Atlantic Poly Blog

Myth #1: Plastic bag bans are spreading like wildfire across the country.

Fact: No. In fact, plastic bags have not been banned anywhere. San Francisco is requiring that consumers use compostable plastic bags instead of 100% recyclable bags. Contrary to popular belief, there is a growing movement to increase access to recycle plastic bags – not eliminate them. New Jersey, Connecticut, and cities in California have all taken recent action to table legislation that would ban certain types of plastic bags and instead are now looking to implement plastic bag recycling programs.

Myth #2: Paper grocery bags are a better environmental choice than plastic grocery bags.

Fact: Plastic bags are 100% recyclable and for all environmental impacts related to air emissions, water emissions and solid waste – those of paper bags are significantly greater than that of plastic grocery bags:

• Plastic bags use 40% less energy to produce and generate 80% less solid waste than paper
• Paper bags generate 70% more emissions, and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags.
• Even paper bags made from 100% recycled fiber use more fossil fuels than plastic bags

Myth #3: Plastic bags are the largest component of landfills and the primary component of litter.

Fact: The item most frequently encountered in landfills is paper—on average, it accounts for more than 40% of a landfill's contents. Newspapers alone take up as much as 13% of landfill space.

Myth #4: Plastic grocery bags take 1,000 years to decompose in landfills.

Fact: Virtually nothing – not paper, food, plastic or even compostable or bio degradable products – decompose in today’s landfills, because they are actually designed to be as stable and dry as possible.

Myth #5: Plastic bags feed America’s addiction to oil.

Fact: Plastic bags are extraordinarily energy-efficient to manufacture. Less than .05% of a barrel of oil goes into making all the plastic bags used in the US while 93% - 95% of every barrel of crude oil is burned for fuel and heating purposes. Plastic bags actually consume less fossil fuels during their lifetime than do compostable plastic and paper bags.

Myth #6: Compostable plastic bags can degrade in backyard composts.

Fact: In order to breakdown, compostable bags must be sent to an industrial composting facility, not backyard piles or municipal composting centers. There are very few of these facilities in the U.S. and where these facilities are not available, compostable bags will sit in landfills because they can’t be recycled.

Myth #7: For people who live near water, paper bags are the environmentally friendly choice to protect marine wildlife.

Fact: Since paper bag production has more negative environmental impacts related to air emissions, water emissions and solid waste than plastic grocery bags, they’re not a solution.

Myth #8: Low recycling rates for plastic bags prove recycling them doesn’t work.

Fact: Recycling does work. The problem is not everyone knows that plastic grocery bags are 100% recyclable and not everyone has access to plastic bag recycling in their community. A national at-store plastic bag recycling program would bring the recycling solution to everyone and increase rates.

Myth #9: Recycling plastic bags is too expensive.

Fact: The price of not recycling them is high. Recycling can help save resources and minimize the amount of waste going to landfills. Also, recycling helps reduce litter, as bags are contained and stored. It’s worth noting that it takes 91% less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than it takes to recycle a pound of paper.

Myth #10: There’s no demand for recycled plastic.

Fact: Today there is a growing market for recycled plastic that didn’t exist 15 years ago. It’s also cheaper now to use recycled plastic than to obtain new materials, increasing potential for more recycling of used plastic bags. Recycled plastic grocery and shopping bags are currently being made into new consumer products such as clean new plastic shopping bags, outdoor decking and railing products.

Contact Atlantic Poly for information plastic bags and plastics product.

plasticsindustry.org

In today’s economy companies have to be even more conscientious about improving their bottom line. This means making better buying decisions, better labor decisions and perhaps cutting some corners.  However, did you know that you can also cut back when it comes to trash disposal and waste collection?

Most companies pay per pickup and what they pay depends on how much waste is picked up. It is very important for companies to cut down on their waste. Atlantic Poly, a plastic bag and products company in MA, can help your business cut back and cut items out of your waste stream.

Atlantic Poly can help your business with its recycling efforts:

• Help your company's bottom line
• Help the environment
• Reduce your waste disposal costs
• Possible tax benefits for recycling material

Not only does this help your bottom line, it also helps your business become more socially responsible. And your company can take advantage of this in its marketing efforts. Potential customers like to purchase from companies that have a sense of social responsibility, that are cutting down on their carbon footprint, and that recycle.

If you are disposing of plastic materials in your business including: stretch film, pallet wrap, poly bags, poly films, or LDPE and HDPE, we can help you save your business money.  Atlantic Poly will take this would-be waste and turn it into usable American made plastics products such as plastic bags and roll-off dumpster liners.

For more information, contact Atlantic Poly.

There are many industries and sectors that can make use of plastic name badge holders: students and school visitors, teachers and professors, sales representatives and company and municipal employees. Name badges can be used for security and medical clearance and in the biotech industry or companies with government contracts ID badges are a must. Plastic ID holders are also ideal for temporary workers, contractors or class trips.

Vinyl name badges keep work, government, medical and school environments safe and secure. They are reusable which cuts down on waste as well. The ID pouch is made out of vinyl with pins, clips, lanyards so they can stay attached to employees. For added convenience they come in all shapes, sizes, colors and orientations.

There is an added benefit to plastic ID badges, use them to promote your brand while you are identifying attendees, employees or staff. Secure ID cards and ID badges can ensure enhanced security and integrity of a work place or school.

For more information on vinyl ID badge holders, contact Atlantic Poly.

Online sales are increasing. As time becomes more of a rare commodity, more and more consumers are ordering products online.  For businesses who ship goods, the cost of packaging materials becomes a concern when trying to manage the bottom line.

But it is not just the quality of the shipping materials that is of concern. Being sure that your product is well protected during shipping is imperative. Returns and re-shipments can also add up if products arrive damaged.

Numerous markets and industries ship ships products and materials and those that do require bulk shipping materials like bubble wrap, packing slips, corrugated boxes and stretch film. For items that require strict shipping requirements, for fagile items and for high cost electronics, the product range of the packing materials from Atlantic Poly cover all your businesses shipping needs.

Our Shipping Materials includes:

Packing List Envelopes
Packing List Envelopes protect invoices, shipping lists and other documents. Clear pouches on packing list envelopes allow them to be read easily. Other packing pouches with a full face keep contents confidential. Pressure-sensitive envelopes and labels attach easily and securely to the mailing containers.

Tapes
Masking Tape performs incredibly in temperatures up to 200ºF.  We also offer Non-Asphaltic Sealing Tape is water activated tape which is reinforced with glass fibers that adds structural strength and stability.  Plastic Sealing Tape is perfect for sealing cartons and is available in clear or tan. Glass Filament Tape provides the strength of steel strapping.

Bubble Pack
Bubble Wrap provides protection for fragile items or electronics. It protects against shock, vibration or abrasion. Bubble Wrap is easy to use and reduces packaging time and labor. It comes in rolls, bags, sheets, dispenser packs or as anti-static. Bubble bags can be customized for all sizes and weights.

Packing List Envelopes 
Packing List Envelopes protect invoices, shipping lists and other documents.

Pressure Sensitive Labels
We stock more than 365 different types of pressure sensitive labels. We offer 500 labels per roll.

To contact Atlantic Poly for quotes or information on packing supplies, click “packing materials”.

Basically, dumpster liners are massive garbage bags. Of course they are a bit more complicated than that, they differ in size, color, thickness and uses. Different companies have different needs that demand different dumpster liner requirements.

Dumpster liners are the easiest most versatile solution for every industry in order to provide an extra level of protection for hazardous waste or to just better contain waste.  Concrete companies, asbestos abatement companies, environmental service companies and many more rely on roll-off dumpster liners to contain materials which may be harmful to people or the environment.

Roll-off dumpster liners have many purposes. Mainly they offer protections against damaging spills, seepage and overflow. The dumpster liners shorten clean up time by keeping waste more easily contained.

Because dumpster liners act as a barrier between a dumpster and its contents, they must need to be made in various gauges to maintain integrity and protect from contamination. Dumpster liners also reduce potential leakage, lower wash-out costs and increase dumpster longevity.  They are naturally resistant to water, oil, grease, and most chemicals, and they are designed to resist punctures, tears and abrasions.  For a quote, contact Atlantic Poly.

Are grocery bags made other materials such as paper or compostable plastics really better for the environment than traditional plastic grocery bags? There is no conclusive evidence supporting the argument that banning single use plastic bags in favor of paper bags will reduce litter, decrease the country’s dependence on oil, or lower the quantities of solid waste going to landfills. In addition, there is limited information on the environmental attributes of compostable plastics and how they fare against traditional plastic grocery bags or paper bags.

So, in order to glean information on the environmental impacts of grocery bags, the Progressive Bag Alliance contracted with Boustead Consulting & Associates (BCAL) to conduct a life cycle assessment on three types of grocery bags:

• a traditional grocery bag made from polyethylene,
• a grocery bag made from compostable plastics (a blend of 65% EcoFlex, 10% polylactic acid or PLA, and 25% calcium carbonate),
• and a paper grocery bag made using at least 30% recycled fibers.

The life cycle assessment factored in every step of the manufacturing, distribution, and disposal stages of these grocery bags.

The results show that single use plastic bags made from polyethylene have many advantages over both compostable plastic bags and paper bags made with a minimum of 30% recycled fiber.

When compared to 30% recycled fiber paper bags, polyethylene grocery bags use less energy in terms of fuels for manufacturing, less oil, and less potable water. In addition, polyethylene plastic grocery bags emit fewer global warming gases, less acid rain emissions, and less solid wastes. The same exists when comparing the typical polyethylene grocery bag to grocery bags made with compostable plastic resins— traditional plastic grocery bags use less energy in terms of fuels for manufacturing, less oil, and less potable water, and emit fewer global warming gases, less acid rain emissions, and less solid wastes.

The findings of this study were peer reviewed by an independent third party to ensure that the results are reliable and repeatable. The results support the conclusion that any decision to ban traditional polyethylene plastic grocery bags in favor of bags made from alternative materials will result in a significant increase in environmental impacts across a number of categories from global warming effects to the use of precious potable water resources. As a result, consumers should re-evaluate decisions to use or ban traditional plastic grocery bags, as the unintended consequences can be significant and long-lasting.

For more information on plastic grocery bags, contact Atlantic Poly, a plastic bag and products company in MA.

Information - http://static.reuseit.com/PDFs/Boustead%20Associates.pdf

At Atlantic Poly we offer a wide range of packaging. Shrink wrap is a safe, secure and easy way to ship and store. Our film supplies include:

Stretch Film is not a very expensive protective plastic wrap which can be used on all kinds of materials including machinery, chemicals, palatalized items, and furniture.  Stretch film stretches to wrap around objects tightly, it does not require heat to secure it.

Hand Held Film has super tight wrap which reduces separation during shipping and increases security against pilferage. This film is wrapped by hand and does not require extra machinery.

Machine wrap is used for the same types of applications. However, machine wrap may be used for companies that use more film or shrink wrap.

Pallet Stretch Wrap protects materials and products from dirt, moisture and theft.

We also carry options of discount shrink film for a more economical option.

We can help you choose the best film for your application. If you want to improve your packaging costs, or if you are a company that needs to cut down on product breakage or pilfering, our packaging films are the perfect option to bring down costs.
 
Regardless of if you need hand stretch wrap or pallet wrap for a larger operation, our stretch films are what companies use and trust which are puncture resistant and can retain very heavy loads with outstanding tear resistance with superior stretch and cling.

For great quality and great value on film packaging, contact Atlantic Poly.

With the completion out there today, it is important that you build your reputation through everything you do..and don’t do. As a construction company, when you DON’T leave a mess, your customers love you.  Surface protection and dust barriers can help build your reputation and therefore your referral business. Dust is part of the deal during home remodeling, home additions, or when refinishing hardwood floors.
 
Remodeling projects, whether commercial or residential, bring with them stress. As a contractor, you can lower that stress by keeping the remodeling environment clean with floor and carpet protection and dust barriers. When you leave at the end of the day, and your workspace is as clean as when you arrive, you clients are happy. They tell their friends.

It is important that the sites in which you work remain clean and organized for the owners. Leaving the site useable for the owners makes a great impression and dust barriers and floor surface protection is the way to do it.

Want to increase your business? With plastic, disposable surface protection products from Atlantic Poly, you can keep your clients happy by protecting their carpets and floors.  For more information, contact us.

If you deal in plastics or need them in your business, there are some terms you will need to know. Over the last few blog posts, Atlantic Poly, a plastic bag and products company in MA, has been  acquainting you with some of the more necessary plastics terms. Here are the last few...

Pellets: Tablets of uniform size, consisting of resins or mixtures of resins with compounding additives which have been prepared for molding operations by shaping in a pelletizing machine or by extrusion and chopping into short segments.

Perforating: Processes by which plastic film or sheeting is provided with holes ranging from relatively large diameters for decorative effects (by means of punching or clicking) to very small, even invisible, sizes. The latter are attained by passing the material between rollers or plates, one of which is equipped with closely spaced fine needles or by spark erosion.

Permeation: The passage or diffusion of a gas, vapor, liquid, or solid through a barrier without physically or chemically affecting it.

Permeability: Permeability is the property of a material, i.e. the degree to which it allows permeation to occur.

Photodegradation: Degradation of plastics due to the action of light. Most plastics tend to absorb high-energy radiation in the ultraviolet portion of the spectrum, which results in the formation of free radicals and causes oxidation, cleavage, and other degradative reactions.

Polyethylene: A family of resins obtained by polymerizing the gas ethylene.

Polymer Process Aid (PPA): Additives incorporated into plastics as a modifier to aid in the extrusion of film, pipe, sheet, etc.

Polymerization: A chemical reaction in which the molecules of a simple substance (monomer) are linked together to form large molecules whose molecular weight is a multiple of that of the monomer.

Polyolefins: The class of polymers made by polymerizing relatively simple olefins, including ethylene, propylene, butenes, isoprenes, and pentenes.

Polypropylene: A tough, lightweight, rigid plastic made by the polymerization of high-purity propylene gas in the presence of an organometallic catalyst at relatively low pressures and temperatures.

Pressure Roll: In extrusion coating, a roll used to apply pressure to consolidate the substrate and the plastic film with which it has been coated.

Random Copolymer: A copolymer consisting of alternating segments of two monomeric units of random distribution, including single molecules.

Reinforced Plastics: Molded, formed, filament wound, or shaped plastic parts consisting of resins to which reinforcing fibers, mats, fabrics, etc., have been added before the forming operation. Strength properties are improved.

Resin: An organic substance of natural or synthetic origin characterized by being polymeric in nature.

Screen: Woven metal screens are installed across the flow of plastic in an extruder. They are located between the tip of the screw and the die. Supported by a breaker plate, the screens strain out contaminants and increase back pressure.

Sheeting: Sheets are distinguished from films in the plastics and packaging industry only according to the thickness. A web under 10 mils (.010 inch) thick is usually called a film, whereas a web 10 mils and over in thickness is usually called a sheet. Sheeting is most commonly made by extrusion, casting, and calendering.

Shelf Life: The length of time over which a product will remain fit for use during storage under specific conditions.

Silica: Naturally occurring silica occurs in deposits which are 99 percent silicon dioxide. The hardness provides both mechanical strength and abrasion resistance. Silica's are an economical extender-filler which is thermally stable, pure, low in ionic impurities, and hard. They are often used as antiblocking agents in polyolefin's.

Slip Agent: Provides surface lubrication following the processing of plastics. Compounded into the plastic, the additive gradually migrates to the surface where it reduces the coefficient of friction. Slitting: THe conversion of a given width of plastic film, tube, or sheeting to several various widths by means of knives.

Specific Gravity: The ratio of weight of a given volume of a substance to that of an equal volume of water at the same temperature. The temperature selected varies among industries, 15°C (60°F) being the usual standard.

Specific Heat: THe amount of heat required to raise a specified mass by one unit of a specified temperature, usually expressed as Btu/lb/°F. or cal/g/°C.

Stabilizer: Ingredient used in the formulation of some polymers to assist in maintaining the physical and chemical properties of the compounded materials, for example, heat and UV stabilizers.

Static Eliminators: Mechanical devices for removing electrical static charges from plastic articles. Types of static eliminators include static bars, ionizing blowers, and air guns.

Stearamide: A slip additive used in polyolefin's.

Strain: In tensile testing, the ratio of the elongation to the gauge length of the test specimen, that is, the change in length per unit of original length.

Stress: The force producing or tending to produce deformation divided by the area over which the force is applied.

Surface Tension: A fluid in contact with a surface exhibits phenomena, due to molecular attractions, which appears to arise from a tension in the surface of the fluid. It may be expressed as dynes per centimeter or as ergs per square centimeter.

Tack: The stickiness of an adhesive, measurable as the force required to separate an adherent from it by viscous or plastic flow of the adhesive.

Tackifier: A substance such as a resin ester which is added to synthetic resins or elastomeric adhesives to improve the initial and extended tackiness of the film.

Talc: A natural hydrous magnesium silicate, used frequently as a filler such as steatite, talcum, mineral graphite.

Tear Resistance: Resistance of a material to a force acting to initiate and then propagate a failure at the edge of a test specimen.

Tensile Strength: The maximum tensile stress sustained by the specimen before failure in a tension test. Usually expressed in pounds per square inch or megapascals. The cross-sectional area used is that of the original specimen, not at the point of rupture.

Thermoforming: The process of forming a thermoplastic sheet into a three-dimensional shape by clamping the sheet in a frame, heating it to render it soft, then applying differential pressure to make the sheet conform to the shape of a mold or die positioned below the frame.

Thermoplastics: Resins or plastic compounds which, in their final state as finished articles, are capable of being repeatedly softened by an increase of temperature and hardened by a decrease of temperature.

Thermosets: Resins or plastic compounds which in their final state as finished articles are substantially infusible and insoluble.

Titanium Dioxide: A white powder available in two crystalline forms, the anatase and rutile types.

Transition Temperature: The temperature at which a polymer changes from (or to) a viscous or rubbery condition to (or from) a hard and relatively brittle one.

Treater: Equipment and process used to render a surface of inert plastics, such as polyethylene, more receptive to inks, adhesives, or coatings.

Vapor Barrier: A layer of material through which water vapor will not pass.

Vicat Softening Point: The temperature at which a flat-ended needle of 1 square millimeter circular or square cross section will penetrate a thermoplastic specimen to a depth of 1 mm under a specified load using a uniform rate of temperature rise. (ASTM D-1525-58T).

Virgin Material: Any plastic compound or resin that has not been subjected to use or processing other than that required for its original manufacture.

Viscosity: The measure of the resistance of a fluid to flow (either through a specific orifice or in a rotational viscometer).

Wrinkle: A surface imperfection in plastic films that has the appearance of a crease or wrinkle.

Yellowness Index: A measure of the tendency of plastics to turn yellow upon long-term exposure to light or heat.

For anything plastic related, contact Atlantic Poly.

If you deal in plastics or need them in your business, there are some terms you will need to know. Over the next few blog posts, Atlantic Poly, a plastic bag and products company in MA, would like to acquaint you with some of the more necessary plastics terms. The last two weeks we listed some of the terms, here are  few more...

Foam: Process for producing plastic sheet or molded article with a cellular construction. Either a chemical or gaseous blowing agent is introduced into the polymer melt while the melt is being prepared in the extruder barrel. As the plastic melt exits the die, it expands a predetermined amount forming a cellular wall.

Film: Sheet material having a nominal thickness not greater than 10 mil.

Flame Retardant: Reactive compounds and additive compounds to render a polymer fire resistant. Reactive compounds become an integral part of the polymer.

Gauge: Thickness of plastic film measured in decimal inches or mils.

Gel: Small globular mass which as not blended completely into the surrounding material resulting in a fault in the film or sheet.

Glass Transition Temperature: The temperature at which a reversible change occurs in an amorphous polymer when it is heated to a certain temperature and undergoes a rather sudden transition from a hard, glassy, or brittle condition to a flexible or elastomeric condition.

Gloss: Brightness or luster of a plastic resulting from a smooth surface.

Gravure Printing: The depressions in an engraved printing cylinder or plate are filled with ink, the excess raised portions being wiped off by a doctor blade. Ink remaining in the depressions is deposited on the plastic film or other substrates as it passes between the gravure roll and resilient back-up roll.

Haze: Cloudiness in plastic film. Measured as percent haze, anything below 5 percent is generally considered high clarity.

Heat Sealing: The process of joining two or more thermoplastic films or sheets by heating areas in contact with each other to the temperature at which fusion occurs, usually aided by pressure.

High-Density Polyethylene: This term is generally considered to include polyethylene's ranging in density from about 0.940 to 0.960 and over.

Homopolymer: The result of the polymerization of a single monomer, a homopolymer consists of a single type of repeating unit.

Jfold: Folding of a film along the length to obtain a two layered product with one layer wider than the other.

Lamination: Bonding of a polymeric or non-polymeric substrate to a polymeric film using heat and pressure.

Linear Polymer: A polymer in which the monomeric units are linked together in linear fashion with little or no long chain branching. Examples are linear low-density polyethylene and high-density polyethylene.

Linear Low-Density Polyethylene: Includes polyethylene's ranging in density from 0.915 to 0.935.

Low-Density Polyethylene: This term is generally considered to include polyethylene's ranging in density from about 0.915 to 0.925. In low density polyethylene's, the ethylene monomeric units are linked in random fashion, with the main chains having long and short side branches. This branching prevents the formation of a closely knit pattern, resulting in material that is relatively soft, flexible and tough, and which will withstand moderate heat.

Masterbatch: A concentrated blend of pigment, additives, filler, etc. in a base polymer.

Melt Fracture: Is a phenomenon of melt extrudate in which the surface appears rough or wavy upon exit from the die. Melt fracture may appear uniformly or in certain sections only.

Melt Index: The number of grams, of a thermoplastic resin which can be forced through a 0.0825 inch orifice when subjected to 2160 grams force in 10 minutes at 190°C.

Melting Point: The temperature at which a resin changes from a solid to a liquid.

Modulus of Elasticity: The ratio of stress to strain below the yield point of the material.

Molecular Weight (MW): The sum of the atomic weights of all atoms in a molecule.

Molecular Weight Distribution (MWD): The relative amounts of polymers of different molecular weights (MW) that make up a specific polymer.

Mono layer: A homogenous film formed by pumping molten polymer from an extruder through a die assembly to form a film or sheet.

Neck-In: In extrusion coating, the difference between the width of the extrusion die opening and the width of the coating on the substrate.

Nip: The V-shaped gap between a pair of calender rolls where incoming material is nipped and drawn between the rolls.

Octene: A comonomer used in the production of linear low-density polyethylene's.

Offset Printing: A printing process in which the image to be printed is first applied to an intermediate carrier such as a roll or plate, then is transferred to a plastic film or molded article.

Oleamide: An ivory-colored powder used as a slip additive in polyolefin's.

Orange Peel: An uneven surface texture of a plastic article or its finished coating somewhat resembling the surface of an orange, see Melt Fracture.

For information on any plastic products, contact Atlantic Poly.