Retailers across Canada can now replace plastic bags with compostable ones

From zero-waste shops popping up in the country’s largest cities to major corporate shifts towards more earth-friendly products, it’s clear that the movement of eliminating waste has caught on.

In line with this growing trend, it looks like the grocery-bag game is about to see a major change.

Refresh Marketing shared today that they are working in partnership with OneEarth Packaging to bring compostable shopping bags to stores across the country.

See also

• Nearly 60% of Canadian food is wasted or lost: report
• Opinion: Meteoric rise in plant-based foods marks larger industry trend
• New regulations on food safety implemented across Canada today

Everyone knows that it’s ideal to BYOBag when you’re grocery shopping, but sometimes life happens, and you need to make an unplanned stop. The bags that are being introduced to the market have the look and feel of plastic, and offer an eco-friendly option for when you forget your canvas bag at home.

In addition to being convenient, the bags are compatible with composting programs; they’ll break down and turn into healthy soil products. While used as a bag, they’re leak-free and contain no additives, so you know your goods will be safe and sound inside.

And for retailers, the bags are customizable with options for four-colour printing, all done in soy and water-based ink. This means that branding can come across effectively, just like on the plastic bags everyone has grown used to.

And on top of everything, the bags have been created with cost-effectiveness in mind. So it won’t be a major jump for retailers to switch from plastic bags to these compostable ones.

In full life-cycle spirit, once a bag has been used for carrying goods, it can become a place to drop food scraps and then leave in the organics bin at the curb.

Kudos Canada — we’re getting there.