No. Tierra Farm is happy to support our sustainable mission by covering the $15* cost of each Take-Back return mailer.
*$15 is the estimated cost of shipping, our employee time and materials needed to provide this service.

Our designated composting partners receive and compost the returned bags that we collect and sort in our corporate headquarters in Valatie, NY.

Simply email us at web@tierrafarm.com and we’ll send you instructions for reprinting your shipping label and the return of your bags.

Yes. The Take-Back return mailer envelope is certified compostable.

Yes. Please see the 'Additional Composting Options' section for details.

We know that the two-part shipping process of returning bags to our warehouse in Valatie, NY before we ship them to our industrial composting partners does have an environmental impact. However, we believe that composting those bags, especially with our goal of continuing to expand the network of regional industrial composting facilities that can receive bags directly in the future, represents the best model for environmental sustainability.

Every one of Tierra Farm’s compostable bags has been engineered with the latest green technology to be completely compostable at home or within an industrial composting facility. This “all-natural” recycling program is different than conventional recycling, so please do not toss our compostable bags in with your regularly recyclable trash.

Compostability describes the ability to engage in the process where organic materials decompose to become the natural components that generate and sustain new life. 180 days is the normal amount of time for this process, but variables in temperature, humidity, and the presence of bacteria and/or other microorganisms can affect that timeframe.

You can dispose of our compostable packaging just as you would a banana peel or apple core—toss it directly into your home compost bin. However, please remember that compostable packaging is not recyclable. If you don’t have access to composting at home, simply use our compostable Take-Back return mailer to send your bags back to us.

You can locate your nearest compost facility at www.findacomposter.com. (Keep in mind that while some larger cities have industrial compost facilities, all do not.) Also—be sure to call the facility in advance to see if it accepts packaging like ours. Some industrial compost facilities accept only food scraps and other select materials.

Our non-toxic, compostable packaging has been tested and approved by our packaging suppliers to decompose at home in a reasonable amount of time to become a healthy, regenerative component of your soil. However, we cannot guarantee the exact timeline for that process since varying degrees of heat and humidity and the presence of bacteria and/or other microorganisms will affect it. Composting speed and efficiency are also affected by other local variables such as climate, season, carbon-nitrogen mix, and air circulation.

Our compostable bags are primarily composed of wood cellulose, other bio-polymers, and bio-resins. Metalized compostable bags contain a small, trace amount of aluminum. While we focus on the sustainability of all ingredients in our packaging, our main priority is their ability to be composted.

Yes. The inks on our compostable bags are composed of a mixture of water-based and benign resins.

These bags incorporate some of the most advanced compostable packaging materials available today. The technical innovations they employ provide the barrier and strength properties required to keep our products safe from the elements. They do have a risk for aesthetic defects and tearing that is greater than plastic. However, their real-world functionality has been designed and tested to achieve exceptional results. We believe that makes them the logical, responsible solution to the escalating long-term problem of today’s worldwide plastic packaging contamination.

No. The recycling system is designed to convert 100% paper and petroleum plastic into other products that make use of some of the original source material’s components. Compostable materials, by contrast, are designed to completely break down and return to the earth as source materials for new organic life.