plastic film

Plastic Film

Nexcycle Plastics recycles post industrial plastic scrap for making plastic film. As a plastic recycler, we recycle or reprocess plastic scrap for making a variety of plastic products including plastic film. Our products, NPI – 04HDPE Mixed Color, NPI – 01LL/LD Mixed Color and NPI – 10PP212 Mixed Color are all manufactured from recycled plastic and are ideally suited for making plastic film. As a leading plastic recycler and compounder, we can formulate recycled polyethylene and polypropylene blends that perform the same as or similar to prime or virgin resins. Each blend is custom formulated for the processes and to the performance requirements of final product application.

What is Plastic Film?
Plastic film is a very thin piece of thermoplastic resin that is usually longer than it is wide, with a thicknesses of 10 mils or 250 µm (0.01 inches) or less (averaging 0.7 mils to 1.5 mils). When we talk about plastic film, it is often thought of as one type of material when in fact plastic film represents a broad category of materials that can be relatively simple or complex depending on the demands of a particular product or object. Like many other plastic products, plastic film can be made with different polymers, i.e., polyolefins, polyvinyl chloride and polystyrene, each of which has a unique combination of properties that makes it ideal for certain applications. Polyolefins, however, represent the most important class of film formers since they include polyethylene and polypropylene. Most plastic film is made from low density polyethylene (LDPE), linear LDPE, high density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP).

The Benefits of Plastic Film
As a packaging and protective material for crops, foods and buildings, plastic stands out from other materials because of its flexibility, lightweight, chemically resistance, toughness, tear resistance and durability. And though other plastic materials share some of these same properties, polyolefins stand out in that they feature a unique combination lightweight flexibility with durable toughness. Unlike other plastic materials, polyolefins are also impermeable to gas which makes it an ideal wrapping material for those products that would spoil if exposed to oxygen. As a cost effective packaging material, plastic film promises superior and reliable performance and much faster packaging speeds.

Resin Properties
Key properties of our recycled plastic as a plastic film material include its melt index, density and izod impact properties. They are key indicators of what the melt strength and flow will be for processing. If you're looking for resin to use in blow molding, film extrusion, pipe and profile extrusion processes, the lower the melt index, the greater the melt strength will be. If you're looking for resins for your injection molding process, a higher melt index will mean a faster melt flow which helps to fill the mold cavities in shorter period of time. The properties of our products are listed below:

LL/LD RESIN PROPERTIES	ASTM TEST	UNIT ENGLISH (METRIC)	NOMINAL VALUES
Melt Index	D1238	gm/10 min	0.5 to 1.2
Density	D1505	gm/cm3	.918 to .930
-	-	-	-
HDPE RESIN PROPERTIES	ASTM TEST	UNIT ENGLISH (METRIC)	NOMINAL VALUES
Melt Index	D1238	gm/10 min	0.3 to 0.9
Density	D1505	gm/cm3	.945 to .960
-	-	-	-
PP RESIN PROPERTIES	ASTM TEST	UNIT ENGLISH (METRIC)	NOMINAL VALUES
Melt Flow	D1238	gm/10 min	7 to 15
Izod Impact Notched	D256	ft lb/in (J/m)	2 (107)

Applications of Plastic Film
There are three main applications for plastic film: packaging, agriculture and horticulture, and building and construction. As a part of the much larger packaging family called flexible packaging, plastic film makes up more than half of all flexible packaging followed closely by aluminum and paper. It also represents a major portion of all plastic packaging which can be used as a bag or wrap for protection. This includes everything from grocery bags to garbage bags, dry cleaning garment bags and plastic or stretch wrap for protecting buildings and crops from excessive moisture.

Packaging: the primary function of packaging is to contain the product and here the versatility of plastic films with regards to sealing methods is extremely valuable. Plastic films can be heat sealed, stapled or stitched, bonded with adhesives or, in some cases, sealed with ultrasonic or high frequency heating.
Agriculture and Horticulture: The second largest use for plastic film is in agriculture and horticulture for crop protection. Film offers less protection than glass in colder climates, but more in warmer climates for loss of heat and water. Related applications include using plastic film for mulching, seed conservation, disease and pest control, and conservation.
Building and Construction: the building and construction industries account for 25% of plastic film consumption. One of the most interesting uses of plastic film in buildings is that of a moisture or moisture vapor barrier. Polyethylene film is used as a lightweight tarpaulin for covering up materials and equipment on site. Low density polyethylene is often used for weatherproofing a building under construction. Other related uses include shuttering and the curing of concrete.

Nexcycle Plastics Inc. 235 Wilkinson Road, Brampton, Ontario, Canada, L6T 4M2
Tel: 905.454.2666 ~ Toll Free: 1.800.463.6169 ~ Fax: 905.454.2668