August 2011

Here at All-Spec Industries, we’ve always been interested in environmentally friendly solutions; we support a lot of paperless processes, we recycle glass, plastic, etc…, we shred and recycle all the paper we use and last year we installed energy saving lights in our warehouse.  So when we had the opportunity to offer biodegradable anti-static bags, we were 100% on board.

Since they’ve only been around for about 50 years, it is estimated that plastic bags can take up to 1,000 years to break down. In addition, it’s also thought that the bags photodegrade with help of the sun rather than biodegrading. Most plastic bags won’t biodegrade because polyethylene is a man-made material that microorganisms don’t consider food.

This presents a problem to companies who use a lot of anti-static bags. You don’t want to risk failure by reusing the same bag, but the alternative is using a new anti-static bag every time. These new biodegradable anti-static bags are the perfect solution!

Here are the main benefits of these bags:

• Cost: Just an average of 10% more than our standard anti-static bags. For instance, a package of 1000 standard 4×6” bags cost $21.34 and a package of 1000 biodegradable 4×6” bags cost $25.10
• Fully biodegradable: These bags will completely break down into carbon dioxide, water and biomass (organic material) within a year under good conditions
• Handling is the same as standard anti-static bags

Sounds too good to be true, huh?

Here’s some more information.

What makes these bags biodegradable?
Believe it or not, these bags are made biodegradable by the 1% addition of a specially formulated pellet.

What’s required for the bags to biodegrade?
Unlike many biodegradable products that need light, heat, etc… to break down, these anti-static biodegradable bags just need constant contact with other biodegrading material.

Where bags will biodegrade:
-Landfills
-Commercial composting
-Home composting (both with and without the presence of free oxygen)
Where bags will not biodegrade:
-Offices
-Store shelves
-Warehouses

How long do the bags take to break down?
In the right conditions (good landfill with plenty of microorganisms), these bags can completely break down in nine months. That’s certainly an improvement over 1,000 years.
Still not convinced? Here are a few more perks:
-No toxic residue
-Meets REACH requirements
-FDA compliant in applications with food contact
-Permanently anti-static

Do you have questions or would you like to request a sample? Contact our Customer Service Department at (800) 537-0351 or sales@all-spec.com

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