Bubble wrap, similar to Styrofoam, is a trademarked term for plastic packaging with small air pockets in it. Like many plastic products, it was invented in 1960 by a company called Sealed Air. The question on everyone’s minds is, once you’ve popped all the bubbles, can Bubble Wrap be recycled?
Read on to learn more about Bubble Wrap and how you can recycle it.
What is Bubble Wrap Made of?
Bubble wrap is made from low-density polyethylene (LDPE), plastic number 4, on the resin identification code. LDPE can be used in two forms:
- A rigid form – common examples are squeezable bottles for condiments, kid’s toys, food packaging, and lids.
- A soft form – common examples are sandwich bags, grocery bags, cling wrap, and frozen food bags.
If you want to learn more about LDPE or plastic by numbers, have a read of our articles:
Alternatives to Bubble Wrap
Your first option should always be to reuse Bubble Wrap. The only trick is you need to avoid popping all of those bubbles! You can even try donating your Bubble Warp on Freecycle or try small businesses in your local area.
There are also many alternatives to Bubble Wrap including:
- Paper or cardboard
- Seaweed
- Biodegradable packing peanuts
- Biodegradable air pillows
- Mushroom packaging
- Sheep’s wool
Some of these alternatives like mushroom packaging and sheep’s wool are gaining momentum. Ikea just announced they are replacing their Styrofoam packaging with compostable mushroom foam.
Can You Recycle Bubble Wrap
If you have reused as much as you can but still find yourself with leftovers, then you might be wondering, can Bubble Wrap be recycled?
Bubble Wrap can be recycled. It falls under the category of soft plastics and can be recycled at drop-off points at many supermarkets.
There are a few different Bubble Wrap products, including the original Bubble Wrap, air pillow packaging, and mailers or padded post bags with Bubble Wrap inside. You can recycle the Bubble Wrap and air pillows with your soft plastics, but the mail post bags cannot. This is because they are made of mixed material. They have both paper and plastic, which are hard to separate in the recycling process.
Why Bubble Wrap Can’t Go in Your Recycling Bin
In almost all cases, soft plastic cannot be placed in your home recycling bin. There are a few locations where curbside collections include soft plastics, but it is not common.
There are good reasons to keep these soft items out of your recycling bin. Plastic bags and other soft plastics are some of the worst contaminants at recycling facilities. They get stuck in mechanical equipment, causing expensive shutdowns and creating safety risks.
Plus, they can lead to perfectly good recyclables being sent to landfills by contaminating them and lowering the material’s quality.
How to Recycle Bubble Wrap
- Collect your Bubble Wrap or air pillows along with your other soft plastics, scrunch them up, and place them in a bag. It is a good idea to pop the large bubbles in the air pillows.
- Make sure the plastic is clean and dry.
- Remove any receipts or labels, tape, and other foreign materials.
- Take the plastic bag full of soft plastics to your local drop-off center.
Below is a list of soft plastic recycling facility locators for a number of countries. I always advise that you contact your local authority to find out what services might be available where you live.
Your access to soft plastic recycling will depend on where you live. Head over to our article on how to recycle your soft plastics to find soft plastic recycling near you.
What Happens to Bubble Wrap When it’s Recycled?
Soft plastics like Bubble Wrap are made into many useful products. The most common use is to make composite timber for decks, benches, fencing, or playground sets.
If you are planning a new project at home or in your community, then why not source recycled materials and support the recycling industry? Here are just a few examples of these companies globally:
- CR Plastic Products in the USA
- Playground Equipment in the USA
- Recycled Plastic building materials or Envirobuild in the UK
- Replas and Advanced Plastic Recycling in Australia
- Replas, Futurepost, and 2lp in New Zealand.
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