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Compostable bags

Packaging,
made for compost.

Certified compostable bags from plant starches and compostable polymers. Built to break down in industrial compost — and in home compost where the product is marked for it.

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A compostable bag photographed in soil, illustrating the intended composting end-of-life — not breakdown as litter.

Our principle

If it can’t be composted, it shouldn’t be a bag.

Conventional plastic was engineered to last far longer than its useful life. Oxo-degradable additives are a different problem: they can fragment plastic rather than compost it.

GroundUp bags are a certified compostable alternative. They are made from plant starches blended with compostable polymers, and they are tested to break down in the composting environment named on each product — home, industrial, or both. They are not designed to disappear as litter or in landfill.

Materials
Starch + compostable polymers
Home compost
Where certified
Oxo-additives
None
Certified to
BPI · ASTM D6400

The range

Every shape. One ending.

From the grocery aisle to the curbside organics bin, each GroundUp bag is engineered for a specific job, and certified to break down in the composting environment named on its listing.

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From blend to compost

The full life of a GroundUp bag.

Designed and certified to close the loop in compost — home or industrial, depending on the product — within the windows those standards require.

  1. 01 Season

    Begins as a blend

    Plant starches (typically cassava or corn) are compounded with compostable polymers such as PLA and PBAT. PBAT is usually fossil-derived; it is included for flexibility and is certified under composting standards — not described as plant-based.

  2. 02 Days

    Becomes a bag

    The compound is extruded into film and converted into the shape you hold: vest bags, liners, mailers, and the rest of the range.

  3. 03 Weeks

    Carries your day

    Use it like any other bag. Stored dry, it stays stable. Composting starts when the film meets heat, moisture, and microbial activity in an active composting environment.

  4. 04 60–180 days

    Goes to compost

    In home or industrial compost — whichever the product is certified for — the film is designed to biodegrade to CO₂, water, and biomass under the test conditions of that standard. Landfill, litter, and water are not those conditions.

Made for

Built for the kitchens, cafés and brands that care.

Proof

Independently certified. Not just claimed.

Every GroundUp product is tested against recognized third-party standards. The marks below are used across the range; each product page lists the ones that apply to that bag.

  • Biodegradable Products Institute

    BPI Certified

    Verified by BPI

    Independent US certification confirming compostability in industrial composting facilities. A mark many North American municipal organics programs look for; local acceptance still varies.

  • ASTM International

    ASTM D6400

    Industrial compostability

    The North American specification for plastics designed to compost in municipal and industrial facilities. This is the standard BPI certification verifies against.

  • TÜV Austria

    OK Compost HOME

    Home composting

    Tested to break down completely in the cooler, slower conditions of a backyard compost heap, not just industrial facilities.

  • European Standard

    EN 13432

    European compostability

    The European benchmark for compostable packaging: at least 90% disintegration in 12 weeks and 90% biodegradation in 6 months.

See the full breakdown

Journal

Notes from the workshop.

All entries