What to Know About Plastic and Compostable Produce Bags

A simple choice at the grocery store — which bag to use for loose fruits and vegetables — can affect how long produce lasts at home and the environmental footprint of a shopping trip. Experts who work with retail packaging and specialty groceries say standard thin plastic produce bags and thicker compostable or biodegradable bags behave differently and are not interchangeable.

Standard clear, thin plastic produce bags allow some air exchange and can extend the shelf life of items that continue to respire after harvest, including many leafy greens and delicate herbs. Kevin Kelly, CEO of Emerald Packaging, a U.S. packaging company, said the breathability of conventional plastic is “best for leafy greens and many herbs” and can prevent spoilage and contamination during transport and at checkout.

By contrast, compostable or biodegradable produce bags are typically thicker, slightly opaque and labeled as such; they provide little or no oxygen transmission. Kelly said that lack of breathability can hasten spoilage for living, respiring products, noting, “They actually kill leafy greens very quickly. You will likely get two weeks of shelf life for cilantro in plastic and less than a week in a compostable produce bag.”

Grocery owners and packaging researchers urged shoppers to match the bag to the item. Claudia Taglich, co-owner of Provisions Market in New York City, recommended plastic bags for bread and delicate produce where a snug, breathable wrap helps preserve texture. Both Kelly and Taglich said they avoid bagging hard-skinned items such as onions, apples, potatoes and citrus in-store because those items do not gain the same benefit and, in some cases, emit ethylene gas that can accelerate ripening and spoilage of nearby produce.

Studies have shown that ethylene-producing fruits such as apples, bananas and tomatoes can speed ripening in other items stored together; experts advise leaving such produce unbagged at ambient temperature unless faster ripening is desired. In refrigerators, however, some items that benefit from the bag’s microenvironment — again, mainly leafy greens and herbs — should remain in their bags to prolong freshness, Kelly said. Removing or keeping produce in bags depends on the commodity and whether the goal is to slow or speed ripening.

Beyond immediate food preservation, the environmental calculation is more complex. Compostable or biodegradable bags may seem preferable, but several packaging specialists warned that those options are only lower-impact if they are used and disposed of under the right conditions. Chris DeArmitt, founder and president of the Plastics Research Council, said that while reusable or compostable options can have lower theoretical impacts, real-world behavior matters. “People forget them and do not reuse them enough times for that to be the case,” he said, adding that some policy changes, such as bans on lightweight checkout bags, have had unintended consequences like increased purchases of thicker plastic trash liners.

Reusing and recycling conventional produce bags can reduce their footprint. Retail drop-off collection points accept many types of clean plastic film for recycling into products such as pallet wrap, and experts recommend reusing bags as household trash liners or for storage before recycling. Kelly suggested reusing them for storage, packing, or pet waste pickup and advised washing them before placing them in store take-back bins. Community groups and schools sometimes accept clean bags for reuse in projects, but organizers should be contacted first.

Alternatives to single-use produce bags include mesh or reusable fabric bags and cartons for fragile items. Taglich advised using cartons for delicate produce to avoid bruising. Kelly acknowledged that alternatives can reduce certain impacts but warned they introduce trade-offs: reusable bags must be cleaned and consistently brought to the store, and some alternatives may be more resource-intensive to produce. Netted bags can also let small items fall through, and convenience affects whether shoppers adopt and reuse replacements enough to achieve environmental benefits.

Retailers and packaging experts said a practical, middle-ground approach is available: use thin, breathable plastic produce bags only for items that benefit from them, such as leafy greens, herbs and some breads, and skip the bags for hard-skinned or ethylene-producing produce. When possible, reuse produce bags several times, wash them before recycling at designated drop-off points, and store items appropriately at home to limit food waste.

Food waste from spoilage is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and preserving shelf life through correct handling can reduce that burden. Selecting the right type of bag for specific produce, combined with reuse and proper disposal, can influence both how long groceries last and the wider environmental consequences of shopping choices.

Shoppers should weigh convenience, storage practices and local recycling options when deciding which products to bag. Industry experts emphasize matching the bag to the item and using available reuse and recycling pathways to limit both food waste and plastic pollution.