There are a lot of people that have mentioned they’d pay more for a sustainable type of product, and its alternatives. With the new demand persisting to bring about sustainability, it’s becoming necessary to prioritize the sustainable types of shipping possible for these businesses. This is especially important for materials associated with packaging.
Bubble wrap is one that’s great for protecting products, but you may wonder if this is recyclable.
Here, we’ll discuss whether you can, or should, and how you’ll be able to recycle bubble wrap to create better, more sustainable solutions, and packaging solutions that’ll mean the world to many people.
So Is It?
It sure is. It’s totally recyclable, but you can’t just throw this in the recycle bin and call it a day. This is due to the fact that it’s not a hard plastic, and only hard plastics are allowed in the curbside bins. Bottles and any containers that have the identification codes for this are allowed.
Those shrink bags, bubble wrap, and the like, are not allowed at the curbside pickup. You need to make sure that you take those out before the people take your curbside bin. This is because it creates a much larger issue at a recycling plant, since they do cause jams and issues in the sorting machines.
Since it is considered to be plastic film, you need specialized recycling for this.
How to Recycle It
There are different ways for you to also recycle bubble wrap, and below we’ll discuss the best ways.
The first is to reuse it. if you’re moving for example, adding bubble wrap to boxes can be expensive. Saving the bubble wrapping you use in packaging will protect these items when you’re moving. The best part, if you don’t have to pay a cent. It’s also good for wrapping different presents, and even to protect items within luggage when traveling.
Then of course, there is the recycling option. Again though, you need a bin dedicated to this. Any bags made of plastic, shrink wrap, or bubble wrap are easily placed in there. fill it up, and then, look for what’s called a type 4 plastic sort of recycling center. You can drop this off. Once there, they collect it and take care of it.
There are also some specialty services that can collect it directly from a facility. This is good if you’re a business that has a lot of bubble wrap and needs to get rid of it.
Is It Sustainable?
It is not. This is because there are a few things that are in it, which impacts the sustainability:
- Polyethene, as this is the main plastic used in bubble wrap, primarily made from fossil fuels
- It does require a lot of water and greenhouse gas release to manufacture bubble wrap
- Many times, people just toss bubble wrap, instead of trying to recycle or reuse it
This is why it’s not sustainable. If you are a person who has a company and wants some alternatives, there are sustainable void fill alternative options.
They include:
- Recycled cardboard and paper
- Kraft paper
- Packaging peanuts that are biodegradable
A lot of times, bubble wrap is something that people like to use, and the question of whether it’s recyclable or not comes up. While it’s not totally sustainable, if you do recycle it, or encourage and tell people how to recycle bubble wrap, there is a chance that, through these channels, they’ll be able to reduce the contribution to pollution that they do offer as well.
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