So many people ask us if our bags are degradable which of course the majority of them are, even our printed bags! 'But'.... we wonder 'is everyone truly aware of the many different eco-friendly packaging solutions available and what they all mean?'. Therefore please see below a brief description to explain in more detail;
Degradable plastics are not compostable. Most of the products using the label Degradable plastic, degrade as result of physical and chemical impact (fracture into smaller pieces of plastic). They are oil based products with special additives that assist their 'fragmentation'. Biological activity is not a significant part of the degradation of these products, or the process is too slow to earn the classification Biodegradable or Compostable (the biological degradation will typically take many years).
http://www.alpha-store.co.uk/viewCat.aspx?ID=52
Compostable means the degradation must meet certain specified criteria such as rate biodegradation, maximum residue of material left at a specific point in time and a requirement for the material to have no harmful impact on the final compost or the composting process. All compostable plastic is therefore also biodegradable.
http://www.alpha-store.co.uk/viewCat.aspx?ID=51
Recycled means that the bags can be recycled at certain 'plastic bag' recycling collection points (often found at supermarkets), and then be sorted, cleaned, and reprocessed into new materials bound for manufacturing.
http://www.alpha-store.co.uk/viewCat.aspx?ID=54
Re-Usable often refers to fabric based products/bags such as hemp, jute, canvas, hessian etc. These products last almost a life time but can be re-used more than your average polythene carrier bag.
http://www.alpha-store.co.uk/viewCat.aspx?ID=50
(Sources include South Devon District Council)
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