Biodegradable Ireland - for bags that don't cost the earth

Welcome to Biodegradable.ie - the website from Polybags UK dedicated to Irish customers who want to do their bit for the environment.

As the UK's number one manufacturer of polythene packaging and eco-friendly alternatives, Polybags has a marketing-leading range of green packaging, including compostable and biodegradable ranges, plus products made from 100% recycled material and carbon-neutral, renewable bioplastic.

Whether you're looking for compostable carrier bags, 100% recycled mailing bags or carbon-neutral packing bags, you'll find all the eco-products you need at Polybags.

We offer fast delivery to Ireland plus no VAT and great savings on bulk orders for Irish customers.

Buy in pounds, save in Euros - with a big buy-in-bulk bonus

With Sterling's weakness in the currency market, your Euros go further, so you can buy in pounds and save in Euros!

New customs regulations and increased courier costs mean that small orders do cost a little more post-Brexit, but Polybags' Irish customers who buy in bulk can still take advantage of free delivery to Ireland.

All orders over £180 come with fast and free delivery - add to that the favourable exchange rate and you've got yourself a bulk-buy packaging bargain!

Our green credentials

Polybags take environmental matters very seriously. As a responsible packaging manufacturer, we understand the responsibility we have as a company, both to our environment and to the generations who will inhabit our planet in the future.

We manufacture a huge range of eco-friendly packaging that minimises environmental impact, whilst still enabling you to get the job done with the minimum of fuss, including a wide range of fully compostable products made from natural, starch-based bio-polymers.

We operate a 100%-recycling principle, with manufacturing processes designed to minimise waste wherever possible. We collect all waste in-house and use it to make new products, unless doing so is less energy-efficient than disposing of it.

Our eco-packaging range is expanding all the time, with our compostable, biodegradable and 100%-recycled ranges now accompanied by many products made from renewable material and our innovative I'm Green carbon-neutral range.

Latest news and views on biodegradable packaging

Are compostable bags in reality helping the environment?

Foodstuffs sustainability manager Mike Sammons? said compostable bags would not be manufactured on offer in its supermarkets, as they were not the optimal outcome for the United Kingdom environment.

Bio-degradable bags t shirt bags

Compostable bags/ 100% bio-degradable bags:

What A Novice Needs To Know About Numi Organic Tea Aged Earl Grey, (Pack of 3) 18 Bags Per Box (Packaging May Vary), Premium Organic Black Tea Naturally Aged w/ British Bergamot to Absorb Flavour, Non-GMO Biodegradable Bags, Bagged?

Dies the thou Numi Organic Tea Aged Earl Grey, (Pack of 3) 18 Bags Per Box (Packaging May Vary), Premium Organic Black Tea Naturally Aged w/ British Bergamot to Absorb Flavour, Non-GMO Biodegradable Bags, Bagged the Numi Organic Tea Aged Earl Grey, (Pack of 3) 18 Bags Per Box (Packaging May Vary), Premium Organic Black Tea Naturally Aged w/ British Bergamot to Absorb Flavour, Non-GMO Biodegradable Bags, Bagged to make your home see better scare you? Hopefully, you now know enough to feel adequate with the process. Consider the tips presented here anytime you come by a need for a new Numi Organic Tea Aged Earl Grey, (Pack of 3) 18 Bags Per Box (Packaging May Vary), Premium Organic Black Tea Naturally Aged w/ British Bergamot to Absorb Flavour, Non-GMO Biodegradable Bags, Bagged part.

First Mile and Vegware team up to stop compostable packaging ending up in landfill

That is because compostable packaging commonly has to be composted down at an industrial facility, and the UK has small of the infrastructure required to collect and transport this new waste stream to composting sites.

Global Biodegradable Packaging Market: Imperative Points

The report provides global biodegradable packaging market segmentation based on the product type, stop-user applications, and global regions. The report offers an analysis of individual market segments from 2016 to 2018 and forecast from 2019 to 2025. The Biodegradable Packaging Market Shares of each segment are calculated in the form of revenue (USD million) and growth rate (CAGR).

Global Food Biodegradable Packaging Market Research Report 2018

Chapter One Food Biodegradable Packaging Industry Overview 1.1 Food Biodegradable Packaging Definition 1.2 Food Biodegradable Packaging Classification Analysis 1.2.1 Food Biodegradable Packaging Main Classification Analysis 1.2.2 Food Biodegradable Packaging Main Classification Share Analysis 1.3 Food Biodegradable Packaging Application Analysis 1.3.1 Food Biodegradable Packaging Main Application Analysis 1.3.2 Food Biodegradable Packaging Main Application Share Analysis 1.4 Food Biodegradable Packaging Industry Chain Structure Analysis 1.5 Food Biodegradable Packaging Industry Development Overview 1.5.1 Food Biodegradable Packaging Product History Development Overview 1.5.1 Food Biodegradable Packaging Product Market Development Overview 1.6 Food Biodegradable Packaging Global Market Comparison Analysis 1.6.1 Food Biodegradable Packaging Global Import Market Analysis 1.6.2 Food Biodegradable Packaging Global Export Market Analysis 1.6.3 Food Biodegradable Packaging Global Main Region Market Analysis 1.6.4 Food Biodegradable Packaging Global Market Comparison Analysis 1.6.5 Food Biodegradable Packaging Global Market Development Trend Analysis

You can put things straight into the green bin. You can wrap food waste in newspaper or put it in a paper bag. Please do not use biobags or corn starch bags. These do not smash down fast enough and reduce the quality of the compost manufactured. Your bin could also be refused assortment. More information on how the compost is manufactured can be found on RECAP's website. You can come by out your bin assortment days onour bin assortment day page .

The Truth About Biodegradable Plastic Packaging

Biodegradable plastics mean the material can be broken down by bacteria or other organisms. There are two types of biodegradable plastics, plant-based or petrochemical-based. The petrochemical plastics have additives that assist them degrade above time.

Based on application, the market is segmented into food & beverage, healthcare, special care, and the rest. Personal care and elegance companies have been utilising green packaging in order to make packaging more sustainable. Moreover, green packaging retains the special care product stay fresh for a long time with an extended shelf-life. These factours have propelled the special care green packaging market to big heights. The food and beverage packaging segment has a significant share in Eco Packaging market owing to high demand for dairy products. Also, increasing demand for raw milk, yogurt, cheese, and other dairy products accelerates the growth of this segment in the global market.

Why degradable or biodegradable packaging?

Biodegradation is the process by which organic substances are broken down by the enzymes produced by living organisms.

The website Packagingknowledge.com states: "Conventional plastics do not break down. Litter and landfill waste may take years to degrade. Another problem with ordinary plastics is that anything contained within them may not reach their full degradation potential. This results in a needless waste of valuable landfill space."

Based on the material used, bioplastics can take varying lengths of time to totally compost, but usually biodegrade up to 60% within 90 to 180 days. It is also important to know the differences between degradable, biodegradable and compostable.

Compostable

"Capable of undergoing biological decomposition in a compost site as part of an available program, such that the plastic is not visually distinguishable and breaks down to carbon dioxide, water, inorganic compounds, and biomass, at a rate consistent with known compostable materials (e.g. cellulose) and leaves no toxic residue." - American Society for Testing & Materials (ASTM).

So in order for a plastic to be called compostable it needs to meet three rules:

1. It needs to be able to biodegrade, i.e. it needs to break down into carbon dioxide, water and biomass at the same rate as cellulose (paper)
2. The material has to fully disintegrate, i.e. be indistinguishable in the compost
3. Eco-toxicity - the biodegradation must not produce any toxic material so that the compost can support plant growth

Biodegradable plastic

Biodegradable plastic is one which can be chemically degraded via natural effectors such as soil bacteria, weather, plants or animals.

Note that there is no requirement for leaving no toxic residue, as well as no requirement for the time it takes to biodegrade.

Degradable plastic

By definition, this term refers to a plastic film containing a controlled percentage of an appropriate non-toxic, non-tinting additive, which will enable the plastic film to totally degrade when exposed to aerobic or anaerobic conditions, including when disposed in a landfill or other regulated dumping area, and within such period of time as specified.

A plastic therefore may be degradable but not biodegradable or it may be biodegradable but not compostable, i.e. it breaks down too slowly to be called compostable or leaves toxic residue.