Why are recyclable plastic bags recyclable, and why aren't virgin material plastic bags recycled plastic bags?

Many customers ask if virgin material plastic bags are recyclable? What are recyclable plastic bags?

1 Virgin material plastic bags

Virgin material is refined from petroleum. Its characteristics include milky white, crystal-clear particles without any impurities, good physical properties, and easy processing. Virgin materials cannot apply for GRS certification 、 EN15343:2008 certification and From the perspective of resource utilization efficiency and environmental protection, using virgin materials wastes resources and has a negative impact on the environment, continuously increasing the amount of plastic on Earth, which is not conducive to the low-carbon trend 。

2 Recyclable plastic bags

in internationally recognized global recycling standards GRS certification, EN15343:2008 The certification clearly states that only pre-consumer ( pre-consumer recycled polybag ) PIR and post-consumer ( post-consumer recycled polybag ) PCR ) materials are considered recycled content. Greater than 20% recycled material content is required to apply for certification, greater than 50% recycled material is required to apply for printing certification LOGO label, as requested by the customer 30% recycled、50% recycled、100% recycled refers to the proportion of recycled materials in a product or packaging by weight.

Post-consumer recycled material PCR （ post-consumer recycled polybag ）, generated by households or commercial, industrial, and institutional facilities as end-product users. After recycling, sorting, cleaning, granulation, film blowing, printing, and bag making, plastic materials and plastic packaging bags are continuously produced. This achieves cyclical regeneration and reuse, effectively reducing the extraction of new plastic granules from petroleum. This allows for meeting human packaging needs while reusing existing plastic materials, continuously using and recycling them in a cyclical process, without increasing the existing amount of plastic on Earth, reducing energy consumption and pollution from plastic granule production, and reducing resource waste and pollution from incinerating plastic bags.

Pre-consumer recycled material P IR （ pre-consumer recycled polybag ) ，materials diverted from waste streams during the manufacturing process. This excludes the reuse of certain materials, such as rework, regrinding, or residues generated during processing and reused in the same process; that is, recycled plastic bags that have not been consumed by consumers.

Therefore, to meet customer requirements and practice environmental protection, recyclable plastic bags refer to certified bags containing recycled materials, not virgin material plastic bags.

Shunxingyuan Packaging's GRS 、 EN15343:2008 recyclable plastic bags meet customer requirements, achieve internationally recognized environmental standards, and are truly recyclable and reusable plastic bags, representing an important product in environmentally friendly packaging.