Grounded Packaging
Grounded Packaging
🏭 Australia
What we like about Grounded: Australian supplier of customizable food packaging. Good transparency into laminate construction, and a wide array of films including industrially compostable, films made with PCR, and bio-based polyethylene plastics.
Bioplastic Blend Pouches and Mailers
Bio-based options suitable for compost or recycling.
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Bioplastics and conventional plastic can feel very similar — smooth and flexible with a little stretch. Laminates will be a bit more rigid.
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Grounded offers an array of plastics and laminates made with conventional plastic (recycled or virgin), bioplastics, and paper.
The more bioplastic or recycled plastic a bag is made from, the less that product relies on virgin fossil fuels.
The issue with both conventional and bioplastic films comes in disposal. See Disposal below.
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Grounded’s bioplastics are either compostable or recyclable.
They carry plastics that meet the OK Compost Home certification.
We advise testing first to get a sense of time span. Often, sturdier home compostable plastics (like laminates) can take over a year to break down in a home compost set up.
While some of their conventional plastic bags are technically recyclable, the US recycled less than 6% of its plastic waste in 2021, according to a study by Beyond Plastics.
The percentage for plastic films was even less. Even if it can be recycled, most plastic films won't be. When plastic is formed into a thin film, it has a lower recycling rate than rigid plastics because effectively zero sorting and recycling facilities are not equipped to process it.
To minimize the amount of plastic sent to landfills, consider paper-based alternatives.
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Make disposal options clear and direct. Communicate with customers the best-case scenario as well as the alternate scenario.
Compostable films and laminates: If they’re not composted, they should be thrown in with regular trash for the landfill. Compostable plastics are not designed to be recycled, so if they’re thrown in the blue bin, it’s just an extra step in the journey to landfill.
Recyclable films and laminates: Consumers should check recycling guidance in their city to see if they accept thin plastics for recycling. If not, the bag should be thrown in with trash for the landfill.
Film Rollstock
With options for compostable film, PCR film (up to 85%), and mono-material laminate
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Bioplastics and conventional plastic can feel very similar — smooth and flexible with a little stretch. Laminates will be a bit more rigid.
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Grounded offers various plastic films by the roll. All of them are a step more sustainable than using traditional virgin plastic, but be aware that all plastic films have recycling issues and overall, an extremely low likelihood of being recycled.
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Grounded’s bioplastics are either compostable or recyclable.
They carry plastics that meet the OK Compost Home certification.
We advise testing first to get a sense of time span. Often, sturdier home compostable plastics (like laminates) can take over a year to break down in a home compost set up.
While some of their conventional plastic bags are technically recyclable, the US recycled less than 6% of its plastic waste in 2021, according to a study by Beyond Plastics.
The percentage for plastic films was even less. Even if it can be recycled, most plastic films won't be. When plastic is formed into a thin film, it has a lower recycling rate than rigid plastics because effectively zero sorting and recycling facilities are not equipped to process it.
To minimize the amount of plastic sent to landfills, consider paper-based alternatives.
-
Make disposal options clear and direct. Communicate with customers the best-case scenario as well as the alternate scenario.
Compostable films and laminates: If they’re not composted, they should be thrown in with regular trash for the landfill. Compostable plastics are not designed to be recycled, so if they’re thrown in the blue bin, it’s just an extra step in the journey to landfill.
Recyclable films and laminates: Consumers should check recycling guidance in their city to see if they accept thin plastics for recycling. If not, the bag should be thrown in with trash for the landfill.
Poly Bags & Films
Trays & Inserts
Paper Mailers
Cushioning
Jars & Bottles
Corrugated
Folding Cartons
Food Service
Inks & Coatings
Raw Materials
Labels
Specialty Papers
