Mylar bags can be recycled because of their polyester composition (also called PET plastic), but because most curbside recycling programs will not accept them, in practice, they are not usually recycled. The majority of Mylar bags are made from multiple materials, and in most instances, they consist of PET plastic with an extremely thin layer of aluminum foil that has been bonded to the other materials, and therefore, to properly recycle them, a specialized facility would have to be used to break up the layers of materials.
As a result, the vast majority of Mylar bags that do not get reused or sent to an appropriate recycling facility end up in the trash.
Ways in Which Mylar Bags Are Difficult to Recycle
1. Composite Construction: Because of the multiple layers of materials that make up Mylar bags, typical recycling processes used by most municipal and/or private recycling centers are unable to process them efficiently once they are bonded together, making the recycling process very complicated.
2. Non-Biodegradable: When an object cannot biodegrade, this creates a larger need for the reuse and proper disposal of that object for the sake of our environment, and Mylar bags are not biodegradable under typical landfill conditions.
3. Limited Acceptance: Because the majority of municipal recycling programs are focused primarily on rigid plastics (such as bottles and containers), the majority of flexible or laminated packaging (Mylar bags) will not be accepted.
What can you do with the Mylar Bags You Have Already?
You have probably already been using Mylar bags, however, there are many ways to use these bags as follows:
1. Visit your local recycling facility or contact them to see if they are able to accept Mylar bags for recycling.
2.Look for drop-off locations: You can easily find places to recycle flexible plastic items like Mylar at many businesses, where they may have an area set aside for returning recyclables.
3. Use mailing programs: For those wanting to send back their used Mylar via a mail-in program, there are organizations such as TerraCycle that allow you to do this. These are often not free but may provide money or funding to assist with other causes, including raising awareness for environmental organizations.
4. Reliable reusable item: Mylar bags are fantastic for long-term storing of any type of dry goods, as well as being able to reuse them as daily household items (as long as they’ve stayed clean and dry).
5. Trash only after you’ve tried everything else: If you don’t have any other option then throwing away your Mylar bag (just put it in your regular trash instead of recyclables) will result in these types of products being mixed in with the recyclable materials. Don’t put Mylar bags in recycle bins. Instead, place them in trash bins.
Eco-Friendly Alternatives
To keep up with consumer demand for recyclable packaging, many packaging suppliers are working to develop alternatives to traditional forms of flexible film, like Mylar, which are both environmentally friendly and offer similar performance to traditional products.When brands focus on sustainability, it is possible to create more sustainable products through manufacturers such as Brandmydispo, which can create bags that will allow them to achieve those sustainability goals, as well as providing them with excellent shelf life and product protection.
So, Are Mylar Bags Curbside Recyclable?
Curbside recycling programs/collection typically do not include collecting Mylar bags from customers. Curbside recycling collections can only process single-layer or mono-layer plastics, including PET bottles/containers and HDPE (high-density polyethylene) containers.
Since Mylar bags are made from multi-layer or composite plastics, they are usually hard to separate during the recycling process and will generally be classified as “rejects” when being processed through the recycling stream. That means if you put them in curbside recycling bins, they could create small amounts of contamination in the recycling stream and then, instead of recycling, they could end up in a landfill.
Are Custom Mylar Bags Recyclable?
Custom Mylar bags are typically recyclable just like generic Mylar bags (primarily because of the materials they are made from: multiple layers of aluminum film bonded with one layer of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)); however, the physical printed/finished/brandished characteristics of customised bags generally do not affect how Mylar bags will recycle through curbside recycling programmes.
On the other hand, brands developing customised Mylar bags may expand on their brands’ ability to be more creative when developing sustainable practices. Increasingly, manufacturers are using recyclable or mono-materials when developing organisation bags, combining materials with post-consumer recycled content, or designing bags to be reused. Many of these bags offer a re-closable zipper mechanism that promotes the consumer using the same bag again, rather than throwing it away after first use.
When developing customised Mylar bags, businesses will have the ability to determine ways to be sustainable while continuing to provide their customers with excellent barrier protection, long-shelf life for their products, and a very visually impressive brand image.
Some brands, such as Brandmydispo, offer recyclable custom mylar bag alternatives.
Are Mylar Bags Reusable?
Yes, multiple reuses is another of the eco-friendly benefits of most Mylar bags. The bags can be reused many times as food storage containers (with or without additional contents) and for several other organising or storing purposes. This method of use provides less waste by extending the bags’ lifecycle rather than using them once like regular packaging and / or knowing how to properly maintain and use Mylar bags will conserve their lifecycle.
To learn more about the different ways Mylar bags are being reused, check out our blog post on Mylar bag reuse.
Are Mylar Bags Recyclable?
Yes, due to the presence of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) (i.e., a recyclable polymer), Mylar bags are technically recyclable, although due to their combined layer of plastics and aluminium, they are not usually accepted in curbside recycling programmes. Always check with your city for their recycling guidelines before taking Mylar bags to a curbside recycling programme, and whenever possible, try to reuse or give them to your local recycling specialist rather than place them in the blue bin unless the recycling provider expressly permits it.
