Looking for a cheap, environmentally friendly alternative to plastics? A lot of stores are trying biodegradable bags.
In fact, the bags -- made from corn maize -- are so popular manufacturers can't keep up with the demand.
"There's no polyurethane in our bags," says Greg Beresford of BioBag Canada Inc. "They're made of a corn base, and then they're melted into liquid bath and they're blown into films and converted into various bags."
Beresford sells the bags to the likes of fashion designer Stella McCartney, the band Police, and also Mountain Equipment Co-op.
An ordinary plastic bag takes at least 100 years to break down in a landfill -- but Beresford says his bags break down in no more than 2 years. In some cases, it takes as little as 45 days.
Made in Norway, these biobags are durable enough that Derek Burnett of Small Potatoes Urban Delivery can fill them with groceries, and the customer can reuse them later.
They're just like plastic, but not, says Burnett. "People like them," he says.
That makes them ideal for composting -- a practice that's become an official city pick-up program in parts of Ontario.
The bags are available at several health food stores, but for a price -- about three to four times as expensive as plastic bags.
But SPUD customer Dessy Ho says she'd rather have a green choice.
"There are actually biodegradable plastic bags," she said. "I think you pay a tiny bit more, but it's well worth it."
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Sarah Galashan
