an apparatus for removing compostable materials from plastic bags . the apparatus includes a conveyor having retaining members which engage and assist the conveyor in transporting the bags of compostable materials to a discharge bin . a cutting element cooperates with the first conveyor to open the bags allowing the compostable material to be emptied from the bags at one end of the conveyor into the bin where the compostable materials are subsequently discharged onto compost piles . the bags are then removed from the retaining members and transferred into a mechanism where they are bundled for disposal or recycle .