RECYCLING GUIDE

All Storopack protective packaging can be reused. Non-business customers, for example, can use it to return a product or to send other products. And trade and industry can use loose fill which is returned to them to dispatch products once again.

Yes, all of Storopack’s protective packaging is recyclable. It can be processed and reused in a variety of industrial products.

Storopack also offers protective packaging which is industrially compostable, like AIRplus® BIO film, which can be used for the manufacture of air cushions. The film’s base material is a compostable plastic based on polylactic acid (PLA) and copolyester. The basis of the product is made using renewable resources. AIRplus® BIO is certified compostable in accordance with the European standard EN 13432 and the American standard ASTM D6400.

No, a compost heap is not suitable for this and disposing of the cushions in this way would therefore be wrong. It is better to put the paper cushions into the paper collection for recycling. They will then be recycled appropriately and used to manufacture new paper products.

We have to make a distinction here between bio-based plastic, biodegradable plastic, and a mixture of the two. Bio-based plastic is made entirely or partially from biomass like corn, sugarcane, or cellulose. Compostable plastic is generally broken down into carbon dioxide and water under certain conditions. There are also “OXO-biodegradable plastics.” These are conventional plastics which have had metals added in order to make them biodegrade.

So-called OXO-biodegradable plastics should be avoided: many experts question whether the fragments (or microplastics, depending on the size) are truly fully biodegraded. Additionally, the additives in OXO-biodegradable plastics can have a negative impact on recycling.

For more information on bioplastics, see also: Article by the German Environment Agency (UBA) on bags made from bioplastic

As a consumer in, for example, Germany or Austria, you can simply dispose of air cushions (ideally emptied of air) and loose fill in the “Gelber Sack” yellow bin bags or “Gelbe Tonne” yellow bins . They are then recycled or incinerated. Polyethylene is incidentally a very welcome source of energy at waste-to-energy plants because its calorific value is actually higher than that of oil. Alternatively, they can be disposed of in household trash. Paper cushions belong in the paper collection bin/in bundles for paper collection, while foam packaging should go in the household trash. The trade and industry sectors have their own disposal channels (industrial waste) via which foam packaging is also recycled.

This product and its production process are designed to reduce natural resource usage.

This product can be reused up to several times for its original purpose.

Post consumer or post industrial waste of this product can replace virgin raw materials.

This product is produced of renewable raw material, e.g. wood or plants.