private composting service what kinds of materials are and aren’t allowed and then abide by that.
If you are allowed to use compostable bags, your best bet is to look for ones with a logo from the Biodegradable Products Institute, a not-for-profit organization that issues a compostability certification widely considered the gold standard in the US. (You can also check here to see if an item is BPI certified.) The certification relies in part on ASTM International compostability standards to determine whether an item will break down “quickly, completely and safely, when composted in well-run municipal and commercial facilities.” It also prohibits the addition of per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS), which are sometimes used in packaging and can persist in the environment for a very long time.
You probably don’t want to, since they likely won’t decompose well. At-home composting systems, including tumblers, in-ground composters, and worm towers, typically don’t generate enough heat to fully break the bags down. “We have experimented with trying to compost these bags in backyard tumblers and did not have much success; they composted somewhat, but definitely not fully,” Michelle Bradley, co-founder of Java’s Compost, a private composting service in New Jersey, said in an interview.
No, you can’t. A bag (or another disposable item, like plastic cutlery) that’s labeled biodegradable is not necessarily also compostable. In fact, BPI executive director Rhodes Yepsen said in an interview that biodegradable is a word that’s “too vague to be meaningful” as a marketing term on its own without additional context. A manufacturer can call an item biodegradable without specifying that the degradation process could take centuries or require a specific environment to thoroughly degrade. The term also doesn’t necessarily mean that the item breaks down into nontoxic components, either; it just means that, sooner or later, it breaks down into something else.
“It’s not a real thing,” at least not in terms of waste management, said New York City Department of Sanitation commissioner Jessica Tisch in a interview. “If a product can’t be composted, it’s going to a landfill. And if it’s going to a landfill, the biodegradable stuff in a landfill sits there for decades or centuries.”
Some cities suggest residents use brown paper bags or newspaper as liners for their food-scrap containers instead of buying so-called compostable bags. But as always, if you’re participating in an off-site composting program, it’s best to confirm if paper bags are accepted. For at-home composting, brown paper bags are a great addition to your pile, since paper goods can improve the nutritional balance of compost.
Stashing food scraps in your freezer is another way to keep things tidy and odor free. Tisch (who opts for this method at home) noted that if you store your compost in the freezer you can forgo a countertop bin altogether; instead, you can use something like an old plastic takeout container, which you can wash between uses.
If you opt for a countertop container, one with a built-in charcoal filter helps reduce odor. (The Oggi Countertop Compost Pail comes with a filter and is a staff favorite.) And, of course, if you take out the bin often and rinse it out after each use, smells shouldn’t build up in the first place.
If you’re looking for more recommendations about what to do with those scraps after you’ve collected them, check out our staff’s favorite compost bins.
This article was edited by Katie Okamoto and Christine Cyr Clisset.
1. Michelle Bradley, co-founder of Java’s Compost, interview, September 13,
2. Rhodes Yepsen, executive director at Biodegradable Products Institute, interview, September 19,
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