How to Wrap Sustainably

 

Plastic stretch film is an integral material for proper pallet load containment due to its properties. As it is a necessary plastic with no renewable material alternatives it can therefore not be phased out as per outlined within APCO's 2025 Sustainability Targets. Instead, plastic stretch film consumption can be managed by reducing the amount used and recycling at the end of use.

Reduce

Reducing the amount of stretch film used reduces plastic waste and the cost of wrapping a pallet. Stretch film can be reduced by evaluating pallet load containment and investing in innovative & sustainable film products. 

Recycle

Stretch films made from virgin LLDPE resin or those containing a recycled blend are 100% recyclable under the recycling code LLDPE (4) (unless otherwise specified). Used stretch film can be recycled through soft plastic recyclers that accept post-industrial and post-consumer plastics.

Sustainable Stretch Film Guide

With a push for environmentally sustainable products to be at the forefront of business agenda, it is important to understand what options are available and how to select what is right for your business.  FROMM has put together a short guide on current sustainable stretch film options.

Waste Minimisation

Recycled Content

Biodegradable   

Waste Minimisation 

 

✅ Invest in reduced plastic films

Investing in stretch films with low gauge and reduced widths can greatly reduce one-way plastic use.  When used, these films can save users up to 40% in plastic stretch film reductions without affecting the integrity of the wrapped pallet.  Reduced plastic hand films offer additional benefits as they are super lightweight compared to regular hand films. They are easy to use allowing anyone in the warehouse to wrap a pallet.

Options to look for include:

Hand Applications - 400 mm reduce width or low gauge 12 ɥm stretch films

Machine Applications - High performance 12 or 16 ɥm stretch films

✅ Evaluate film usage

In many cases customers use more stretch film than required to secure a pallet.  Reviewing and testing pallet load containment through a packaging supplier can determine the optimal amount of stretch film needed to secure a pallet.  Testing is also recommended when considering sustainable stretch films as to ensure pallet load containment can be achieved with reduced plastic.

Recycled Content

Developments in reusing pre and post-consumer plastic (PCR) waste for stretch film manufacturing are the latest advancements for sustainable stretch film.  Standard stretch film is currently manufactured from 100% virgin LLDPE (4) resin.   New sustainable films are a 30:70 blend of PCR content & virgin resin.  These materials do not yet have the same clarity as virgin resin alone and may appear grey.

When looking into recycled content film, make sure to check the origin of the recycled content and the % claims. 

✅ Pre-Consumer Recycled Content

Pre-consumer or post-industrial content is waste recovered after the manufacturing stage. These materials do not include "rework, regrind, or scrap generated in a process and being reincorporated in the same process that generated it." - Circular Plastics Alliance, 2021

✅ Post-Consumer Recycled Content

Post-Consumer Recycled Content is derived from general household waste collection e.g. plastic LLDPE shopping bags. These collected plastics are sorted, washed, and re-granulated into resin. 

Biodegradable

 

❌ These films are not sustainable nor recommended.

Biodegradable films contain additives that cause plastic to breakdown rapidly into small fragments known as micro plastics. Micro plastics remain in the environment almost indefinitely and are illegal in many countries.  All biodegradable films therefore should be treated with extreme caution.

Frequently Asked Questions

Recent Installations & Case Studies