Biodegradable "Plastic" Wrap from FriendlyPak

I got really excited when FriendlyPak first gave away a roll of BioBag - a biodegradable "plastic" wrap. I didn't win, but I still wanted it.

We were almost at the end of our roll of supermarket plastic wrap. Plastic pollution is a serious problem, and this flexible, nonrecyclable stuff kills animals every day and isn't great for human health either. I'm thrilled to see an earth-friendly choice.

As a new product, it seemed to take forever to find out how I could buy it. The product was announced in April, but didn't seem to be orderable from the advertised outlet. So when I saw one big catering roll in  Wise Cicada, I impulse-bought it for $50. (It is now available through ecostore.)

We didn't use plastic wrap for much anyway - sealing the ends of cucumbers, mostly. We use wax paper for the kids' lunches. With a catering-size roll, I'm using it for everything!

Results

Good

The wrap performs well as a wrap, sticking to the end of the cucumber and protecting it.

It worked well on the kids' sandwiches too at yesterday's picnic - held two together very nicely.

I wrapped the end of a frozen Cheezly (vegan cheese) in it. (It's still fine, but I think I should have wrapped the whole Cheezly because it didn't stick on when left in a freezer drawer jumble. My bad.)

And I can see when I empty the compost that the wrap shows signs of breaking down as promised.

Cautions

The biodegradable wrap is more fragile than regular plastic wrap, which is not too surprising for an organic product that is going to break down soon. I can't use the tug and unroll method with the large heavy catering roll - the wrap stretches so much from the weight. So I use scissors to cut off the pieces I need. It doesn't have a tear strip on the box anyway, but that's fine because a plastic or metal tear strip is just more to go on a landfill.

After a few days of protecting a cucumber end in the crisper, the wrap is already showing a hint of its biodegradability compared to the plastic wrap, which I could often reuse. This is only a small problem because we usually have to slice off the end of the cut cucumber anyway, and I can toss the used wrap with the old slice (and a clear conscience) and get a new piece.

Also unfortunately, our roll has been gouged by something about 5cm in from the edge.  This hasn't impacted us much as we haven't needed large pieces yet, but I wish I'd saved my receipt.

Update: the cool people at FriendlyPak are sending me a complimentary roll!

Recommendation

Absolutely! It works, and it's biodegradable. While I have to treat this wrap a bit differently to ordinary plastic, it is worth it. And when more people buy these choices, the price will come down, so...

What earth-friendly products do you invest in?