10 Things to Consider When Buying Biodegradable Film Packaging

If you are like many companies today, you are looking for ways to make your company more earth-friendly. And biodegradable stretch film is an excellent way to achieve this goal!

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There are several biodegradable stretch films currently available. Each of them has its own pros and cons. But which type of biodegradable stretch film is right for your business?

This will largely depend on your specific sustainability and budgetary requirements. What is suitable for your competitors may be wrong for you.

But how do you decide which type of biodegradable stretch film is right for your company? In order to figure this out, you will have to consider a few things before making a purchase.

These include composability or the lack thereof, material formulations, recyclability, cost, lead times, and other pertinent elements of the film you wish to purchase.

After reading this article, you can figure out which type of biodegradable stretch film is right for your company!

How To Choose A Biodegradable Stretch Film

When preparing to source a biodegradable stretch film, you need to research the different types of films available and choose a film that meets your company's specific requirements.

During this process, you must choose a film that meets your company's budgetary, sustainability, and recycling needs.

Before you make a purchase, you will need to compare several brands of film to find the best film for your unique needs.

A simple google search for "biodegradable stretch film" will bring up the current top-performing films on the first page of results that pop up after you have entered your query and hit enter.

It is advised that you compare at least two or three brands, ensuring that you compare each aspect of the film to the next so that you can choose the best one for your goals.

During the comparison process, you will want to compare each brand of film and the company that sells the material.

Regarding the materials, you will want to compare tensile strength, available gauges & widths, cost, lead times, product availability, sustainability, quality, and other pertinent elements vital to you as a buyer.

In regards to the company itself, you will want to compare customer service, pricing, customer testimonials, reviews, product knowledge of each company's sales representatives, and the quality and quantity of content about stretch film on each company's website.

But, one of the most essential items that must be considered is whether a biodegradable or compostable stretch film is right for your business. This is important because they are not the same thing.

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Compostable VS Biodegradable Stretch Film

One of the main things you will need to consider when deciding which type of biodegradable stretch film is right for your business is whether you want a biodegradable or compostable stretch film.

This may seem an odd distinction to make, but there is a difference between these two types of earth-friendly stretch films.

But what are the differences between biodegradable and compostable stretch films? Which type of film is most appropriate for your needs?

In the section below, we will compare biodegradable and compostable stretch films to help you in your quest to find the correct film for your needs.

Biodegradable Stretch Film

First up, we have biodegradable stretch film. Biodegradable stretch film is, as you may have expected, biodegradable.

This means that it will biodegrade in the proper setting. However, not all biodegradable stretch films are the same and will require different disposal methods for the film to biodegrade correctly.

For example, our steelflex bio biodegradable stretch film requires exposure to heat, oxygen, water, and air to biodegrade correctly.

For this type of film, the film needs only to be left in an area exposed to these elements and will biodegrade within five years or less.

But, there are some films on the market where this is not the case. Some films will only biodegrade in a landfill. Others require the film to be disposed of in a home compost pile or an industrial composting facility.

Compostable Stretch Film

Suppose your chosen biodegradable stretch film is compostable. In that case, you will need to dispose of the film into your home compost pile or send it to an industrial composting facility for the film to biodegrade appropriately.

With a home composting pile, you need to set up an area in your yard in which you plan to dispose of your compostable materials.

These may include other compostable packaging supplies, such as biodegradable cups & plates, and organic waste, such as coffee grinds, banana peels, and similar items.

The compost pile must feature layers of hay, dirt, and compostable materials. It will also need to be aerated with a pitchfork or some similar yard maintenance tool to ensure that the pile has access to oxygen.

If you do not have a home compost pile but would like to start one, you can review these instructions on creating a compost pile.

Once you have successfully built your compost pile, you can dispose of your compostable stretch film there.

If you do not have a home compost pile or the space to create one, there is another option. This option sends your used compostable stretch films to an industrial composting facility.

An industrial composting facility is a business that collects compostable materials such as compostable stretch film, biodegradable cups, and other compostable items such as fruit peels, coffee grinds, and the like.

They collect these items from bins that they provide to their customer base. The containers look a bit like a single-stream recycling bin.

The industrial composting facility will regularly disperse a collection of trucks to collect the compostable materials.

These trucks feature similar functionality to garbage trucks. Generally speaking, the truck will pull up to the driveway of one of their clients and a mechanical arm from the truck will grab the composting bin and empty its contents into the truck.

The truck will then leave behind the empty composting container and repeat this process until that particular composting truck is filled with compostable waste.

The trucks then transport the compostable waste to the industrial composting facility, where the waste is disposed of into large-scale composting piles.

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Here, employees of the industrial composting facility will monitor and manage multiple compostable waste piles in different phases of the composting process.

Once the materials have fully broken down into usable compost, the compost is bagged and sold to home and garden centers, supermarkets, other retailers, and municipalities.

Some towns (such as Cambridge, MA) have contracts with industrial composting facilities that service all the people who live there.

Suppose your town does not have a contract with an industrial composting facility, but you would like to use an industrial composting facility to dispose of your compostable stretch wrap. In that case, you may contact an industrial composter to discuss setting up an account.

With the account set up, the industrial composting company will collect your compost as described above and charge you a fee for the service in a way similar to that of a waste management company.

What Is The Difference Between Compostable And Biodegradable Stretch Film?

While some people use the terms biodegradable and compostable interchangeably, these terms are not, in fact, interchangeable when it comes to biodegradable stretch films.

As a general rule of thumb, it is essential to remember that all compostable stretch films are biodegradable, but not all biodegradable stretch films are compostable.

Is Compostable Or Biodegradable Stretch Film Right For You?

To determine if compostable or biodegradable stretch film is the appropriate choice for your business, you must answer a few questions first.

With the answers to these questions in hand, you should be able to choose the correct type of stretch film for your specific product securing and containment needs.

Are you looking for a compostable stretch film? - If so, compostable stretch film is right for you.

Are you looking for a stretch film that does not require a home compost pile or industrial composting facility? - If the answer is yes, steelflex bio biodegradable stretch film would be an ideal choice.

Are you looking for a non-plastic stretch film? - If you said yes, neither compostable nor biodegradable stretch film is right for you.

Are you looking for a recyclable, biodegradable stretch film? - If so, steelflex bio biodegradable stretch film is a great choice. 

Where Can You Buy Biodegradable Stretch Film?

You have several options when it comes to buying biodegradable stretch film. On the one hand, in some cases, you can purchase biodegradable stretch film directly from the manufacturer.

This is a popular option as the people who make biodegradable stretch films are often the foremost experts on these materials.

However, it should be noted that some manufacturers will not sell directly to customers. Suppose the film manufacturer you want to buy from does not sell directly to the customer.

In that case, you will have to purchase the film from one of the packaging distributors that the manufacturers sell through.

Speaking of packaging distributors, this is another popular place to buy your biodegradable stretch film from. Packaging distributors often sell multiple brands of packaging materials. They can help you select the best film brand that suits your needs.

Another option for purchasing biodegradable stretch film would be online retailers such as Amazon or Alibaba. These types of online retailers allow you to buy the film without having to enter a brick-and-mortar retailer.

With that being said, online retailers will often not provide you with discounts for ordering larger quantities of stretch film as some packaging distributors and manufacturers will.

Do You Want To Buy Biodegradable Stretch Film?

Suppose you are looking to purchase biodegradable stretch film. In that case, Industrial Packaging may be the right biodegradable stretch film vendor for your needs.

If you want to learn more about biodegradable stretch film or place an order, please contact one of our packaging experts.

They will be able to answer any further questions about biodegradable stretch film and provide you with pricing for the quantity of film you are looking to purchase.