What’s Wrong With This Picture? Why Green Bags Aren't Always as Green as they Look

You’ve probably done it yourself - grabbed a green plastic bag at the supermarket or used a coloured bin liner at home thinking, “Great, this one must be biodegradable.” 
But here’s the uncomfortable truth: a green plastic bag is usually just … green plastic. 

Many bags are simply dyed green instead of black. Others claim to be “biodegradable,” but are frustratingly vague about what that actually means. Will they break down in home compost? Do they need commercial facilities? How long do they take - six months, six years, or never? 

In most cases, the answer isn’t clear. And when the label is misleading - or worse, meaningless - workers in recycling facilities and waste stations end up manually emptying these bags, or the bags go straight into landfill. Once there, they behave like any other petroleum-based plastic: they last for decades, fragment into microplastics, and contribute to Australia’s growing waste problem. 

This confusion is a massive issue for plastic recycling, waste management, and Australia’s shift toward a circular economy. 

 A Genuine Eco-Friendly Alternative: BioBags at Dezinery 

Here’s where something actually green comes in. 

Dezinery has just introduced a new range of Australian-made, Australian-owned, fully certified BioBags - and these ones live up to their name. They’re designed from the ground up to support real recycling, composting, and sustainable living. 

✔ Biodegrades Completely in 6 Weeks 

These bags break down fully in a properly functioning home compost system—not in years, but in around six weeks. That’s faster than many food scraps. And incredibly, they also biodegrade in council landfill conditions, helping reduce long-term waste accumulation. 

✔ Made From Corn Starch, Not Plastic 

Instead of petroleum-based materials, BioBags are made from corn starch, a renewable by-product of agriculture. This means: 

✔ True Compostability You Can Trust 

This range is fully certified, removing all the guesswork. No vague labels. No greenwashing. Just honest, transparent design that aligns with real sustainability standards. 

Explore the range here: Dezinery BioBag Collection. 

 Why Compostable Bags Matter in a Circular Economy 

We talk a lot about the importance of reducing waste, recycling plastic, buying recycled plastic products, and looking for ways to upcycle and reuse. But the truth is: not everything can be recycled. Soft plastics in particular are a major challenge across Australia. 

Compostable bags solve a problem that recycling alone can’t fix: 

• They break down naturally
• They divert organic waste from landfill
• They reduce dependence on fossil fuels
• They prevent microplastic pollution 

In other words, compostable bags help close the loop—turning what was once waste into nutrient-rich compost that supports healthier soil, gardens, and ecosystems. 

That’s circular economy thinking, made simple. 

 Eco-Chic Living Starts With Everyday Choices 

Sustainable living isn’t only about big lifestyle changes—it’s about the small swaps that add up. 

Switching to BioBags is one of those effortless, “eco-chic” choices:

• Replace plastic liners with compostable ones
• Use biodegradable satchels and bags for school lunches, dog walking, or storing food scraps
• Reduce household plastic without sacrificing convenience
• Support Australian-made innovation  

When you choose products designed for the circular economy, you’re not just reducing waste—you’re helping reshape the future of materials, manufacturing, and consumer responsibility. 

The Bottom Line 

A green plastic bag might look sustainable, but that doesn’t make it so. Real change comes from products designed with the environment in mind—from renewable resources, with honest certifications, and with the end-of-life impact considered. 

Dezinery’s new BioBag range is the kind of solution Australia needs: compostable, biodegradable, renewable, Australian-made and genuinely planet-friendly. 

It’s time we stop mistaking “green-looking” for green living—and start choosing products that actually support the world we want to create.