Recycled ocean-bound plastic film
Grounded's recycled ocean plastic is collected from ethical recycling ecosystems in developing economies, having considerable positive social, economic and environmental impact. These economies contribute the majority of the world's ocean plastic. Not suitable for food contact.
The good?
- Grounded's ocean bound plastic collection systems have a material impact on reducing the amount of plastic that ends up in our oceans
- Creating a value for otherwise valueless material that would end up in the environment is critical in driving the development of infrastructure to ultimately solve the problem
- It has a considerably lower carbon footprint compared to virgin LDPE
- Transitioning to recycled materials has a positive effect across the wider recycling economy as it creates demand for recycled content where historically there has been none
- The recycling industry is a critical part of any functioning circular economy and by increasing demand for recycled materials to aids in the development of critical recycling systems and infrastructure
- Due to its inert nature, if LDPE ends up in landfills it gradually reforms into biogenic carbon over time instead of generating greenhouse gas emissions
The bad?
- Soft plastic recycling is challenging. This material either needs to go into a dedicated polyethylene stream (#2 or #4) or a drop-off soft plastics collection stream, which are limited although growing rapidly
- Raw material quality is variable and dependent on contaminants in the recycled content. This can result in a ‘grainy' texture which has the potential to affect print quality and can sometimes create a speckled finish
- It is not biodegradable or compostable, and if it ends up in the environment or landfill tit is likely to be there for many years before turning into biogenic carbon
Sustainability Properties
Fossil fuel reduction
Reduces the amount of virgin fossil fuel content
Carbon reduction
Reduces the total greenhouse gas emissions caused by production and delivery
Recycled plastic
Contains mostly recycled plastic content
Recyclable plastic
Recyclable in the plastic waste stream
Nontoxic Inks
Water or biobased inks that do not require petroleum-based solvents
Frequently asked questions
Recycled content is of more variable quality than virgin material. The recycled material creates a speckled, grainy texture but does not effect print or packaging quality.
Yes they can. Grounded's recycled films and paperboard materials are recyclable. Recycled plastics are able to be recycled in either dedicated PE streams (#4) or via in-store collection systems such as Red Cycle. All recycled paper products are kerbside recyclable.