With the popularity of compostable plastic bags growing, people are wondering if they can compost at home in a composter or a worm farm.
At ETSUS, when we put our compostable plastic pet poop bags in our worm farm, they broke down within 90 days. By six weeks they had already decomposed into small pieces and were contributing to a high-quality fertilizer from my own backyard.
What Is Composting?
Traditional plastic breaks down due to the microbes or fungi in the surrounding environment. However, it can take decades or centuries to break down in landfill. This is how compostable plastic also works, however, it’s best broken down in an industrial composter which is set up perfectly with the right temperature, moisture levels, air and other important factors for decomposition.
Essentially, composting is when compostable materials break down into natural matter using the oxygen, air, water in the environment surrounding them either through an industrial composter, home composter or worm farm.
Compostable materials are anything essentially made from renewable materials or renewable materials or organic matter themselves. Compostable plastics are known as the next generation of plastics and provide a great alternative to traditional plastics.
Materials that make up compostable plastics include corn, soy protein, potato, tapioca and cellulose whose starch is extracted to create the ‘bioplastic’. These plastics can also break down in an industrial composting facility, home composter or worm farm.
They won’t contribute to landfill and will not negatively impact the environment if disposed of correctly.
Learn more about bioplastics in this article.
How Does Composting Work?
Composting is a great idea for the environment and for great quality fertilizer, however, understanding how to compost, what materials can be composted and choosing your method of composting is key. If you decide to compost, you can choose to start your own home composter, begin a worm farm or dispose of waste at an industrial composting facility.
The important thing is to dispose of compostable materials correctly and make sure that your home composter or worm farm are set up and maintained correctly. This is why an industrial composting facility can be the best option for disposing of compostable plastic, as they are extremely well controlled and can handle bulk amounts of waste.
If you choose to use a worm farm or home composter, you can generate your own fertiliser. Be sure to do your research though as these can only take certain other materials and need certain controls in place to work effectively.
When using a home composter, the water and oxygen joins together with the other bacteria from the soil and waste to break down the material into useful compost. The bacteria decomposes the materials, generating heat which contributes to this process.
Compostable plastic breaks down into carbon dioxide, water and biomass, meaning it completely disintegrates and becomes indistinguishable in the compost. Compostable plastic bags also don’t leave any toxic material behind.
However, if you don’t dispose of them correctly, compostable plastic trash bags will contribute to the waste issue and create more pollution. They are unable to break down in a landfill environment at all and require composting or a worm farm.
What Is An Industrial Composting Facility?
An industrial composting or commercial composting facility is a large-scale composting option as it can take mass amounts of materials at once and deliver large amounts of fertilizer for mass landscaping projects.
They are also much more protected and controlled, being closely monitored by staff in aspects such as water, air, temperature and introduced micro-organisms being watched.
You can read more about industrial composting facilities here.
What Materials Are Recommended To Compost?
Many people are very surprised when they discover how many materials can actually be composted! They are simple, organic materials such as food scraps, coffee grounds, fruit and vegetables or egg shells. You can also dispose of your grass clippings and shredded newspaper!
This means less waste across the board at home. However, food such as meat, fish or dairy isn’t suitable for a home composter as animals can be attracted (such as mice or rats) to the composter. This means that when you mow the lawn, drink your morning coffee or tea, read your newspaper or clear your garden, many of these items can also be disposed of in your worm farm or home composter.
Some household or garden waste you can dispose of in your home composter include:
- Coffee grounds
- Tea leaves or tea bags
- Food waste such as vegetables or fruit scraps (except in a worm farm – nothing acidic!)
- Leftover bread, pasta or cereals
- Manure
- Dry cat or dog food
- Cardboard
- Twigs, leaves or grass clippings
- Shredded newspaper or printer paper (no colored dye).
You can learn more about the different composting processes in this blog.
How Does A Worm Farm Work?
A worm farm is another home option for composting and is similar to a home composter in materials that can be disposed of. However, there are some different considerations with a worm farm which are essentially around keeping your worms alive.
You want to feed the worms as they speed up the composting process and the bedding needs to be at optimal levels so not too hot or cold, too wet or dry. You also can’t put anything citrus – such as orange peels or anything with juice – into a worm farm. This is due to the acid levels which will impact the soil. Garlic, onions and other smelly spices or vegetables, purely for the acid levels and smell.
Anything with grease, meat, bone, oil, butter, stock etc. This can impact soil levels and attract vermin or insects. In a worm farm, you want the worms fed and alive.
Find out more about the different types of composting here.
My Home Experiment: Pet Poop Bags In My Worm Farm
I conducted yet another experiment myself with our ETSUS compostable pet poop bags! Six weeks in and the plastic is already in smaller pieces. By 90 days I expect it to be completely decomposed or very close to.
Best thing is, I placed this bag into my own worm farm and let the worms go to work! This will then contribute to nutrient-rich fertilizer for my own garden.
How Long Does Compostable Plastic Take To Break Down In A Composter?
Composting is a great alternative to traditional plastic as it breaks down into completely natural matter and doesn’t leave behind toxic chemicals or impact the environment in a negative way. It usually takes around 90 days in the right conditions for compostable plastic to break down.
This is provided that you maintain the correct conditions in your home composter. If you send to an industrial composter, it could be even less than 90 days as they take bulk amounts and maintain the conditions closely.
Can You Put ETSUS Trash Bags In A Worm Farm?
You can absolutely put our other bags such as compostable trash bags into a worm farm and I conducted my own experiment months ago to test this out. Our bags are 100 per cent compostable when disposed of in an industrial composting facility but they also stood the test in my uncontrolled, home worm farm.
For 45 days, I observed a single trash bag breaking down amongst natural materials and by day 27, it was already starting to break down. With worms, soil, food scraps and other microorganisms in my worm farm, it was starting to contribute to a good-quality home fertilizer.
By day 45, I was able to hold small parts of the bag in my hand – it had degraded into pieces smaller than my thumb! This home experiment filled me with confidence to promote these bags as a great alternative to standard plastic trash bags. Of course, for best results I recommend disposing of your compostable trash bags in an industrial facility, however, you can be assured that the bag will also decompose in your own home compost – just at a slower rate.
Read more about the experiment and see the pictures here.
What Are The Benefits To Composting Our Trash and Bags?
The benefits of composting trash and bags are mostly for the environment in terms of environmentally friendly manufacturing processes and the degradation to completely natural matter without leaving behind toxic chemicals.
Some of the benefits include:
- Reduces contributions to landfill.
- Does not leach or leave behind toxic chemicals.
- Less greenhouse gas emissions during manufacturing.
- Lower water and energy consumption during manufacturing.
- Safe for humans, animals, wildlife and the environment.
- Provide great fertilizer when composted correctly.
What all this means, is that if you are willing to dispose of your compostable plastics in a home composter, industrial composting facility or a worm farm, then compostable plastic provides a great option for you.
However, if you would prefer to continue to dispose of your waste through landfill – i.e. general home bins or public bins – then you should choose biodegradable plastic alternatives.
Where did ETSUS use the compost?
From all my experiments with ETSUS compostable bags, I’m excited to share that good-quality fertilizer was created for use in my own garden. I then saw my garden continue to flourish with the labours of my composting efforts.
How amazing is it to think that a compostable plastic item can be used in the future for your own garden’s growth through fertilizer?
Conclusion
With composting being an excellent alternative to traditional plastics which contribute to landfill, understanding how to dispose of the plastics and other organic materials is key. Composting is best done in an industrial composting facility but you can also do this at slower rates and in smaller batches in a home composter or worm farm.
At ETSUS, when we put our compostable plastic pet poop bags in our worm farm, they broke down within 90 days. By six weeks they had already decomposed into small pieces and were contributing to a high-quality fertilizer from my own backyard.
Compostable materials are anything essentially made from renewable materials or renewable materials or organic matter themselves. Compostable plastics are known as the next generation of plastics and provide a great alternative to traditional plastics.
These plastics can also break down in an industrial composting facility, home composter or worm farm. They won’t contribute to landfill and will not negatively impact the environment if disposed of correctly.
