FAQ

What are the Sacks made from?

Paper, which is made from tree flakes and from process waste from the timber industry that would otherwise be wasted. In this way, the production of paper sacks makes the most of every tree . The sacks we supply are only made from softwoods from Scandinavian forests originating from a fully approved FSC resource (see links page). All the inks used are water based and all glues are potato starch. All the sacks we supply are block bottomed after opening out so they sit squarely on the ground or in the bin for ease of filling.

Why don't you supply sacks made from recycled paper?

There are several reasons.

The strength of paper depends on the length of the fibres within it. Each time paper is processed the fibres are broken and the strength of the paper is reduced. This loss of strength is very noticeable once the paper gets wet. This is called the wet strength and we insist our sacks have the highest wet strength because this makes the sacks reliable in use. Another reason why we don't supply sacks made from recycled paper is because of the potential for the paper to be contaminated. We think it is very likely that these contaminants may end up in the human food chain. We only supply sacks that meet all the relevant standards for composting and in this way we know our sacks are safe.

The paper industry is doubtful whether making a high specification paper from recycled paper is actually environmentally friendly once the processing and energy costs are considered.

What are the benefits of Paper?

Paper is made from trees which are a renewable and easily sustainable resource. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. Younger trees absorb more carbon dioxide and create more oxygen than older trees. The commercial farming of trees ensures more younger trees are growing, thereby helping the quality of the atmosphere.

Paper is therefore a natural material which presents a sound environmental argument.

Paper is versatile and can be produced in differing specifications for green waste, paper waste or kitchen waste sacks including a waterproof paper and a very high strength paper.

When paper sacks are used for green waste collections the paper adds structure to the compost. This helps with the Carbon:Nitrogen balance and creates a high quality compost.

Paper enables the contents of the sack to 'breathe'. This means less smell, less flies and encourages the start of the composting process.

When paper sacks are used for waste paper collection the sack and its contents can be processed together thereby reducing labour and processing costs.

Are the Sacks Approved?

All the sacks are certified in accordance with ISO EN13432 . All the manufacturing processes meet the relevant requirtements of ISO EN 14001. These certificates are recognised throughout Europe as the benchmark for biodegradable paper sacks. Additionally the paper sacks have been recognised by three different international certificating bodies: the German Din Certco mark, as supported by The Composting Association for the UK , the Belgian OK Compost certificate and a similar Dutch
award, the Kiwa Milieukeur.

What is EN 13432

EN13432 is a benchmark standard aimed at protecting the environment and the human food chain. Products meeting EN13432 are safe for composting. In order to do this EN 13432 defines the characteristics that a material must have so that it can be called ‘compostable’. In brief, a compostable material would have:

• Biodegradability - within six months a minimum of 90% of its compostable material would have been converted to carbon dioxide.
  
  
• Disintegrability – within three months 90% of the original material mass should pass through a 2mm mesh sieve.
  
  
• No negative effects on the composting process. This is complex and includes analysis of pH, salinity and volatile solids, N, P, Mg and K to determine a eco-toxicological effect.
  
  
• A proven chemical analysis meeting strict controls on heavy metals and other contaminants.

Why is Composting important?

Composting maintains the balance of nature. For many years humans have deposited huge quantities of organic matter into landfill sites rather than allowing it to compost naturally and return to nature. This is now having some very serious effects on the environment and creating major problems we cannot ignore. Governments have agreed to stop landfilling any waste in the very near future. The composting and recycling of organic waste has a vital role to play in reducing the amount of waste going to landfill sites. The collecting and temporary storage of organic waste can be a messy business but it has to be done.

What happens to the Garden and Organic Waste that is Collected?

There are several ways of processing garden and organic waste into compost and this will vary to suit the council and contractor but the common aim is to create high quality compost with a saleable value. If the compost produced had no value it would just accumulate into a compost mountain. The sale of compost goes some way to covering the cost of collecting and processing the waste and the market price reflects the quality of the compost. The quality of the compost depends on each of us doing their best to ensure that the waste is not contaminated. It is virtually impossible to separate out contaminants from hundreds of tons of compost after it has been collected.

About Compost

Compost is an excellent natural fertilizer proven by generations of organic gardeners to restore soil fertility, control weeds, retain ground moisture, and reduce soil erosion.

"Compostable" is a description of solid materials that can be placed into a composition of decaying biodegradable materials, and eventually turn into a nutrient-rich material called humus. Composting is achieved by the action of micro organisms and therefore requires minimal time, effort and labour from humans. A properly managed composting site producing quality saleable compost can be continually reused without ever reaching capacity.

Do you supply Corn Starch Sacks?

We do not believe it is ethical to grow a human food crop and convert it to sacks which end up being thrown away when a huge part of the human population on earth is starving. We could not support such a programme. We are also concerned that the corn starch sacks are causing confusion with users. The corn starch sacks look like plastic carrier sacks and this gives a mixed message which is further confused by some of the larger chain stores who say their carrier sacks are degradable. In our experience everyone is confident that paper is a naturally biodegradable material.

Kitchen Sink Waste Disposal Units

It is tempting to think you could dispose of all your organic kitchen waste down the plug hole by using a Waste Disposal Unit. The various Water Companies are looking into this practise and especially the practise of disposing of old cooking oil and grease down the plug hole. This subject has not really hit the media with any impact as yet but the trend is that this practise must be discouraged because of the risk of blockages within the system. Anyone who has had a drain back up will realise how costly and unpleasant this can be. Our advise is don't put food stuffs down the plug hole.

Legal

We have gone to extensive lengths to ensure the products available from us are the best in their class. We trust our distributors to only sell Genuine BIOSACK products. Notice to our competitors. We are fully conversant with all aspects of Intellectual Property Law. Be advised in the strongest possible terms that we will take immediate and robust action against anyone passing off counterfeit BIOSACK PRODUCTS.