Easter Basket Grass: Compostable Options That Look Great

Plastic Easter grass is one of those products you only think about once a year, and then you spend the next six months vacuuming it out of the carpet. The neon green plastic strands tangle around the dog, end up in the cat’s intestines if she’s a particular kind of menace, blow into the yard during the egg hunt, and — when you finally throw the whole basket in the trash come May — sit in a landfill for the next 400 years doing absolutely nothing useful.

It’s a weirdly persistent product. The basket itself is usually fine: a wicker or seagrass weave you can use again next year, or repurpose for storage. The eggs are reusable plastic or actual eggshells that go in the compost. The chocolate wrappers are foil and paper. But the grass — that puffy filler that makes the basket look full enough for a photo — is almost always polypropylene or PVC. And once Easter morning is over, nobody wants to keep it.

The good news: there are at least five compostable alternatives that look as good or better than plastic grass, hold up fine for the few hours a basket actually needs filler, and quietly disappear into a yard compost pile or municipal green bin after the holiday. Some of them are old — paper Easter grass predates the plastic version by decades. Some of them are new, marketed specifically to parents who got tired of the plastic mess.

Here’s what’s out there, what each one looks like in an actual basket, what it costs, and how it behaves once the holiday is over.

Why plastic grass is a real problem, not just an aesthetic complaint

A few people will read this and think: it’s a small amount of plastic, once a year, calm down. Fair. But the math is uglier than it looks.

The American Pet Products Association and several veterinary groups put out warnings every March because plastic Easter grass is one of the top intestinal-blockage hazards for cats and small dogs. Cats in particular will eat it — the long strands move when batted, they’re chewy, and once a strand goes down it can’t come back up. A 2019 piece in DVM360 covered cases where the grass caused linear foreign body obstruction in cats, sometimes requiring surgery costing $2,000 to $5,000 to remove. One cat, one Easter basket, one bad afternoon.

Then there’s the environmental side. Plastic Easter grass is too small and too tangled to be recycled. It’s not accepted in any curbside program in the US. It blows out of trash cans on windy April days and ends up in storm drains, then in waterways. The Ocean Conservancy’s annual beach cleanup reports include plastic ribbon and shredded plastic film as common finds, and Easter grass contributes to that category every spring.

And then there’s the household reality. If you’ve ever cleaned a house after kids opened Easter baskets, you’ve found grass strands six months later, embedded in the rug, behind the couch, woven into the dog’s bed. It’s not biodegradable. It just gets dirty and stays.

Which is why the compostable options are worth knowing about, even if you only use them once a year.

Option 1: Shredded paper grass (crinkle paper)

This is the most common compostable replacement and the easiest one to find. Most craft stores, Target, and Amazon carry it. It comes in a million colors — pastel pinks, lavenders, mint greens, classic white, yellow, even gold and silver for shinier baskets.

The strands are typically 1/4 inch wide and a few inches long, slightly crimped or curled so they puff up when you fluff the basket. Volume-wise, one 2-ounce bag fills a small basket and a 4-ounce bag fills a medium one. Prices run from about $2.50 for a small bag at Target to $4.99 for a generic 8-ounce bag on Amazon. Brands like Hygloss, Way to Celebrate, and a half-dozen unbranded import sellers all carry essentially the same product.

How it looks: pretty good, honestly. The pastel colors photograph nicely in morning light. The texture has more visual interest than plastic grass — the slight crinkle catches light differently. It piles into a basket and creates a nice nest for eggs and small toys. Some sellers offer two-tone or metallic finishes if you want something a little fancier.

How it behaves in compost: shredded paper is one of the easiest browns to compost. It’s high in carbon, takes moisture readily, and breaks down within a few weeks in an active pile. The colored versions use food-safe dyes for the most part, though I’d recommend checking the packaging. Anything labeled FSC-certified paper with vegetable-based inks is safe for backyard compost. Confetti-grade tissue paper grass is also fine for municipal green bins where accepted.

The honest downside: paper grass is dustier than plastic. If you puff it too vigorously, you get a fine paper dust that some kids with paper allergies might react to. And if a basket gets rained on during an outdoor egg hunt, paper grass turns into a soggy lump that’s hard to recover. So it’s an indoor product, basically.

Cost per basket: about $1 to $1.50. Cheaper than most plastic alternatives.

Option 2: Raffia

Raffia is a natural fiber from the raffia palm, mostly grown in Madagascar. It looks like soft, slightly textured straw — long pale-yellow strands that can be dyed any color but most often comes in natural, sage green, or pastel pink. It’s been used in floristry, gift wrapping, and craft for over a century.

For an Easter basket, raffia is the most aesthetically upscale option. It has a real, organic texture — not synthetic, not paper-flat. It drapes nicely. It photographs like a Williams-Sonoma catalog. If you’re building a basket that’s going to sit on the dining room table for the morning egg hunt and then get photographed for grandma, raffia is what makes it look like a magazine shot.

You can find raffia at craft stores like Michaels and Hobby Lobby, at most florist supply shops, and online from Save On Crafts, Afloral, and similar wholesalers. A 4-ounce hank — roughly enough for two large baskets — costs about $6 to $10 depending on color. Natural raffia is cheapest; dyed colors run a couple dollars more.

How it composts: raffia is plant fiber. It breaks down in a backyard pile in about three to six months, faster if it’s been chopped into shorter pieces. Long undyed strands compost a little slower than paper but considerably faster than wood mulch. Most municipal green-bin programs that accept yard waste will accept raffia, though I’d cut it into shorter lengths first because some programs have rules against long stringy materials that can wrap around their screening equipment.

Downside: raffia sheds. You’ll find loose strands around the basket through the morning. It’s also fairly expensive compared to paper grass — for a family with three kids and three baskets to fill, you’d spend $20 to $30 on raffia versus $5 to $8 on paper.

Option 3: Wood wool (excelsior)

Wood wool, also called excelsior, is the same fine wood-fiber packing material used in gift baskets and high-end packaging. It looks like a tangle of cream-colored, almost translucent curly fibers — think of it as natural wood that’s been shaved into very thin ribbons.

You’ve seen this in upscale gift baskets, in farmers-market product displays, and as packing material for fragile artisan goods. It’s a 19th-century product, originally made as packing material for porcelain shipments, still produced by a handful of mills in the US, Germany, and France.

For Easter baskets, wood wool has a rustic, farmhouse aesthetic. It’s not as colorful as paper grass — most of it comes in natural cream, with some sellers offering green or pastel-dyed versions. But it has texture and depth that photographs beautifully. It’s the right look for a “natural” or rustic Easter — wicker basket, brown paper-wrapped chocolate, wood-wool nest.

Sourcing: Etsy has dozens of small mills selling 8-ounce bags for $8 to $15. Save On Crafts and several florist-supply shops carry it. The brand Western Excelsior is a longstanding US producer; their product is white pine wood wool, biodegradable and compost-safe.

Compost behavior: wood wool is essentially fine wood shavings, so it composts at the slower end of the spectrum — three to nine months in a backyard pile depending on activity. It’s high carbon and works as a “brown” in a hot pile. Cut it into shorter pieces before adding to compost if the strands are very long. Municipal green-bin acceptance varies; check with your local program.

Downside: cost and slower composting. Also, wood wool can have a faint pine or wood smell that’s pleasant to most people but worth knowing if you have anyone sensitive in the house.

Option 4: Crinkle-cut tissue or kraft paper grass

This is a step up from basic shredded paper. Crinkle-cut paper grass is made from heavier paper or tissue, often kraft brown or pastel-colored, cut into thin strands with a crimping action that gives it more visual texture. Some sellers offer this in iridescent metallic finishes for a more dramatic look.

The difference from basic shredded paper is mostly aesthetic — crinkle-cut has more body and looks fuller in a basket. It also doesn’t compress as much, so you need less of it to fill a basket.

Sourcing: PaperMart.com and Nashville Wraps both sell kraft paper basket filler in bulk. Etsy has hundreds of small sellers offering custom-colored crinkle grass. A 4-ounce bag costs about $4 to $7. Bulk one-pound bags from packaging suppliers run $12 to $18.

Compost behavior: same as basic shredded paper — fast composting, easy to fit into any system. Kraft paper is preferred for backyard composting because it’s unbleached and uses fewer dyes. Metallic and iridescent versions are usually thin foil-coated paper and shouldn’t go in compost; treat those as landfill.

Option 5: Shredded fabric scraps or felt

This is more of a craft-project approach than a buy-it option, but it’s worth mentioning because it’s increasingly popular with people who sew or quilt. Shredded fabric scraps — leftover cotton, linen, or wool from sewing projects — make a soft, pretty basket filler. Some Etsy sellers offer pre-shredded natural fabric grass made from organic cotton or wool felt.

How it looks: depends entirely on the fabric. Cotton calico shredded into thin strips makes a soft, vintage-looking nest. Wool felt cut into ribbons has a sturdier, more substantial feel. If you have leftover quilting cotton, this is a way to use it up.

Compost behavior: 100% natural fibers (cotton, linen, wool, hemp) compost over six to twelve months in a backyard pile, faster if shredded fine. Avoid blends — anything labeled polyester, nylon, or “polyester-cotton blend” will leave plastic fibers behind. Only pure natural fibers work for compost.

Cost: free if you have scraps. About $8 to $15 per bag on Etsy if you’re buying.

What I’d actually pick, and why

For most families, the answer is paper grass. It costs almost nothing, it composts trivially, the colors photograph fine, and you can buy it at any store in March. The downside — that it can get dusty — is minor. For 90% of households, paper grass is the right answer.

For people who care about the aesthetic of the basket as a photograph or a centerpiece, raffia is worth the extra money. The texture is real, the color is warm, and it photographs in a way that synthetic alternatives can’t match.

For rustic or farmhouse-style Easter baskets with kraft paper and natural materials, wood wool is the strongest choice. The cream color and curly texture do something paper can’t.

For people who sew, shredded fabric scraps are a way to use waste material and make something pretty. But that’s a craft project, not a quick-grab purchase.

What I’d avoid: anything labeled “biodegradable” without a compostability claim. Some sellers use “biodegradable” loosely on products that contain plastic blends, and those won’t actually break down. Look for explicit “compostable,” “BPI-certified,” “100% paper,” or “100% natural fiber” labels.

How to dispose of it after Easter

Most compostable Easter grass goes one of three ways depending on what you have set up:

1. Backyard compost pile: Paper, raffia, wood wool, and natural fabric all work in a home compost bin. Cut long strands into shorter pieces (2-3 inches) to speed breakdown and avoid tangling. Mix with food scraps or grass clippings to balance the carbon load — these fillers are all “browns” (high carbon).

2. Municipal green bin: Most curbside compost programs in cities like San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, and Minneapolis accept paper-based grass. Wood wool is usually accepted as a “yard waste.” Raffia and natural fabric are sometimes accepted; check your city’s list. Programs in Berkeley and Boulder explicitly list paper crinkle as accepted.

3. Worm bin: Paper grass is excellent worm-bin bedding. Tear or cut into shorter pieces, dampen, and add to the bin. Worms will eat through paper crinkle in two to four weeks.

If you don’t have any composting setup, paper-based grass goes in the trash and breaks down in a landfill far faster than plastic. Not ideal, but still better than plastic Easter grass, which is functionally permanent. Wood wool and raffia are also fine in landfill — they’re just plant fibers.

A note on reuse

A lot of families I’ve talked to keep the same bag of Easter grass for years — they collect it back into a labeled ziplock or tin after the holiday and reuse it next March. Paper grass holds up for two or three years of careful reuse before it starts looking dingy. Raffia and wood wool hold up even longer.

Reusing is always cheaper and lower-impact than buying fresh, even if the fresh version is compostable. So if you bought a good bag of crinkle paper or raffia three years ago and it still looks fine, just use it again. The most sustainable Easter basket is the one you don’t have to rebuild every spring.

Where to source

For paper grass and crinkle filler, Target, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, and Hygloss on Amazon all carry it in March. Bulk amounts ship from PaperMart and Nashville Wraps year-round.

For raffia, Save On Crafts, Afloral, and Michaels carry both natural and dyed colors. Etsy has natural-fiber sellers offering smaller hand-dyed lots.

For wood wool, Western Excelsior is the largest US producer, sold through Amazon and packaging suppliers. Smaller Etsy mills offer 8-ounce bags in natural and dyed colors.

For natural fabric grass, Etsy is the main marketplace. Search “natural Easter basket filler” or “cotton basket grass” for current sellers.

And for the basket itself, if you don’t already have one: any wicker, seagrass, or palm-fiber basket is fully compostable at end of life. Skip the plastic baskets. A wicker basket lasts a decade if you store it dry between holidays.

For B2B operators putting together gift baskets, corporate Easter gifts, or branded packaging that includes compostable filler, our compostable food containers and compostable bowls pair well with paper or wood-wool basket filler for hospitality and event use. The whole basket — container, filler, and contents — can be compostable end-to-end if you plan it that way.

The shift away from plastic Easter grass has been quiet but real. Twenty years ago, every grocery store and drugstore had wall-to-wall plastic grass and not much else. Today, paper and natural-fiber options sit right next to the plastic — same shelf, similar price, much better outcome once Easter morning is over and the chocolate is gone. It’s one of those small holiday switches that’s painless to make and meaningfully better when you think about where the product ends up the next morning.

For B2B sourcing, see our compostable supplies catalog or compostable bags catalog.

Verifying claims at the SKU level: ask suppliers for a current Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) certificate or an OK Compost mark from TÜV Austria, and check that retail-facing copy meets the FTC Green Guides qualifier requirement on environmental claims.