Environmentally Friendly Polythene

Luke Whitehead (Business Development Manager)

Polystar Plastics Limited

Growing at an exponential rate, Polystar is a customer centric independently owned polythene manufacturer, who is committed to significant investment and a green product offering

Established over 25 years

Employing 200 people with a turnover of £29m.

21 extruders (Mono & COEX) and 11 conversion lines over 3 separate extrusion halls

Producing over 2500t of polythene per month.

Films ranging from 150mm to 7,500mm, 15mu to 250mu.

All products manufactured on site in Southampton.

Proud members of both the British Plastics Federation and Foodservice Packaging Association.

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Environmental Impact

We are focussed on green packaging solutions and dedicated to enhancing our product offering, that will have a positive environmental impact. We remain committed and focussed on all the key markets we serve and we will lead the way in ‘green’ film technology.

Going green is no longer an optional luxury of life choice; it is an essential responsibility that everyone must embrace.

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Polystar Exclusive Materials

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Tristar™

We have produced our exclusive Tristar™ material using a blend of advanced polymers. This co-extruded, lightweight polythene gives significant levels of strength to your plastic packaging whilst offering substantial cost savings against standard polythene materials.

This product has all the strength and versatility required and is used across our full product range.

Typically, by delivering the same strength from a thinner multi-layered product, Tristar™ can reduce the weight of your polythene consumption by 30% – leading to less plastic waste going into our landfill system and resulting in a reduction in client cost.

As well as saving up to 20% in financial costs, Tristar™ also significantly reduces your carbon footprint.

By using Tristar™ you’ll be saving money and the environment.

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Tristar™ Pros & Cons

Pros

• Less polythene going to landfill

• Benefit from yield per roll / more bags per pallet

• Lower unit cost

• Fully recyclable

Cons

• Material cost is higher

• Minimum order quantity (1 tonne)

• Customers will require trials, so not a “quick switch”

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Biofilm™

Biofilm™ is a bio-based material made from sugar cane. It’s the process of photosynthesis as the plant grows that makes this product carbon positive. The sugar cane actively captures CO₂ from the atmosphere, while at the same time releasing oxygen – making this material not just green, but proactively green.

Our exclusive Biofilm™ material can be chosen as an alternative option to standard polythene across our entire product range of bags, covers, tubes, films, wraps and shrink film, giving you a significantly greener, environmentally friendly option. It offers your company the opportunity to improve your green credentials, meet legislative requirements and deliver improved environmental solutions.

Using bio-polymers at a percentage of 60% in the recipe, can reduce CO₂ emissions to 0% even when you take into consideration the energy used for manufacturing and shipping.

FACT: Every 1 tonne of our Biofilm™ manufactured means that 2.5 tonnes of CO₂ has been captured from our atmosphere.

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Biofilm™ Pros & Cons

Pros

• Cheaper than Compostable – carbon neutral version approx. 30% more than conventional LDPE

• Contains all the same properties as standard oil derived polythene and hence no changes in performance/appearance/feel

• Very ‘hot’ currently and has been adopted by Coca Cola, Heinz, Lego, etc.

• Can be blended with conventional LDPE in order to mitigate cost increase

• Fully recyclable

Cons

• More expensive than Oxy-Degradable

• Still not Bio-Degradable

• Not a seamless switch - will require a material blend to be formulated and trialled

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WHAT DOES POST-CONSUMER WASTE MEAN?

Post-Consumer Waste is material that has served its intended purpose as a consumer item, and has then been separated from other material, which is to be disposed of.

Post-Consumer Waste has completed its life cycle as a consumer item and can now be recycled and reused.

WHY ADD IT TO POLYTHENE?

As part of its effort to tackle ongoing problems with litter and waste from single use plastic, the UK Government has announced that it intends to introduce new tax on plastic packaging that contains less than 30% recycled Post-Consumer Waste (PCW).

Post Consumer Waste

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PCWflex

Helping to remove the issue of single use packaging, our closed-loop manufacturing process keeps resources in use for as long as possible with a continuous round of recovery, recycling and reuse. These materials reduce the consumption of fossil fuels (used to produce virgin grade PE), they also dramatically reduce the amount of plastic packaging going to landfill, filling our oceans, and polluting the environment.

PCWflex films incorporate UK sourced Post-Consumer Waste (PCW) which has been collected, washed, shredded and re pelletised. This recycled polymer is then used to create the middle layer of a co-extruded film structure.

By using recipes that contain various amounts of recycled polymer, PCWflex technology delivers the same mechanical properties as virgin grade PE and can be applied across much of our range. Non-shrink films start at 30% but can contain up to 100% PCW polymers, and our shrink film recipe can include an impressive 50% PCW polymers without losing any of the functionality you would expect –whilst all still remaining 100% recyclable!

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PCWflex Pros & Cons

Pros

• Will meet government legislation requirements

• Closed loop system

• Removing single use plastic issues

• Fully recyclable

Cons

• More expensive than virgin material

• Not food grade

• Can cause discoloration of natural films

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Other Green Materials

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Compostable

Compostable bags are made of natural plant starch, and do not produce any toxic material. Compostable bags break down readily in a composting system through microbial activity to form compost.

Our compostable bags are all EN13432 accredited, can be made in any size (although the most common are 7 or 10 litre caddy liner, 25 litre bag and 80 litre sack), are available on a roll or loose in boxes, and can be fully printed with your logo and details

Although most flexible applications to date (with the exception of agricultural mulch film) have been centred on bags, the exigencies of environmental pressure have resulted in a widening usage of compostable films for other straight film applications. One such example is mailing films for magazines, newspapers and supplements/leaflets, where compostable films can now run on high-speed automatic machinery, without loss of productivity. Additional cost can be offset, to a degree, because the superior mechanical properties of compostable films allow the use of thinner films.

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Compostable Pros & Cons

Pros

• Can be composted in a home compost

• Will fully degrade away to ‘nothing’

• Generally recognised by most consumers as an environmentally friendly product

Cons

• Very expensive compared to standard polythene products

• Completely different to conventional polythene and so would require extensive trials

• Is cream/white in appearance and so unlikely product inside would be visible

• Often criticised for using food crops for packaging and so not ‘socially/morally friendly’

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Oxy-Biodegradable

Created by the inclusion of specialist additives that helps break down the molecular structure of the material, this is an environmentally friendly alternative to standard polythene film and bags.

Our Oxy Biodegradable film are designed to break down naturally making it easier to dispose of and eliminating the need for to recycle or take up space in landfill sites.

Over time, all standard plastic will eventually biodegrade, but this will take many decades. Our Oxy Biodegradable range means you can bin your waste, without thinking about harm caused to the environment.

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Oxy-Biodegradable Pros & Cons

Pros

• Cost effective: between 5- 7% price uplift

• Small addition rate required so your film blend will remain largely unchanged

• Very quick to implement as lead time for additive is roughly 2-3 days

Cons

• Not considered environmentally friendly by knowledgeable ‘environmentalists’ as it cannot be fed into the recycling stream due to its degrading nature

• Still using a scarce resource (oil) but now unable to recycle (or burn) and hence benefit from any re-use

• Likely to be banned in Europe within coming years

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In Conclusion

Polystar is a positive choice for environmentally friendly polythene. We value our customers, we make things easy, and we do what we say we will do.

We are a pro-active company always looking to surpass our customers expectations. If there are savings to be made, such as costing or re engineering, we are the first to bring them to the table. We pride ourselves on speed to market and will offer solutions immediately

We are environmentally conscious and are constantly working on new and improved “green” materials, and through in-house recycling we do everything we can to avoid sending waste polythene to landfill.

We have the capacity and supply stream to ensure consistent supply, and have a wealth of resource and management expertise ready to work alongside businesses such as yourselves.

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