We are always advocates for reducing packaging waste. The reduction of packaging waste can reduce environmental impact as well as reduce packaging costs. We wrote an article last year about reducing stretch film waste. The focus on that article was increasing load efficiency. More efficient loads with more products require fewer pallets to be wrapped.
Earlier this year we wrote a follow-up article titled Stretch Wrap Savings. This article focused on reducing stretch film waste by down-gauging and using a stronger, stiffer stretch film. One issue we have never addressed in a blog post is the reduction of shrink wrap waste. There are two primary ways to reduce shrink wrap waste and save money on film costs. We will highlight each way in the text as well as show videos of how to reduce shrink wrap waste.
Reduce Centerfold Film Width
Both PVC and Polyolefin centerfold shrink film are often used with high-speed machines. Whether running a high-speed machine or a manual machine, reducing the width of the shrink film roll can dramatically reduce waste and cost.
When wrapping a product, if there is more than 1.5 inches of the excess film after the seal is made, a smaller width of film can be used. Reducing film width by two inches on a standard 3500 ft. x 75 gauge polyolefin shrink roll will save 583 square ft. of shrink film.
Excess waste is common when companies are wrapping products of different sizes. If the plan is to only wrap a few products of different sizes, buying one large roll of shrink film to cover all products is an economical option. If wrapping hundreds or thousands of different sized products, buying a centerfold film width to accommodate each different product size will reduce film waste and cost.
The video below shows the excess film waste using a 12 inch roll when an 8 inch roll can be used. The total square footage saved over a 3500 ft. roll is 1166 square ft. That is half of the total square footage in an 8″x3500’x75 ga. polyolefin roll.
Make One Bag Two Bags
Shrink bags are a very popular shrink wrapping product. Companies use them to wrap a large variety of objects. One of the negatives about using shrink bags is they are only stocked in certain sizes. This can mean excess waste when wrapping products that do not fit exactly into the bag you are wrapping.
With shrink bags, most waste often comes from the excess length of the bag. There are several occasions that one shrink bag can be made into two bags with a couple of extra seals. Depending on the products being wrapped, one shrink bag can often be made into multiple bags.
This concept can be used with shrink tubing as well as centerfold shrink film. With shrink tubing, the smallest roll we offer is 2.5 inches wide which will fit a product with a circumference up to 4.5 inches. If your product only has a 2 inch circumference, then two tubes can be made out of a 2.5 inch tubing.
Centerfold shrink film is often hard to find in anything less than 6 to 8 inches wide. This can mean a lot of waste for small products. The ability to use excess centerfold will reduce waste and cost. Because this is hard to explain exactly how to do it, we have made a video below to see what we are referring to.
The video below shows how to wrap multiple small products with a 12″ centerfold shrink wrap roll. It also shows how to make multiple shrink bags from one bag and multiple packages from shrink tubing.
Both ideas mentioned in this post are excellent ways to reduce shrink film waste and reduce shrink film cost. If you have any questions about the products used in this video or any other shrink wrapping products call us at 1-800-441-5090.
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