There was a time when plastic bags first came out that you could get your bag in any color that you wanted as long as it was clear! Today, although still very popular, in Sydney the plain bags have been somewhat overrun by a multitude of colors, imprinting options, and a wide variety of styles. Sitting silently in the back is the plain bag, doing its job day after day. Today, if one excepts the definition of plain bags to mean virtually any color under the rainbow, but without any specific imprinting on the bag itself, then one still has a very wide scope of choices as Sydney manufacturers has developed a much wider selection than just a straight poly bag without handles.

Although a very wide variety of poly bags without handles are available in Sydney this simple invention has morphed into a much wider range of offerings including, but not limited to, the following:

• Plastic bags with die cut handles
• Plastic singlet carry bags (grocery store bags)
• Plastic curve top carry bags
• Soft loop plastic carry bags
• Plastic carry bags with rigid loop handles

The styles mentioned above are available in various colors and sizes and can be purchased in bulk without having any emblems or strategic marketing information imprinted on them (although in today’s world having store names or other information imprinted on them is by far the norm).

And then there are plain bags. Not the style that one expects to receive at a store when they make a purchase, but simply general use bags often used for packaging anything from manufactured goods to foodstuffs. Provided with an open end, one simply puts their item in the bag, and seals it up with a twist-tie, tape, or heat seals the end after packaging is finish. Used in the hundreds of millions in Sydney, plain bags are all around us and are often taken for granted.

In the world of evolving practices, Sydney manufacturers are moving away from using large and expensive corrugated boxes for shipping their products to using pallet bags instead. Designed to match the size of standard pallets, these pallet bags are available in different heights and can be custom sized as well for manufacturers that have specific requirements. Also referred to as pallet covers, these products are often supplied in a heat shrink material to allow the pallet bag to be reduced in size after being placed over the shipment. Far superior to boxes when it comes to protecting shipments from exposure to moisture, these pallet bags are becoming a favorite for those involved in a company’s shipping department.

Offering protection from dust, dirt, and moisture, pallet bags are stronger than stretch wrap or banding and will often protect shipments even when stored in direct sunlight for up to 6 months. Provided in a 5 sided configuration (optional slip sheets can be used to protect the bottom of the shipment as well) these pallet bags are placed over the shipment once it is finished assembled. Available in Sydney in heat shrink and non-heat shrink materials a heat shrink style would be subjected to a heat source to have the packaging constrict around the shipment to further secure and protect the contents.

Normally provided on perforated rolls so the pallet bags can be easily detached from the roll for use, a great deal of thought has been put into how to ease the burdens of preparing packages for shipment. in Sydney When one thinks of cheaper, stronger, and faster, they will immediately turn to using pallet bags for their future shipping needs.

Many companies in Sydney use 55 gallon drums to ship a very wide variety of products in bulk. Often referred to as shipping by the barrel, even though when most hear this phrase they immediately think of oil, these drums are widely used outside of the oil industry. A trend that has proven to be very successful is the use of polyethylene drum liners to keep the insides of the drums from being contaminated by the various liquids, pastes, powders, and chemicals that are regularly transported inside these drums. Liners also serve to eliminate airborne toxins and leakage often associated with shipping in the raw containers themselves.

Providing an extra level of protection, reliability, and safety, drum liners are playing a very active role in improving shipping methodology that often goes unsung. Providing an environmentally friendly and cost-effective method for transporting and storing virtually any type of powder, paste, or liquid the use of drum liners has skyrocketed. Generally offered in different side wall thicknesses, with 50, 75, and 100 micron being the most popular, the thickness required will depend upon the application.

One of the uses of the heavier wall drum liners in an industrial application in Sydney (that uses thinking slightly outside of the box) is the use of drum liners in dust collectors in a manufacturing environment.  Using the principles of vacuum extraction, these dust collectors capture the particles produced by grinding operations and deposit the residue into the 55 gallon drum attached to the collection system. Removing the collected particles captured within the liner and simply replacing the liners versus having to exchange drums is a real time saver. There are many other opportunities in Sydney that one can find that will improve their ease of use by changing to using drum liners. Significantly reducing the need to clean and prepare the 55 gallon drums for subsequent use, these liners often have a very favorable payback model.

Many companies in Sydney that ship products in industrial environments have turned from using straps or pallet banding to secure items on a pallet to using flexible stretch film to secure the items for shipment. Fast and effective, the clear plastic sheeting that is used in this process will stretch to exert force, and much like the traditional clear plastic wrap that many use in their home to wrap-up left over food, this product will “cling” to itself in the process of wrapping-up the shipment.

Available in a variety of widths and mil thicknesses, this clear plastic sheeting can be rolled over the contents of the pallet in layers to effectively create a dust and water resistant cover over the products that is not afforded by simple banding alone. Coming in rolls, the plastic film can be placed over and around the item to be shipped on the pallet either manually or some firms use more expensive pallet wrapping machines to accomplish this task. Once the shipment is received, removing the clear plastic sheeting is a breeze as well as it can easily be cut with a penknife or box cutter for fast removal.

With a history of being used in Sydney to provide a barrier to moisture and dust, the use of clear plastic sheeting for wrapping pallets is just one of the thousands of spin-offs that this product has seen over the years. Often used in homes during the winter months to seal-up windows so cold drafts do not enter the home, or used as painters tarps to cover furniture while painting a room are just a couple of examples. Another application that is growing significantly in Sydney is to use clear plastic sheeting to wrap-up boats for winter storage.

You see HDPE or LDPE seamless polyethylene layflat tubing all of the time in Sydney and probably never notice it. If you get home delivery of your local newspaper, more likely than not that plastic sleeve that your paper comes in was once layflat tubing. That plastic envelope filled with prepared food that you are putting into the microwave was once layflat tubing. Having a wide range of applications, layflat tubing can be use to mass produce bags of specific sizes or to be custom sealed after enclosing the product by heat sealing the two open ends.

With a wide selection of stock material to select from in Sydney (some manufactures offer layflat tubing in widths ranging from 1″ to 78″ and thicknesses ranging from 1 mil to 10 mil) sometimes the most difficult question to answer is what size is best for a given application. Some ways to calculate are:

• To determine what layflat tubing width is needed to cover a round item multiply the diameter of the item x 3.1416 x .5 = layflat width
• To determine what diameter can be covered with a given layflat width multiply the layflat width x .6386 = diameter

With layflat tubing being made using a “blown” process that uses air to create the inner cavity of the tubing, one can be assured that the finished tubing will be pinhole free which lends to its use for containing products with fluids associated with it (like sauces that come with certain prepared foods). Widely used by institutional food packaging companies in Sydney, the contents are often put into these USDA approved packages and heat seal clipped at both ends with the contents being “cooked-chilled” for later use.

Those charged with making decisions about how to package products are often confronted with the challenge of determining if using one style of packaging, even though perhaps slightly more expensive, is a better overall choice than using traditional packaging. Another challenge is whether the style of packaging offered will be accepted by consumers in Sydney, such as the use of press seal bags for food products versus the standard brittle plastic packaging or standard vacuum sealed bags.

One change that has been occurring recently is merchants have started to offer certain foodstuffs for sale in plastic press seal bags. Offering two great features:

1. Excellent protection from contamination and humidity
2. Ease of access to the contents of the bag while being able to easily reseal the unused portion for later consumption.

Perhaps slightly more expensive to use for high volume producers, packaging foodstuffs is an application for press seal bags that just makes a lot of sense. If cost is a factor per unit, it must be only a matter of pennies. New trends have press and seal packaging being used for a wide variety of products in Sydney such as sliced lunch meets, cheese slices, candies, nuts, dried fruits, and a whole host of other items. Expect that more and more applications will be developed for press seal bags in the future for products where one is not expected to consume all of the contents of the package all at one time.

Just like people have found alternative uses for press seal bags in their home (using them as containers for loose nails and screws, storing game pieces so they don’t fall out of the game box, etc.), producers in Sydney will continue to find new applications where press seal bags clearly benefit the end user.

We see them everywhere we go, even in Sydney’s rustic National Parks. They are everywhere today. Garbage bags have found a place in our society of great prominence. Having a number of straightforward attributes for fit, form, and function, this seemingly simple invention is commonly taken for granted today as we go about using them mindlessly.

It goes without saying that with hundreds of millions of garbage bags in use in homes, businesses, city streets, parks, etc. in Sydney on any given day, that perhaps only those that lived before they were invented can really appreciate the innovative aspects of this seemingly simple product. Once introduced in a one-size-fits-all design, garbage bags today are offered in a mind-boggling variety. Often on display on multiple shelves in retail outlets around Sydney, they are available in light duty to heavy duty, with a variety of options for closure (twist ties, flaps for tying, draw-strings), and for sizes ranging from very small wastebaskets up to garbage can sizes.

In addition to using garbage bags for their primary purpose, people have been know to use garbage bags for a wide variety of alternative uses from the sublime to the ridiculous. Some examples of the many uses that you have probably seen for a garbage bags outside of its primary purpose are:

• Used as clothing storage bags to protect garments
• Used as the “poor-mans” laundry bag
• Used as covers for outdoor barbeques to protect them from the elements
• You have probably seen one of the more bizarre uses in your travels as people have been know to use them to cover broken windows in their automobile.

The list of alternative uses is much longer than the examples presented above. When people need to find a waterproof and dust resistant means for protecting an item, if it fits into a garbage bag, then they will tend to use a garbage bag for that purpose.

What is the difference between a clear plastic bag and clear plastic tubing? The simple answer is, not much! The biggest difference is that clear plastic bags are provided in specific dimensions for length and width whereas clear plastic tubing is provided to a specific width on a continuous roll that can be cut to a variety of lengths as required. One supplier reviewed offers clear plastic tubing in widths ranging from 50 mm (2″) wide up to 1000 mm (39 ½”) wide. These clear, lay-flat poly tubes are excellent for a wide variety of packaging options to protect items during shipment around Sydney and also to protect products while being held in inventory or while on the store shelves in Sydney.

Different means can be used to close up the ends of the clear tubing once it has been pulled over the item to be protected. With the end users of clear plastic tubing using everything from simple twist-ties to secure the open ends, to rubber bands, staples, plastic closure tabs, all the way to more complicated heat sealing equipment, one can tailor their practices to their specific packaging requirements.

Although one is limited only by their imagination on how to effectively use clear plastic tubing in specific applications, one of the largest uses for clear plastic tubing is simply to make clear plastic bags. With rolls of tubing being fed through special equipment that will seal one end and cut the bag to length, some production equipment is capable of producing small bags at a rate of 70,000 bags per hour. Many low cost clear plastic bags have started out as clear plastic sheeting. One thing is certain, we have found thousands of ways to use clear plastic tubing in Sydney and as additional processes are developed, we will continue to see more and more unique applications for these materials going forward in Sydney.

It seems as though one can not turn around in Sydney today without seeing a trash can with a plastic bin liner being used as an inside layer. Uniquely suited for this purpose, the use of bins liners as a safe and effective means for helping to manage waste has become so common place that we often take them for granted. Providing an excellent seal between the rubbish containers and the garbage that is tossed into them, there are many good reasons to use bin liners in your trash cans and home wastebaskets:

• One of the major reasons for using bin liners is that they protect the receptacle itself from becoming filthy as day to day waste is thrown into the refuse container. Water tight and protecting the side walls of the receptacle from becoming covered with grease, slime, or sticky remnants from the items disposed, one will need to spend less time cleaning the actual receptacle itself.

• Ease of use is another big reason for using bin liners in your trash receptacles. It is very fast and easy to remove the collected waste contained inside the bin liner and to close the liner up securely for later disposal in a dumpster or for street pick-up. In addition, a new liner can be inserted into the primary waste container in a matter of minutes.

• Available in different thicknesses (mils) these bin liners can range from low cost light duty applications to more expensive heavy duty applications.

Different types of closures are now available in Sydney for trash can bin liners with the old standby, the twist-tie, becoming less and less popular. Sydney manufactures have developed new manufacturing processes that allow for additional flap material to be provided for simply tying the bag up with the flaps. Other companies offer bin liners with draw-strings so one is able to tightly close up the bin liner when it is full.