Plastic bags

Buy environmental bags

Polybags Ltd. is an UK manufacturer and supplier of environmental bags. Having been on the market for over 45 years Polybags is a high quality plastic bag supplier. In these days is very important to look after the environment and for that Polybags offers biodegradable bags different sizes and shapes. Go and have a look at Polybags biodegradable bags.

As featured on PlasticBags.uk.com

Please visit environmentalbags.co.uk to know more about the environmental bags available at Polybags.

What are environmental bags

Environmental bags are made in such a way that its material can biodegrade which is a process by which organic substances are broken down by the enzymes produced by living organisms.

What environmental bags are made of?

Environmental bags can be made from many different sources and materials such as starch based polymers, polyesters (bacteria based polymers), starch or polyester blends, oxo-biodegradable polymers, photodegradable polymers and water-soluble polymers.

Biodegradable plastic bags

Biodegradable plastic bags quickly degrade when disposed of by the action of bacteria, these include kitchen waste and refuse bags, bin liners, carrier bags and standard bags. Degradable plastic bags instead degrade by the action of chemicals.

What is the difference between degradable and biodegradable?

Degradation is a process whereby very large molecules are broken into smaller molecules or fragments. Normally this process is aerobically, oxygen is incorporated into these molecular fragments. As the molecules of which the films consist become much smaller they become weak and likely to break as a result of oxidative degradation. Degradation can be caused (initiated) by heat, or exposure to UV light and is enhanced by mechanical stress.

Biodegradation is the process by which microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi or algae, convert materials into biomass, carbon dioxide and water.

There are two main differences between 'degradable' and 'biodegradable'. Firstly, heat, moisture and/or UV exposure most often causes the degradation of a degradable product, whereas microorganisms degrade a biodegradable product. Secondly, degradable products tend to take much longer to break down into carbon dioxide, biomass and water.

When degradable plastics break down into smaller molecules, eventually they will be small enough to be consumed by microorganisms and so biodegradation occurs. In essence then, all degradable films will eventually biodegrade but at different speeds.

Biodegradable or Biodegradeable?

Two words commonly misspelt: biodegradable and degradable as biodegradeable and degradeable(please take note yourself as some of our domains are actually misspelt!) .When written down these words often look like an incorrect spelling and have been known to be corrected to biodegradeable by some overzealous and missinformed editors.

Carrier bags, not so bad after all?

November 2011

Source: Independent

Unpublished Government research suggests the plastic carrier may not be an eco villain after all – but, surprisingly, even an unsung hero. Condemned by environmentalists and shunned by shoppers, the disposable plastic bag is supposed to be piling up in a shame-filled corner of retail history. But a draft report by the Environment Agency, obtained by the UK newspaper the Independent on Sunday, has found that ordinary high density polythene (HDPE) bags used by shops are actually greener than other supposedly low impact alternatives.

HDPE bags are, for each use, almost 200 times less damaging to the climate than the cotton hold-alls favoured by environmentalists, and have less than one third of the Co2 emissions than paper bags which are given out by retailers anxious to establish environmental credentials such as Primark.

The findings suggest that, in order to balance out the tiny impact of each lightweight plastic bag, consumers would have to use the same cotton bag every working day for a year, or use paper bags at least three times rather than putting them in the bin or recycling.

Most paper bags are used only once and one study assumed cotton bags were used only 51 times before being discarded, making them – according to this new report – worse than single-use plastic bags.

However, despite being commissioned in 2005 and scheduled for publication in 2007, the research has not been released to the public.

Officially, the Environment Agency says the report, Life Cycle Assessment of Supermarket Carrier Bags, by Dr Chris Edwards and Jonna Meyhoff Fry, is still being peer reviewed. However it was submitted to the peer review process “more than a year ago”. Despite the long peer review the Environment Agency does not have a date for its publication, except to say that it will be soon.

Plastic bags provide a useful diversion for industries like the motoring and aviation industry who are substantial polluters. By pointing at a plastic bag and shouting ‘witch!’ these industries and complicit governments can happily give the tax breaks needed to keep the modern voter driving everywhere except when they’re on holiday. The Consumer’s are happy too, they can get in their cars and drive to the airport to go on their long-haul holiday knowing that they’ve saved the environment by using a paper bag rather than a plastic bag when they bought their sun-screen. Maybe it’s time to let the cat out of the bag?

BBC News - All Tesco bags to be degradable

May 2006

Source: Environmental bags at Packagingknowledge.com

Supermarket giant Tesco has said all its carrier bags will be degradable from September. The bags break down in as little as 60 days into materials such as carbon dioxide and water with no harmful residue, unlike plastic bags. The firm hopes a billion fewer plastic bags a year will be used in a bid for it to be more environmentally-friendly. The Co-op first introduced degradable bags in 2002 and Sainsbury's have trialled compostable bags.

Innocent makes 100% recycled PET switch for all Smoothie bottles.

January 2008

The firm claimed a world first last September when it put four flavours: strawberry and banana; pomegranate, blueberry and acai; banana and coconut; and guavi, gogi and mango in fully recycled 250ml plastic packs.

Lib Dem MP takes on non-bottle plastics recycling

January 2008

Mike Hancock, MP for Portsmouth South, last week raised the issue of non-bottle plastics with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in the hope that it would "prompt the government to do something" about it.