Key Points: Pela phone cases are protective and compostable (through commercial composting services). Great ZW option!
A Bit More: Many of you may have heard of the brand Pela already, but if not, they make phone cases out of a mix of flax shive, which is a byproduct of processed flax (aka tiny brown fibrous bits) and compostable bioplastic. They’ve cleverly named this material Flaxstic. These phone cases are durable and compostable when they reach the end of their usable life.
The Whole Story: I’ve used this phone case for over 2.5 years and it held up really well. It also seemed to protect my phone really well too – I’ve only had a few minor cracks in my screen protector, but no damage to the actual phone. Between 6 and 12 months ago, the part around the bottom speakers of the phone started to split, since those segments are thinner and are agitated each time I plug in a charger. I barely noticed, though, and kept on using it just fine. Only recently, the part along the side of the screen that surrounds the lock button split, which kept getting folded in front of the screen each time I put it in my pocket. I used this as a sign that it was probably time for a replacement. After confirming with my commercial composting company (I now use Bootstrap) that they accept bioplastics, I thanked my phone case for its years of service and laid it to rest in the compost bin. Off to its next life! Thankfully I also had another Pela case ready to go.