Comparing Biodegradable vs. Traditional Plastic Films 

Comparing Biodegradable vs. Traditional Plastic Films 

When you go to the store, you don’t typically give much thought to the packaging film or lidding that helps your purchases stay in their packaging. Many items you buy daily are wrapped and secured by plastic packaging films.. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the use of plastic packaging films has helped the food industry to reach new safety levels, but its continued use also has implications for the environment.

Traditional Plastic Films – Their Environmental Impact and Longevity

According to the Alexandria Engineering Journal, as of 2021, the plastics industry was generating 300 million tons of plastic annually, much of which is used only once and then discarded. This discarded plastic could take hundreds of thousands of years to decompose. When the severity of this issue became apparent to environmental scientists, attempts were made to degrade plastic packaging trash by water, fire, methane, or carbon dioxide.

An Overview of Biodegradable Packaging Films

The accumulating trash of non-degradable plastic has caused significant damage to water and the air in the areas where it is stored. Joint research from environmentalists and plastic film manufacturers resulted in the creation of several types of biodegradable packaging films. These new films can be composted or broken down. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, these biodegradable films have become a sustainable approach to non-degradable plastic films.

An Example of Biodegradable Films

RTG Films, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of packaging films, makes biodegradable films from organic materials, such as plants, including sugar cane and corn starch. The husks and leaves of corn cannot be used for food but can be converted into packaging materials to wrap merchandise. These biodegradable films are transparent, have no traces of petroleum, and are odor-free. After being removed from the packaging where they were placed, these films can be broken down into carbon dioxide and water after 90 days.

Key Differences Between Biodegradable and Traditional Plastics

The key differences between these different types of plastic include their composition. While biodegradable films are made from organic materials, traditional films are made from fossils and crude oils. Biodegradable films produce a smaller carbon footprint. At the end of their usefulness, biodegradable products are made to easily be broken down by sunlight, oxygen, and water.

How Biodegradable Films Break Down Compared to Traditional Plastics

When biodegradable films are made, enzymes are added to the surface of the films. When RTG Films makes their biodegradable films, they add PLA (polylactic acid), an enzyme that can break down the polymers in the packaging films. In contrast, although traditional plastic films will become brittle and oxidize after long periods of time, they cannot dissolve or be degraded.

Applications for Biodegradable Plastic Films in Packaging

Many current applications of these biodegradable films are in the food industry. Emerging demands for biodegradable packaging films exist in the biomedical, pharmaceutical, and health sciences industries. Research on these packaging materials continues, and future applications are expected to be limitless.

RTG Films – A Globally Trusted Source of Packing Films

If your company needs packaging or lidding films, our team at RTG Films has been a trusted provider of those films since 1995. Our company makes master rolls of many varieties of packaging films in-house at its plant in Pennsylvania. Our factory is AIB (American Institute of Baking) certified for food safety. We remain consistently committed to providing safe, legal, and flexible packaging films for our present and future clients.

Our company remains committed to producing polyethylene films, which are consistently regarded as one of the world’s most dependable, affordable, and flexible plastic films. We will also continue to provide our acclaimed polypropylene films, which are in demand for their use in fill-and-seal operations. However, with a growing demand for sustainable packaging materials, RTG also offers biodegradable plastic films. These eco-friendly films have the same high-quality RTG’s loyal customer base has come to expect.

Contact Us for All Your Packaging Solutions

RTG’s biodegradable films are made from feedstock—non-agricultural products that don’t deplete the global food supply and would normally be thrown away. Our biodegradable packaging films were made in response to industry demand for a packaging solution that will break down within 90 days of being composted. Contact us today for more information about our choices of biodegradable plastic packaging and lidding films.

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