Biodegradable Ireland - for bags that don't cost the earth

Welcome to Biodegradable.ie - the website from Polybags UK dedicated to Irish customers who want to do their bit for the environment.

As the UK's number one manufacturer of polythene packaging and eco-friendly alternatives, Polybags has a marketing-leading range of green packaging, including compostable and biodegradable ranges, plus products made from 100% recycled material and carbon-neutral, renewable bioplastic.

Whether you're looking for compostable carrier bags, 100% recycled mailing bags or carbon-neutral packing bags, you'll find all the eco-products you need at Polybags.

We offer fast delivery to Ireland plus no VAT and great savings on bulk orders for Irish customers.

Buy in pounds, save in Euros - with a big buy-in-bulk bonus

With Sterling's weakness in the currency market, your Euros go further, so you can buy in pounds and save in Euros!

New customs regulations and increased courier costs mean that small orders do cost a little more post-Brexit, but Polybags' Irish customers who buy in bulk can still take advantage of free delivery to Ireland.

All orders over £180 come with fast and free delivery - add to that the favourable exchange rate and you've got yourself a bulk-buy packaging bargain!

Our green credentials

Polybags take environmental matters very seriously. As a responsible packaging manufacturer, we understand the responsibility we have as a company, both to our environment and to the generations who will inhabit our planet in the future.

We manufacture a huge range of eco-friendly packaging that minimises environmental impact, whilst still enabling you to get the job done with the minimum of fuss, including a wide range of fully compostable products made from natural, starch-based bio-polymers.

We operate a 100%-recycling principle, with manufacturing processes designed to minimise waste wherever possible. We collect all waste in-house and use it to make new products, unless doing so is less energy-efficient than disposing of it.

Our eco-packaging range is expanding all the time, with our compostable, biodegradable and 100%-recycled ranges now accompanied by many products made from renewable material and our innovative I'm Green carbon-neutral range.

Latest news and views on biodegradable packaging

Global Food Biodegradable Packaging Market 2018 Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Strategies and Forecast To 2025

Degradable packaging only performs well when the material selection matches the product, storage time and disposal route. A pack that beginnings breaking down also soon can fail in the warehouse, while one that grasps together properly throughout its planned life can still reduce the load on disposal systems. In food packaging, that means looking beyond the label and checking seal quality, moisture resistance, stiffness and how the film or board behaves in transit. Some formats suit short shelf-life products and light secondary packing, while the rest are also weak for rough handling or long distribution chains. The proper specification protects the contents without creating avoidable waste.

Is Biodegradable Packaging Affordable?

Biodegradable packaging only makes commercial sense when the material suits the job and the process behind it stays simple. Recycled paper and board can often be bought and converted at a sensible cost, which is why they fit plenty cartons, wraps and transit packs without upsetting the budget. Sugar cane fibre can also work well where a moulded or slack-fill item is needed, particularly if the pack is not expected to transport heavy loads. The picture changes when a business wants a direct plastic replacement, because a few biodegradable plastics sit at a much higher cost and can be awkward to dash on existing lines. That means specification selection matters as much as the green label on the pack.

Starch bags work optimal as a fallback, not as a straight replacement for normal carrier stock. On a busy shop floor they may seem like a tidy reply to shortages, nevertheless the practical picture is less tidy once loading, storage and handling are taken into record. These bags can cope with light products, yet their gauge and seal quality are often less consistent than polythene suppliers, so a sharp corner or a damp environment can turn a simple pack into a weak one. That matters at the till and in the stockroom, where torn bags create delays, mess and avoidable complaint. A short reserve makes sense, nevertheless it should be treated as a controlled contingency with realistic limits.

Buy 3,965 Biodegradable Plastic Product in bulk from 490 Suppliers

Biodegradable plastic bags with handles need to match the job they are meant to transport out, not only the label on the roll. A bag can see tidy at dispatch and still fail if the gauge is also light, the seal line is weak, or the handles tear when a carton of products is lifted from the van. In practice, the material has to balance strength, stretch and stop so that packing lines dash smoothly and the finished bag feels proper in hand. If the blend is chosen badly, the result is handling damage, awkward loading and more waste at the packing station.

Global Green Packaging Market 2018 by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2023

Green packaging in South America is being shaped more by practical supply conditions than by slogans, and revenue growth relies on what manufacturers can in reality dash well on existing lines. Paper, board, and lighter-gauge plastics all bring alternative cost and handling trade-offs, particularly where transport distances are long and warehousing space is tight. A format that stacks neatly, survives rougher distribution, and retains product secure is easier to justify than one that sees superb nevertheless causes stoppages or damage. Buyers are also watching how easily packs can be collected and sorted after use. The market grows fastest when the specification fits the route from converting plant to shelf without creating concealed headaches.

Environmental bags only work when the material behaves properly through storage, transit and repeated use at retail stop. Non-woven polypropylene or polythene suppliers web requirements a consistent laydown and close gauge control, or the bag beginnings to warp, crease and lose carrying strength at the gross moment. Seam quality and edge bonding matter only as much, because weak connects are where load stress normally shows first. A bag that splits after a few outings is not a useful reusable pack at all, only more waste dressed up as a greener selection. Good material control gives a bag a better chance of lasting long enough to justify its label.

Eco-friendly bags work optimal when the material inside the bag is chosen for strength first and branding second. A thin film that tears at the seal or scuffs through in transit can create more waste than it prevents, particularly once it has been handled on the shop floor, packed into secondary cartons, and opened again for returns. A sensible specification normally means a controlled-gauge polythene suppliers or similar mono-material structure that retains tare weight low without giving up puncture resistance. That gives better seal quality, less packing failures, and less damage amid rough handling. A bag that in reality reaches the recycler in decent shape has earned its place.

Compostable bags only make sense when the assortment system and the material match properly. In practice, they can be useful for yard waste, nevertheless they are not a complimentary pass for poor sorting or lazy disposal habits. Grass clippings and other green waste often do better when left to smash down on the lawn or turned into compost for beds and borders, because that retains organic material working in the garden instead of taking up bin space. That come also cuts the amount of waste sent to landfill, which matters when capacity is tight. The practical lesson is simple: the optimal bag is sometimes no bag at all.

The Degradability of Bio-Degradable Bags

Degradable bags often see tidy on paper, nevertheless the proper problem is how they behave once they leave the proposal stage and hit fast moving production and dispatch. A film that is meant to smash down below certain conditions can be less forgiving on the line, with seal quality harder to grasp and gauge control more sensitive than normal polythene suppliers. That can lead to weak handles, awkward stacking, and pallets that transport about above they should in transit. When a simple transport bag is used as part of a busy warehouse system, the material selection has to suit the handling routine, not only the disposal story. A stable, well-specified bag normally causes less headaches than a weaker format that creates waste in the gross place.

Why degradable or biodegradable packaging?

Biodegradation is the process by which organic substances are broken down by the enzymes produced by living organisms.

The website Packagingknowledge.com states: "Conventional plastics do not break down. Litter and landfill waste may take years to degrade. Another problem with ordinary plastics is that anything contained within them may not reach their full degradation potential. This results in a needless waste of valuable landfill space."

Based on the material used, bioplastics can take varying lengths of time to totally compost, but usually biodegrade up to 60% within 90 to 180 days. It is also important to know the differences between degradable, biodegradable and compostable.

Compostable

"Capable of undergoing biological decomposition in a compost site as part of an available program, such that the plastic is not visually distinguishable and breaks down to carbon dioxide, water, inorganic compounds, and biomass, at a rate consistent with known compostable materials (e.g. cellulose) and leaves no toxic residue." - American Society for Testing & Materials (ASTM).

So in order for a plastic to be called compostable it needs to meet three rules:

1. It needs to be able to biodegrade, i.e. it needs to break down into carbon dioxide, water and biomass at the same rate as cellulose (paper)
2. The material has to fully disintegrate, i.e. be indistinguishable in the compost
3. Eco-toxicity - the biodegradation must not produce any toxic material so that the compost can support plant growth

Biodegradable plastic

Biodegradable plastic is one which can be chemically degraded via natural effectors such as soil bacteria, weather, plants or animals.

Note that there is no requirement for leaving no toxic residue, as well as no requirement for the time it takes to biodegrade.

Degradable plastic

By definition, this term refers to a plastic film containing a controlled percentage of an appropriate non-toxic, non-tinting additive, which will enable the plastic film to totally degrade when exposed to aerobic or anaerobic conditions, including when disposed in a landfill or other regulated dumping area, and within such period of time as specified.

A plastic therefore may be degradable but not biodegradable or it may be biodegradable but not compostable, i.e. it breaks down too slowly to be called compostable or leaves toxic residue.