We've been on the hunt for better alternatives to things we use everyday for a long time now. One thing that has been on our minds is bin liners. There must be a better way! And there is. Compostable liners made out of cornstarch.
BioBags has been around since 1959 and they make compostable food waste products out of a resin (Mater-Bi®) derived from plants, vegetable oils and compostable polymers. They are fully compostable within 45 days in a well composting environment. They are also made from a renewable resource; waste corn is used for the starch source but so is waste potato starch and many other available waste starch sources. Alternate sources of vegetable oil have been found and replaced the use of palm oil some 5 years ago.
This is saving an estimated 900,000 tonnes from going to landfill worldwide (and est. 10,000 tonnes in Australia). Every tonne of waste saved from landfill = 1.2 tonnes of CO2 equivalent. But they aren't widely known so we need to change that.
So what's in the range?
We have lots of food waste liners from 8 litres up to 50 litres.These liners are designed to be compostable and are generally designed for food waste. But you can use them for light general waste too.
Knowing which one is for you can be tricky so here is a general guide:
8 Litre Food Waste Liner: For very small bins and the Food Caddy Max Air II
10 Litre Liner: For small bins and the Food Caddy Max Air II
20L-30L: For Small Kitchen Bins. Be mindful the bags are thin and not as robust as plastic (plastic being durable is not a good thing as it takes decades to break down!)
35L-50L Bins: For Larger Kitchen Bins. These bags are called Superline bags so are thicker than the smaller bags. Shop the 50 Litre bags and 35 Litres.
Max Air II Food Caddy: This fantastic, ventilated, caddy is perfect for food scraps and for keeping in the kitchen or on a bench top. It is ventilated and the bags are highly breathable so food sorting is easy and hygienic. Once you're done pop the whole thing in your compost.
Doggy Bags: Collect your pooch's poop in these compostable bags.
Compostable Ziplock Bags. No more plastic bags. These compostable bags are breathable and great to put food in. They are resealable and reusable.
Bag Clams: When you are short on space these help you sort waste.
Common Questions
Can I use the bags as bin bags for general rubbish?
They can be used for general waste, you will have used a renewable resource instead of a hydrocarbon finite resource which is a good start. In Landfill they act as any other organic in the landfill, they break down anaerobically thereby producing methane in the same way as all other organic wastes in a landfill. As long as there is a methane capture system on the landfill then this is not a problem. Most metropolitan landfills are now required to have these capture systems. It is by far best if the bags are put in your Council organics collection system for composting OR taken to a composter OR put in your home compost bin OR put in your worm farm. The more you can seperate your rubbish at source the better.
How long do the bags take to compost.
In a well functioning composting environment up to 45 days.
What's the shelf life?
Use within a year ideally.
Do they compost in water?
They are all compostable to all the worlds standards and are all heavier than water so they sink and still compost on the sea/lake floor.
What standards have they been tested to?
They are certified according to the European Standard EN 13432 for compostable products and the US Standard ASTM D6400
You can shop the BioBag range at Flora & Fauna.
