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Stretch Wrap Recycling: A Sustainable Solution for the Packaging Industry

Facilities such as plants and distribution centers that receive palletized loads secured with stretch wrap have two choices regarding that material: disposal or recycle.

stretch wrap recycling

Disposal costs can be a large annual expense. A recycling program, on the other hand, can generate revenue, in addition to providing the practitioner with sustainability bona fides.

Stretch wrap recycling is distinguishable in several ways. One is that facilities are high-volume accumulation sites, lending economies-of-scale to collection and hauling. Another is that stretch wrap (linear low-density polyethylene) is relatively homogeneous, capable of mixing with stretch wraps from various suppliers, formulation differences notwithstanding. Yet another is that stretch wrap is identifiable on sight by employees, simplifying collection and separation. Additionally, stretch wrap, because it’s not primary packaging, doesn’t need to be cleaned of product residuals. The aforementioned don’t comprise an exhaustive list, but they explain why stretch wrap recycling is a growing industry with an expanding infrastructure of facilities, markets, and intermediaries.

Facilities divide into two camps: those that don’t recycle stretch wrap and those that do.

The former should determine the revenue potential. Needed is knowledge of: current prices; price fluctuations, and drivers of fluctuations. Such knowledge is indispensable in identifying potential markets, determining supply chain partners, and negotiating best terms.

If the revenue potential justifies, a facility should conduct a costs/savings analysis, pitting disposal costs against recycling savings. At minimum, disposal costs include hauling, along with fees (for example, those charged by landfills). Facilities that don’t recycle stretch wrap most likely mix it with other waste, there being no need to separate it. Such facilities should determine the percentage of its waste that is composed of stretch wrap. That percentage, multiplied by the annual disposal costs, is what can be saved through diversion.

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