HOW TO CHOOSE

Our aim at Melrose Packaging is to sell products made from recyclable or degradable material where it makes sense. Plastic bags made from virgin or recycled material can be recycled and most manufacturers routinely process recycled material. The raw material for this recycling is collected from industry and the mainstream schemes operated by councils and recycling companies.

Many of the current issues with plastic can be attributed to the fact that we are a long way from actually recycling enough recyclable material. In the main this is due to poor collection methods where not enough attention is paid to different material types as well as a general lack of information available to consumers. For many years it has been possible to buy ‘degradable’ bags and these are of two main types – ‘corn starch’ (known as PLA) and oxy degradable and opinion remains divided about their relative merits.

• Corn Starch – PLA. These are sold as compostable but it should be noted that only industrial composting creates the correct conditions for them to effectively decompose. The material cannot be recycled and they cause mayhem when mixed with other polyethene bags in established recycling schemes. A further point is that while the raw material is plant-based and relatively easy to produce it does consume resource that could be more effectively used in food production.
• Oxy Biodegradable. These are more widely available but the big drawback is that they need light and air to degrade – something not available if they are dumped in landfill which is presently the most common end result.

Both of the above options carry a price premium which is mainly due to higher production costs although many consider that consumers pay for the green credentials.

Some argue that degradable plastic bags are a waste of resource and send the wrong message (it is okay to throw this thing away). Although potentially re-usable to some degree, by definition they have a limited life and cannot be re-processed. Worse still, they cause mayhem when mixed with other polyethene bags in established recycling schemes.