In today’s competitive marketplace, manufacturers of
products and packages are under increasing pressure
to satisfy varied—and often conflicting—demands,
such as lowering costs, improving performance and
enhancing environmental attributes. Within this
arena, the material that a manufacturer chooses to
use in its products and packages can affect its ability
to remain competitive.
Plastic film, in many instances, has allowed manufacturers
to meet varied marketplace demands by
enabling them to do more with less. Unfortunately,
information on this broad category of materials is
lacking. With this white paper, the American Plastics
Council (APC) hopes to meet this need by providing
technical experts and laypersons with a better understanding
of what film is, how it is used, how it contributes
to resource conservation, and how it can help
manufacturers respond to the changing marketplace.
In addition, since there appears to be a growing interest
in recycling film, the report discusses the pros and
cons of recovering it for recycling. A series of sidebars
highlighting effective film recycling efforts has been
included to help illustrate the circumstances under
which plastic film recycling may make sense. Equally
important, this white paper discusses the role that
plastic film plays in reducing the amount of waste
generated in the first place.