MyEcoBag sales boom as its products waste away

An Australian company is leading the charge when it comes to helping solve the world’s conventional plastic bag problem, having produced 500 million compostable bags since 2018.

MyEcoBag is a leading producer of compostable packaging and has been supplying compostable bin liners and pet waste bags to Australians for over a decade, through more 2,200 Australian retail stores including Woolworths and Coles.

The 500 million bags could be equated to approximately 3.3 million kilograms of conventional plastic – a green attribute which helped MyEcoBag sales to grow 140 per cent growth in FY23 compared to the previous year.

Pivotal to the company’s growth in Australia has been the Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) programme rollout, according to MyEcoBag manufacturer Secos Group CEO and Executive Director Richard Tegoni.

The adoption of the brand’s products in these programmes has led to an increased revenue of 74 per cent since late 2022.

Tegoni said: “Through the FOGO programme and our relationship with councils, data has shown that when households use compostable bin liners, it increases the separation of food waste by as much as 32 per cent.

“The beauty of compostable bags is they contribute to a circular economy; when properly composted, the result is new, nutrient-rich soil to help grow plants, therefore generating something new.”

Made with GMO-free corn and other compostable materials, MyEcoBag products are fast to compost, taking about 90 days to fully break down when composted, leaving no microplastics or toxic residue.

Looking ahead, a major focus for the brand will be the continuation of product innovation – under development are new materials with faster compost timeframes and higher renewable content, in addition to materials that come from agriculture and food waste materials in production.

Also being explored is a compostable high barrier film which would be a game changer for the food industry due to its use in things like pouches and sachets.

“If we make everything compostable, we will effectively fix the conventional plastic problem.

“The new problem will be making sure we have enough composting capacity to deal with all this compostable plastic, but that is a much easier problem to solve over time than it is to solve the conventional plastic problem, which can never be solved.”

MyEcoBag accounts for 35 per cent of compostable bag sales in Australia, and globally they are available in 20 countries, with the USA the company’s biggest growth market – doubling in size in the last financial
year alone.

Picture: MyEcoBag