PLA Compostable & Bio-degradable Bags

Our Bio-based PLA bags are made from vegetable starches derived from an annually renewable crops, as opposed to petro-chemical based plastics such as the polypropylene bags we used to sell, which come from a finite resource.

Although PLA is safe to make contact with food, our bags are not manufactured or packaged in a BRC certified environment and therefore, we do not recommend them for use with food. We recommend our Cellullose bags for this.

These bags are not suitable for heat sealing. We recommend using the self-sealing adhesive strip, or if you are wanting plain lipped bags with no strip, we recommend using a label or sticker.

The shelf life of Bio-based PLA film in ideal conditions (at room temperature, kept away from humidity and direct sunlight) should be up to 12 months, but may well be a good bit longer (Some of our original starch bags lasted longer but the new vegetable starch bags from a different supplier were only launched a couple of years ago, so until they start to degrade we don't have a definitive time scale). The main thing to maximise shelf life, is to avoid exposure to humidity and excessive heat, moisture and light. So, realistically in normal shop use you should get many months if not a year or more before any degradation could start to show. Bio-based PLA film bags are also very stable should they be splashed with water - they don't start to degrade immediately so if wiped off promptly they should come to no harm. Exposure to bright direct sunlight such as in a shop window can result in degradation / discolouration over time, however this is only likely to be a problem in extreme conditions.

Popular applications include:

• Greetings cards
• Art prints
• Stationery
• Confetti
• Retail packaging for small items
• Bookmarks
• Badges & pins
• Wax melts

Although biofilm (PLA) is quite a versatile material there are some jobs for which it is not suitable. It is more brittle and marks more easily than polypropylene - so is not robust enough for heavy or sharp items. It also needs to be handled with a little more care than polypropylene while packing cards etc. (Hopefully in the future they will be able to develop a more robust version of the film.) Also, it is not water proof so is not suitable for containing wet products. (If splashed with water and wiped off straight away they should come to no harm). Our Bio-based PLA film can't be used for archival purposes and we cannot guarantee them to be 'acid free' for use with valuable paintings etc.

Yes! We can produce bags to your requirements, minimum order 5,000 pieces. For more information, contact us at sales@eco-craft.co.uk

All our Bio-based film bags are made in the UK from film made from annually renewable vegetable starch and are certified compostable to ‘OK biobased’ and DIN EN 13432. This which means that they break down to CO2 and water which can then be reused in the eco system to make new plants. This process can happen in either commercial or home composting but in commercial composting the temperature will be higher and the process is much quicker. (As a guide, the film specs state that it takes approx. 45 days for them to decompose at a constant 58°C - similar to that found in industrial composting.) The composting process uses naturally occuring bacterial / fungi to break down the film into CO2 and H2O and ecotoxic free biomass (compost). In a colder home composter or landfill this will require the presence suitable bacteria / fungi to start the process and it will just take longer. The time scale will largely depend on the local conditions, it will inevitably take longer to compost in the Highlands of Scotland than it does in Cornwall or Southern France.

We are happy to supply samples! Simply click the 'Add Sample' button on the product you wish to try.