ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF ANDURO WOVEN POLYPROPYLENE BAGS

In addition to being lighter and stronger than paper and other types of plastic bags, Anduro’s woven polypropylene bags (also known as BOPP bags) are more environmentally friendly.

  • Anduro polypropylene packaging is a 100% byproduct of natural gas and petroleum refining. No natural resources are destroyed in the making of Anduro bags.
  • According to Cartonplast, a leading provider in worldwide recycling, “the use of Polypropylene ensures the total recyclability at the end of the product life. The material obtained can be recycled for new products, avoiding its dispersion in the environment.”
  • Polypropylene products are rated a “No. 5” recyclable material according to the Resin Identification Code (RIC). Polypropylene is categorized as “low risk” for leaching and preferable to products constructed of polystyrene.
  • Because Anduro bags are engineered to be one-third lighter than other bags, they take up less space. This results in lower transportation costs, reduced fuel consumption, and lower storage needs. All of these contribute to Anduro bags’ significantly smaller carbon footprint.

ADVANTAGES OF ANDURO’s POLYPROPYLENE BAGS OVER OTHER PLASTICS:

  • Our bags emit less carbon dioxide.
  • Manufacture and transportation of our bags produces a lower volume of greenhouse gases than other plastics.
  • Measure lowest in Moisture Vapor Transmission Rate. The lower the rate, the better protection of bag contents from moisture and maintenance of product moisture content.
  • Provide superior resistance to many chemical solvents, bases and acids. Our bags are much less brittle than high-density polyethylene and exhibit superior resistance to fatigue.

Advantages of polypropylene over traditional paper bags:

  • Our bags have a smaller carbon footprint than paper.
  • Our bags require fewer chemicals and less water to produce packaging.
  • While stronger than paper packaging, our BOPP bags decompose at the same rate as paper.
  • Paper bags tend to fail on reuse because they tear easily and are not waterproof.
  • Paper bags must be reused at least three times to negate their higher climate-warming potential compared to plastic bags (U.K. Environment Agency 2011 report).

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT BASED ON EQUALIZED CARRYING CAPACITY OF 1,000 PAPER BAGS 

Total energy use in megajoules

BOPP - 763 megajoules
Paper - 2622 megajoules

Fossil fuel use in kilograms

BOPP - 14.9 kilograms
Paper - 23.2 kilograms

Municipal solid waste in kilograms

BOPP - 7.0 kilograms
Paper - 33.9 kilograms

Greenhouse gas emissions in CO2 in equivalent tonnes

BOPP - .004 equivalent tonnes
Paper - .008 equivalent tonnes

 Fresh water usage in gallons

BOPP - 58 gallons
Paper - 1004 gallons
    • The 2007 Boustead report is a peer-reviewed life cycle assessment of the environmental impacts of plastic and paper carryout bags in the United States. The report was commissioned by Progressive Bag Affiliates, a plastic bag industry organization and was evaluated and amended by Michael Overcash, Ph.D, professor of chemical engineering at North Carolina State University where he was an expert on life cycle analysis.
    • The paper bags analyzed in this life cycle assessment had 30% post-consumer content. The recycling scenarios in the Boustead report were 5.2% for plastic bags and 21% for paper bags.
    • The report took into account that a paper bag holds more than a plastic bag and applied an adjustment factor.

THE BOUSTEAD LIFE CYCLE ANALYSIS FOUND THAT:

    • Consumption of non-renewable energy:
      Paper bags used are used 3.4 times more than plastic bags.
    • Consumption of water:
      Paper consumed 17.3 times more than plastic.
    • Emissions of greenhouse gases:
      Paper emitted twice the volume of gas as plastic.
    • Municipal solid waste generation:
      Paper bags generated 4.8 times more solid waste than plastic bags.

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Suite 208 – 282
Atlanta, GA 30342

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