Shrink Polythene is, obviously, an oil-based product, so does that mean it can never be environmentally friendly? Before you judge, you should know that the manufacture of this material uses a relatively small amount of additional carbon based energy as it is easily melted and formed and cooled with no major mechanical function involved.
Shrink Polythene is completely recyclable and can be recycled many times over; more times than paper in which the fibres degrade and become weaker – no such problems for plastic products. Even if the first use has been printed, it can be re-formed into granules, dyed and made into dark colour or black plastic products such as bin liners. Clear film can be re-formed back into more clear film, although it is slightly cloudier than a virgin product – does this matter when you are saving valuable resources
