RECYCLING LOOPS & other packaging terms

The purpose of a polymer recycling code is to identify the material used to make a piece of packaging for customers and recyclers.

Here is a straightforward illustration showing the loop that everyday goods like milk bottles are constructed of.

 

Some other phrases used in packaging explained...

 

Bagasee - is an agricultural sugarcane by-product plant-fibre used to produce durable meat trays and food containers. It is renewable, non-polluting and certified compostable. Centaur Packaging stock some bagasse products - see below some of these

Dinner Clam -  Snack Clam - Burger Clam

The ‘C’ in C-PET stands for ‘crystalline’. During manufacture, the crystalising process makes the material tolerant to temperature extremes. 

Below are some of these products Centaur Packaging stock

1litre Rectangular Container - Round Sauce Container - etc

Compostables - are packaging products that have been certified as compostable according to AS-4736 (Industrial Composting), AS-5810 (Home Composting) or similar standard. Its also assumed that a majority of consumers have access to an applicable composting system.  

Gloves - Cling Wrap

PLA - Polylactic Acid is a Bioplastic that is derived from renewable resources like cornstarch or sugar cane. PLA based plastic packaging can replace conventional plastic packaging where extremes of heat are not a factor. 

Single Wall White Cup - Cold Cup - etc

Recyclable - means that in a particular geographical area, at least 80% of the overall population has convenient access to a service that collects the packaging - which can be recovered and sorted in a stream where at least 70% of its weight can be recovered and recycled into another product

Sustainability - is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.