In a new fun video, German bioplastics specialist FKuR Kunststoff GmbH demonstrates the benefits of home compostable bags, which make the separate collection of biowaste more practical and hygienic, raising acceptance levels for the collection at home, and thus increasing the volumes of biowaste collected and the amount of valuable compost produced from it. 

 

Since January 2017, France prohibits the use of plastic bags for fruits and vegetables (as well as cheese, meat, and fish) in supermarkets, except for bags that are made from bioplastics that contain a minimum of 30% bio-based content (increased to 60% in 2025) and that are certified home compostable according to the new French standard NF T 51-800 Plastics – Specifications for plastics suitable for home composting. FKuR offers bioplastic materials to produce bags that fulfil the strict requirements of the French norm. New Bio-Flex® blends from FKuR have been certified home compostable by Belgian certifier Vinçotte.

Two certifiers, Vinçotte (Belgium) and DIN CERTCO (Germany), offer a certification scheme for home compostable plastic products:

  

Compostable does not necessarily mean home compostable

Compostability of packaging is certified according to the European standard EN 13432. This standard refers specifically to compostability in industrial composting facilities, where the conditions necessary for biodegradation (temperature, humidity, presence of bacteria and fungi) are controlled, and requires a biodegradation of 90% within 90 days. The standard does, however, not cover home compostability.

The temperature in a garden compost heap is lower and less constant than in industrial composting facilities. This is why composting in the garden is a more unpredictable and slower-paced process and plastic products, such as biowaste bags, that are designed for home composting, have to fulfil different requirements to guarantee complete biodegradation in any garden compost heap.

For more information, have a look on our website or download our position paper and background paper on home composting.