Plastic films manufacturer RKW (Frankenthal / Germany; www.rkw-group.com) is launching in Germany a biodegradable bag to be used by households to dispose organic waste. The bags, which are made by the group’s Vietnam operation in Ho Chi Minh City, have been certified as fully compostable by DIN Certco (Berlin / Germany; www.dincertco.de). The firm claims the t-shirt star-sealed bag is the first on the market to be made of at least 50% renewable materials, such as starch and polylactic acid (PLA) and other biodegradable components.

Manh-Hung Ngo, product manager at RKW Vietnam, said bags with less than 40% renewable content were already available in markets such as France and Italy, but the 50% minimum renewable content bag was an industry first. “We were able to design bags with a significant higher proportion [of renewable content]. Hence, these waste bags are another milestone towards a more sustainable future,” he added. The bag is fully compostable and certified to European standard EN 13432.