The time it takes a product to biodegrade depends on the conditions of the composting environment. Industrial or commercial compost facilities run at higher temperatures and certification protocol requires materials to biodegrade within six months. Home composts are more variable and depend on external factors such as temperature, humidity and how often they're turned. Home compost certification requires materials to biodegrade within 12 months at a temperature around 30°C. For more information check out our certifications page.

Unlike most plastics, compostable materials are designed to have a shelf-life. They won't spontaneously start composting on the shelf or in your warehouse, but over time compostable polymers weaken and things such as sealing & lamination strength start to deteriorate. In general we give our compostable materials 18 months shelf-life before this starts occurring. However, this is influenced by atmospheric conditions such as heat and humidity; in hot and humid climates this shelf life is reduced. We recommend storing all compostable materials in dry climate controlled conditions as best practice to ensure a prolonged shelf-life.

All of Grounded's compostable films and laminates are certified compostable, including any valves and zippers. For further information please visit our Certifications page.

No they don't. Our materials are certified compostable which means that they've passed thorough biodegradation testing to ensure they completely biodegrade into healthy organic matter.

This is a great question and the answer is nuanced. They don't contain plastic as most people know it but they are made from bioplastic, which is technically a type of plastic. Grounded has a range of bioplastics that are made using our compostable Plantcell™ technology or our recyclable Sugarflex™ films and laminates. For more information on this see our Science page, which breaks these concepts down.

Compostable materials are designed to be composted and unfortunately that means they cannot be mechanically recycled. Although commercial composting systems are not currently widely available on a kerbside bases this is changing rapidly and so too is the rate of home composting. For further reading please see our blog post on Composting vs Recycling.

Composting is an essential part of a functioning circular economy. We've broken down all the basics in our How to Compost blog post.

If you require a waterproof mailer, you are best to choose either our compostable or recycled plastic mailers. Our paper mailers are water resistant and will withstand rain during transit but aren't designed to be left out in the wet.

Our mailer bags can withstand heavy weight and are 100% waterproof. They are also tear-resistant and are designed to distributes the weight throughout the whole bag. We encourage you to order a sample pack and put them to the test.

Our stock compostable and PCR recycled mailers are 60µ or 2.36mil. Our stock paper mailers are 180GSM. We've seen a lot of mailers in our time and have found these to be the most optimal thicknesses, striking a perfect balance between price, durability and sustainability. If you're customising your packaging, you can choose how thick you want the material.

It's up to you! We have options for both solid block colours and also opaque (see-through) colours. For our stock mailers we sell online, you cannot see the product being packaged inside.

All of our compostable products should be stored in a cool, dry place. If stored correctly, our compostable mailer will keep their strength for 12 months. Our recycled and paper mailers do not have a shelf life.

Yes, for stock orders above 2000 units, we offer volume discounts. Please get in touch via the enquiry form to speak to one of our Account Managers.

Online orders are typically despatched within 24 hours. Depending on the shipping method (courier or bulk freight depending on the size of your order) this can take anywhere from 1-3 days from despatch.