We at Total Pack are delighted to be one of the first companies in the India to announce the addition of oxo-biodegradable stretch film to our product line. It’s an important milestone in our long-term objective of providing greener packaging solutions that are friendly to our planet but still conform to our high standards of performance.
The properties are achieved by the addition of an oxo-biodegradable additive to the film which changes the behaviour so that it breaks down and degrades, regardless of the disposal route. The beauty of this is that we can engineer the film to a desired lifespan depending on your requirements (typically 3-24 months).
The material begins the degradation process in the instant it is exposed to sunlight (UV), mechanical stress or moisture meaning that there are no extra efforts required compared with using standard stretch films.
Through extensive testing, we have concluded that this is the best method of achieving an eco-friendly stretch film which still has the required elongation and memory properties to make it an alternative solution to our standard stretch films.
These films are made by blending an additive to provide an oxidative and then a biological mechanism to degrade them, this typically takes 3 months to 2 years in the environment with adequate exposure to oxygen. Degradation is a two stage process, first the plastic is converted by reaction with oxygen (light, heat and/or stress accelerates the process but is not essential) to low molecular-weight fragments that water can wet and then these smaller oxidized molecules are biodegraded i.e. converted into carbon dioxide, water and biomass by micro-organisms. This is similar to the breakdown of woody plant material where it is broken down and forms a humus component improving the soil quality. If put in an in-vessel composting system this type of plastic will rapidly break down but it is not currently marketed as compostable.