Are biodegradable bags better than plastic? It's complicated.

In college, I drove an electric truck around campus to collect fruit and vegetable waste, plant clippings, and coffee grounds, transporting them to a student farm's compost pile. Despite our request for no post-consumer waste in the bins, items labeled as "compostable" or "biodegradable" occasionally appeared. Unfortunately, I'd end up throwing them in the trash because they didn’t break down in our compost setup.

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The issue with labels like "biodegradable" or "compostable" is they create confusion. These products, often made from plant sources like corn, eventually biodegrade under the right conditions. However, in natural, unmanaged environments, items like "compostable" bags and "biodegradable" cups can remain intact for years. They decompose effectively only in large-scale industrial composters that control conditions to foster microbial breakdown.

Scientists at the University of Plymouth recently published a study examining the degradability of bioplastic bags labeled as biodegradable or compostable, alongside conventional polyethylene plastic bags. They found that after three years in soil and water, all but the compostable bag could still hold groceries, highlighting the complexity of these labels. As lead researcher Imogen Napper pointed out, these labels can mislead consumers about the actual time frame required for decomposition in natural settings.

According to a featured snippet on Google, "Biodegradable bags can take from a few months up to several years to break down depending on environmental conditions." This underscores the confusion surrounding the term "biodegradable."

When it comes to labels, "biodegradable" gives little information about the decomposition time frame. Kate Bailey from Eco-Cycle indicates it’s akin to the term "natural" in food items—its decomposition timeline could span months to decades. On the other hand, "compostable" items, like "organic" food, are held to specific standards and need to meet certain criteria to be certified.

Though the term "compostable" indicates a product will break down in an industrial facility within 90 to 180 days, "biodegradable" remains a problematic and unclear label for composters. It's often a marketing term that lacks substantive environmental benefits.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and certain states like California have begun to crack down on misleading labels. FTC's "Green Guides" mandate that any degradability claim must be backed by scientific evidence showing the item will decompose entirely within a reasonable time after disposal. California has banned misleading labels such as "biodegradable" and is taking legal action against companies like Amazon for false claims.

If you’re part of a municipal composting program, like those in San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland, your compostable products can be processed appropriately. Always double-check the label for certification. However, if you lack access to composting services, even certified compostable products may not offer significant benefits over plastic due to the environmental impacts of their manufacturing process.

Research from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality highlights that compostable products, often made from biobased materials like corn, come with substantial environmental burdens from their production. These burdens can outweigh the benefits of composting.

While conventional plastic has severe implications for marine life due to its persistence and breakdown into microplastics, compostable products may potentially reduce ocean pollution. The University of Plymouth study showed that compostable bags dissolved in marine water within three months, suggesting they might be less detrimental to marine ecosystems.

Ultimately, the best environmental strategy is to reduce plastic usage overall. For unavoidable disposables, clearer labeling standards for compostable products are a positive step forward.

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 drop-off 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.

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What are compostable bags or bin liners?

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.

Can I put compostable bags in with my food waste?

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.

Can I put compostable bags in my home compost heap?

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 email interview.

Can I compost so-called biodegradable plastic bags?

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 email 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 phone 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.”

How can I keep my kitchen scrap bin clean?

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.

Sources

1. Michelle Bradley, co-founder of Java’s Compost, email interview, September 13, 2022

2. Rhodes Yepsen, executive director at Biodegradable Products Institute, email interview, September 19, 2022

3. Jessica Tisch, commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation, phone interview, September 29, 2022

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