PRINTING ON PLASTIC BAGS

Darren Kincaid - Monday, January 25, 2010

All Atlantic Poly plastic bags are printed using a method called Flexographic Printing. Flexographic printing uses flexible rubber printing plates which are adhered to a cylinder. The inked plates with a slightly raised image are rotated on the cylinder and the image is transferred to the plastic sheet or bag. All of our inks are water based and are environmentally friendly. We can print up to 8 colors on 2 sides.

Printing on a poly bag obviously adds to the cost of the bag. We can imprint as few as 5000 bags but the cost is much higher because of the set-up. (We find that for cost optimization runs of 25,000 or more are more cost efficient)

There is an initial cost for plates but the customer maintains ownership of the plates. These plates are compatible with most printing presses.We also have several graphic designers available to help with the design of your bag.

Plastic Pricing Keeps Going Up!

Darren Kincaid - Wednesday, January 20, 2010

PRICING ON ITS WAY UP !!

We have been advised that our polyethylene resin suppliers have implemented their previously announced .05/lb increase which will go into affect on Feb. 1, 2010 (This brings the total resin increases implemented since January of last year to over .21/lb). Our suppliers are citing continued export volumes, extremely low inventories throughout the supply chain, high operating rates, and rising costs on feed stocks as the main reason for the increases. Please be assured we will continue to support our loyal customers and continue to minimize the impact that these increases have on your business.

Comparison of Oxo-Biodegradable and Hydro-Biodegradable Plastics

Darren Kincaid - Friday, January 15, 2010

See table summary below

Comparison of Oxo-Biodegradable and Hydro-Biodegradable Plastics

OXO	HYDRO
Usually made from a by-product of oil-refining	Usually made from starch
Can be recycled as part of a normal plastic waste-stream	Damages recyclate unless extracted from feedstock
Can be made from recyclate	Cannot be made from recyclate
Emits CO2 slowly while degrading	Emits CO2 rapidly while degrading
Inert deep in landfill	Emits methane deep in landfill
Can use same machinery and workforce as for conventional plastic	Needs special machinery and worforce
Suitable for use in high-speed machinery	Not suitable
Compostable in-vessel	Compostable
Little or no on-cost	Four or five times more expensive than conventional plastic
Same strength as conventional plastic	Weaker than conventional plastic
Same weight as conventional plastic	Thicker and Heavier
Leak-proof	Prone to leakage
Degrades anywhere on land or sea	Degrades only in high-microbial environment
Time to degrade can be set at manufacture	Cannot be controlled
No genetically modified ingredients	Possibility of GM ingredients
Safe for food contact	Safe for food contact
No PCB's Organo-chlorines, or "heavy metals"	No PCB's Organo-chlorines, or "heavy metals"
Can be incinerated with high energy-recovery	Can be incinerated, but lower calorific value
Production uses no fertilisers, pesticides or water	Production uses fertilisers, pesticides and water
No limit on availability of feedstock	Limited availability of feedstock
Demand for oxo-biodegradable plastics does not drive up cost of fuel for vehicles	Demand for hydro-biodegradable plastics drives up price of human and animal foodstuffs

Recylced Bags - What are they really?

Darren Kincaid - Saturday, January 09, 2010

RECYCLED BAGS

What is a recycled bag? Blending recycled resin with virgin resin creates a recycled content bag. There are currently no guidelines in place stating what a “decent” blend would be. Making a 100% recycled bag is not recommended because doing this would compromise the strength of the bag. Our recycled bags are normally mfg. from a 30/70 blend. (30% Recycled/70% Virgin) The recycled content can consist of one of two different types of feedstock…post industrial scrap**(See Below) or post consumer scrap.** In theory, a “recycled bag” should cost less than a “virgin grade bag” but, because of a fluctuating market this isn’t always the case. (The scrap still has to be processed, cleaned and mfg. into a usable form) Also, recycled bags tend to be cloudier and must be mfg. from at least .0015 thickness to maintain strength.

Customers have also inquired about printing the Recycling Logo on the bags. This can be done, and we do it for many of our customers but it does become a “custom” run and adds to the expense of the bag.

Post Industrial Scrap---Material collected primarily from Industrial and Manufacturing facilities. This material tends to be cleaner and of more consistent grade.
Post Consumer Scrap---Material collected primarily from the retail/consumer market. This material tends to be less clean and normally has to be put through a “washing” cycle which can lead to a more expensive end product.

BIOGEGRADABLE PLASTICS are not all equal or good for the environment

Darren Kincaid - Monday, January 04, 2010

BIOGEGRADABLE PLASTICS

Biodegradability is an issue we’ve been involved with for the past several years. We urge you to read the following paragraphs to better understand what it involves. Currently we run both types of biodegradable bags (Oxo or Hydro). There is a shelf life with these bags so we currently do not have a stocking program. Please contact us to help implement a “Green” program for your company.

Types of Biodegradable Plastics - It is important to distinguish between the different types of biodegradable plastic, as their costs and uses are very different. The two main types are oxo-biodegradable and hydro-biodegradable. In both cases degradation begins with a chemical process (oxidation and hydrolysis respectively), followed by a biological process. Both types emit CO2 as they degrade, but hydro-biodegradable can also emit methane. Both types are compostable, but only oxo-biodegradable can be economically recycled. Hydro-biodegradable is much more expensive than oxo-biodegradable.

OXO-BIODEGRADABLE PLASTIC - This new technology produces plastic which degrades by a process of OXO-degradation. The technology is based on a very small amount of pro-degradant additive being introduced into the manufacturing process, thereby changing the behaviour of the plastic. Degradation begins when the programmed service life is over (as controlled by the additive formulation) and the product is no longer required.

There is an additional cost involved in products made with this technology, which can be made with the same machinery and workforce as conventional plastic products.

The plastic does not just fragment, but will be consumed by bacteria and fungi after the additive has reduced the molecular structure to a level which permits living micro-organisms access to the carbon and hydrogen. It is therefore “biodegradable.” This process continues until the material has biodegraded to nothing more than CO2, water, and humus, and it does not leave fragments of petro-polymers in the soil. Oxo-biodegradable plastic passes all the usual ecotoxicity tests, including seed germination, plant growth and organism survival (daphnia, earthworms) tests carried out in accordance with ON S 2200 and ON S 2300 national standards.

The length of time it takes for oxo-biodegradable products to degrade can be ‘programmed’ at the time of manufacture and can be as little as a few months or as much as a few years. They are protected from degradation by special antioxidants until ready for use, and storage-life will be extended if the products are kept in cool, dark conditions.

Unlike PVC, the polymers from which oxo-biodegradable plastics are made do not contain organo-chlorine. Nor do oxo-biodegradable polymers contain PCBs, nor do they emit methane or nitrous oxide even under anaerobic conditions.

HYDRO-BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS - Hydro-biodegradation is initiated by hydrolysis. Some plastics in this category have a high starch content and it is sometimes said that this justifies the claim that they are made from renewable resources. However, many of them contain up to 50% of synthetic plastic derived from oil, and others (e.g. some aliphatic polyesters) are entirely based on oil-derived intermediates. Genetically-modified crops may also have been used in the manufacture of hydro-biodegradable plastics.

Hydro-biodegradable plastics are not genuinely “renewable” because the process of making them from crops is itself a significant user of fossil-fuel energy and a producer therefore of greenhouse gases. Fossil fuels are burned in the autoclaves used to ferment and polymerise material synthesized from biochemically produced intermediates (e.g. polylactic acid from carbohydrates etc); and by the agricultural machinery and road vehicles employed; also by the manufacture and transport of fertilizers and pesticides. They are sometimes described as made from “non-food” crops, but are in fact usually made from food crops.

A disproportionate amount of land would be required to produce sufficient raw material to replace conventional plastic products, and a huge amount of water, which is in such short supply in so many parts of the world.

Residues from some native starches can be seriously toxic; bitter cassava for example (tapioca) has a high level of hydro-cyanic glucoside present, which has to be removed by careful washing. During growth the plant is toxic to wildlife. Cassava is exhaustive of potash .

Three recent articles in the international press have drawn attention to the danger of using “renewable” resources derived from plants as a substitute for petroleum products. They focus on the use of corn and palm oil to make “biofuels” for motor vehicles, but the same danger arises from the use of corn and other agricultural products to make hydro-biodegradable plastics.

The International Herald Tribune wrote on 31st January 2007 “Just a few years ago politicians and green groups in the Netherlands were thrilled by the country’s adoption of “sustainable energy” by coaxing electricity plants to use biofuel. Spurred by government subsidies, energy companies designed generators that ran exclusively on this fuel, which in theory would be cleaner than fossil fuels because it is derived from plants.

Plastics made from crops, are up to 400% more expensive, they are not strong enough for use in high-speed machinery, and they emit methane (a powerful greenhouse gas) in landfill. Also, it is wrong to use land, water and fertilizers to grow crops for bioplastics and biofuels, which drives up the cost of food for the poorest people

Business Week 5 Feb 2007 edition “The rise in the price of corn that's hurting US pig farmers isn't caused by any big dip in the overall supply. In the U.S., last year's harvest was 10.5 billion bushels, the third-largest crop ever. But instead of going into the mouths of pigs or cattle or people, an increasing slice is being transformed into fuel for cars. The roughly 5 billion gallons of ethanol made in 2006 by 112 U.S. plants consumed nearly one-fifth of the corn crop.” US chicken producers are also being hit. The industry's feed costs are already up $1.5 billion per year. Ultimately, these increases will be passed on to consumers, and there could be dramatic inflation in food costs.
Oxo-bio plastics degrade in the upper layers of a landfill, but they are completely inert deeper in the landfill in the absence of oxygen. They do not emit methane at any stage.

Paper bags use 300% more energy to produce, they are bulky and heavy and are not strong enough, especially when wet. They will also emit methane in landfill.

Atlantic Poly Blog

PRINTING ON PLASTIC BAGS

Plastic Pricing Keeps Going Up!

Comparison of Oxo-Biodegradable and Hydro-Biodegradable Plastics

Recylced Bags - What are they really?

BIOGEGRADABLE PLASTICS are not all equal or good for the environment

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