Biaxially Oriented Polyethylene Film Pouches - Plastic Films & Polypropylene

Biaxially Oriented Polyethylene Film Pouches (BOPE Films)

You’re creating great products and putting them in nice packages, but those packages and their materials deserve to be used more than once. If all the effort went into making them in the first place, why not keep using them? The need for more environmentally friendly packaging intersects perfectly with the high-quality recyclable options that biaxially oriented polyethylene film pouches offer. Let’s dive into what exactly BOPE films are, how you can use them, and what makes them an overall better recyclable option.

What are Biaxially Oriented Polyethylene Bags?

Polyethylene by itself is a material that can be easily stretchable. When you take the material and create a pouch from it, there are inherent limitations that keep all the pouches relatively simple. The sides of these pouches are flimsy, the printing on them is limited to very basic designs or typography, and the strength and durability are low. Overall, your options are limited.

On the other hand, BOPE is a more sturdy material that can create complex pouches. When BOPE is turned into a pouch it’s equipped with enhanced elements such as stronger side seals, a gusset, and more advanced printing possibilities.

Applications for This Printed Packaging

If you’re making a product and putting it in a bag, in many instances, simple bags lacking strength aren’t enough. You never want your products falling out or to have the packaging sheet be ripped open and destroyed. BOPE printed pouches and PE film are a better option not only for their environmentally friendly recyclability but also because they’re all around more durable and capable.

Any type of product that you want to be safe and secure in its pouches but don’t need a very high barrier of protection will benefit greatly from this packaging. The hardware industry is a good option if your materials tend to be slightly heavier and could break through other options. If you have any form of complex printing or more advanced styles, these are a necessary step up as well. Consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands will benefit greatly as well. As long as your food can allow some level of moisture and oxygen in, such as candy, nuts, or dried grains, you and your products will benefit greatly as well. With the value of sustainability branding and materials at an all-time high, if you are able to use these printed pouches, it will benefit you, your customers, and the Earth.

Other complex bags are made up of multiple materials. Perhaps they have polyethylene and others such as nylons or other PE compounds. While these are likely each individually recyclable, they need to be separated out into their separate classes of plastics first to allow the recycling to take place. While in theory this is possible, it’s not energy efficient or worth the time and the effort to make that happen. Thus, they’re typically thrown away, adding to the trash pileup in a landfill and sitting for years and years.

That’s where BOPE comes in. Being all one type of polypropylene, it is much more readily recyclable. Polyethylene is the most widely used plastic in the world and thankfully comes with the ability to be reprocessed into new materials after the first use. This key feature is what makes them environmentally friendly and keeps them away from the waste bin.

This is also different from Post Consumer Recycled (PCR) materials, which are almost always a mix of both PCR and other types of materials. Thus, while it is great that PCR is made from materials that have already been used and you’re giving them a second life, it unfortunately ends with your use case and cannot carry on in an ideal circular economy model.

There is strong consumer demand for sustainable products and packaging and this is only expected to keep growing. There is not a one-size-fits-all approach to sustainable packaging. Other environmentally friendly options exist as well and include compostable and biodegradable pouches. Yet these are only usable for specific cases. If you can’t use these materials, BOPE’s recyclability makes it a great option as well.