The Issue with Recyclable Packaging and Tape
When you order things online, you might be told that the packaging is fully recyclable, but this is often not the case. The boxes might be recyclable, but if they’re sealed with tape, what happens then? Not much good, actually. Even if the tape is paper, it pretty much renders the box no longer recyclable. So, what otherwise might be a recyclable box and what could be recycled contents, go to landfill because of the tape.
Why I Chose to Write About Paper Sticky Tape
It might seem strange for me to choose to write about paper sticky tape, but there’s a reason behind my choosing this subject. Since I’ve moved away from using plastic, I seek out packaging materials that can be recycled in local curbside programs. One thing that’s nearly impossible to find is recyclable tape. This may come as a shock, since I said there are many paper sticky tapes on the market. And it may also surprise you that despite many being marked as ‘recyclable,’ they’re not.
The Shift from Plastic to Paper Adhesive Tapes
Paper sticky tape is widely utilized in business, known also as packaging or masking tape. Until recently, businesses primarily relied on two kinds of sticky tape: clear tape and brown parcel tape, both of which are made from plastic. As businesses have developed an environmentally conscious mindset and shifted toward green packaging, sticky tape made from paper has now largely replaced clear and brown plastic tape. Paper sticky tape performs as well—and, in some cases, better—than clear and brown plastic tape at achieving what tape is supposed to do: stick.
The Misconception About the Recyclability of Paper Tape
An extensive range of paper adhesive tapes is now available on the market. Sovereigns of the sticky tape world, home décor artists, and parcel packers assume that the popular paper adhesive tape can be recycled. That is because it is made of paper, and more and more shopping and life accessories made from plastic are now seemingly being reformulated as “paper.” Yet, similarly to the “recycle” label slapped on the back of a not-so-recyclable plastic cup, these assumptions are too often made in a vacuum.
The Truth About ‘Recyclable’ Paper Sticky Tape
Since I learned about this issue, I’ve reached out to many companies that sell recyclable paper sticky tape. Most of them haven’t gotten back to me, and of the two that did, one told me the chemicals used in the recycling plant strip the dyes and adhesives from the tape so that it can be recycled. I then spoke with two different paper recycling plants on either side of the country, and both said that this scenario is not possible.
The Recycling Challenges of Paper Sticky Tape
I notified this company of my discoveries. They did not reply. The following screenshot comes from a paper recycling plant in the United States. While I’ve used it as an example, many Facilities Here in the UK that also recycle paper say precisely the same thing. Most local councils also say that any material with adhesive on it cannot be recycled.
Other Non-Recyclable Paper Products
Other items that aren’t recyclable are painted paper or cardboard because the paint saturates the paper, and water damages the fibers. Paper or cardboard with grease or stains from food isn’t recyclable, either. Most paper cups can’t be recycled because they’re made with plastic. Even facial tissues, napkins, and kitchen towels aren’t recyclable, and most go to landfill.
The Difficulty in Recycling Coated Paper
Coated paper, be it with wax, plastic, or some other substance, cannot be recycled. Not every local authority in the UK is able to recycle shredded paper. Those that do ask for it to be placed in a bag or box that can be closed. This keeps it from blowing around the recycling plant and going into the machinery.
The Role of Workers in Recycling Facilities
In the United Kingdom, after the recycling bins have been emptied, the contents are taken to a “Materials Recovery Facility” to be sorted. This sorting is done mostly by machinery, but in some places, the facilities add a few workers to do the hardest jobs. There are not many jobs at a recovery facility, but across the UK, there are about 800 workers stationed at various facilities working in these low-paying, undesirable sorting jobs. These jobs exist because these workers are needed to deal with “contaminants,” the fancy name for what you find inside the recycling bin that shouldn’t be there.
The Impact of Sticky Tape on Packaging Recycling
The packaging is recycled when using paper sticky tape that comes off easily. When that’s not the case, or when adhesive residue is left behind, both the tape and the packaging it covered end up in a landfill. I did find one paper sticky tape that uses a synthetic rubber and hydrocarbon resin for its adhesive. This tape can be recycled—as long as you have access to a specialist recycling centre.
The Challenges of Recycling Different Types of Tape
Through my investigation for this article, I discovered that all sorts of sticky tape are removed as a matter of course in sorting centres. The reason for this is that for the vast majority of kinds of tape, it’s impossible to tell just what kind of adhesive has been used. Of the adhesives that are used on the different kinds of tape, most do not have what it takes to qualify them for recycling. And those that do are seldom compostable.
The Benefits of Water-Activated Tape for Recycling
The fibers in the wet cardboard bind to the tape and form a seal. This sticky tape, apparently, is easy to tell apart from the rest of the packaging because it tears away cleanly. So, it is usually left alone and goes on to be recycled. For a small business using water-activated tape, the problem is the machine that wets the tape costs around £1000.
While recycling facilities do not expect consumers to clean packaging, it would be tremendously helpful if consumers did.