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Hi! Welcome to Discount Plastic Bags! Our aim is to provide you a list of discount suppliers of polythene bags, sheeting and tubing, polypropylene bags, merchandise bags. zipper reclosable bags, shrink film, heat sealers, twist-ties and much more!

If you need a specific size, thickness, colour or print, please write or call to our major suppliers who will give your inquiry immediate and personal attention, helping you to get the answers you need right.

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What are Plastic bags?

A Plastic bag is a bag flexible packaging made of thin, flexible, blown poly film. Plastic bags are used for containing waste for packaging, disposal, and for storing and transporting foods, produce, powders, ice, chemicals, etc.
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How Plastic is Made

What are Plastic Bags made from?

Plastic film is made from polyethylene. Polyethylene is a very simple molecule, a carbon chain forms the "backbone" and each carbon atom has two hydrogen atoms bonded to it.

If you see a picture shows a chain of 8 carbon atoms forming a polyethylene molecule. In reality polyethylene molecules have carbon backbones that are many thousands of atoms long. High density polyethylene is comprised simply of long polyethylene molecules. Low density polyethylene has branches from the carbon backbone. These branches improve the toughness and tear-resistance, but reduce the tensile strength.

How is Plastic Made?

Plastics are made from hydrocarbons, as the name implies hydrocarbons are a category of molecules that are made from hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons can be small molecules such as ethane or large molecules with carbon "back bones" or carbon rings. Hydrocarbons are naturally occurring in oil and gas deposits.

In U.K plastic is made from Natural Gas. Natural gas is mainly Methane (one carbon atom), with some ethane (two carbon atoms), a little less propane (three...) and butane (four...) etc. The natural gas is "cracked" into ethylene by heating it to high temperatures.

Ethylene is converted into long polyethylene molecules by heating it in the presence of a catalyst. The polyethylene is palletised and bagged.
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Why Plastic bags?

The plastic grocery bags were introduced to the supermarket industry as an alternative to paper sacks in 1977.

Plastic shopping bags offer the consumer many benefits.
  1. They are very lightweight, yet strong.
  2. They are convenient and waterproof.
  3. Plastic bags also offer environmental advantages over traditional materials.

Single-use plastic bags are light weight, durable and help conserve energy, not to mention that they also reduce greenhouse gases during their transportation Plastic bags require very little resources to produce and individually, weigh between six and 10 grams. They are waterproof and are capable of holding 11 kilograms - more than two thousand times their own weight. A United Kingdom study showed that four out of five people reuse their bags.

Today's plastic bags are also prime examples of source reduction or light weighting. They use about 75 per cent less resin and about 63 per cent less energy in their manufacture than two decades ago. Yet, they are as strong as those made in the 1980s.

Plastic bags show up in many places in a business. They can act as a simple storage device, provide protection for your manufactured goods, act as a marketing device for you business, or even be the delivery container for the finished product.

These days, plastic bags have displaced paper in many retail chains as the bag of choice for transporting a customer's purchases and are becoming more common on store shelves for delivering anything from lunch and cheese to cotton balls.

There are a number of very good sources of plastic bags on the Internet that can provide you with standard Ziploc style bags, anti static bags for electronics, plastic trash bags, and a number of bags for retail. You can normally get your company logo printed on your bags for a small additional charge. The printing costs vary depending on the complexity of the setup and number of colours needed and you normally have place a large order to qualify for printing services.
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Types of Plastic bags

The most common types of plastic bags used in business include:
  1. Poly bags, short for polyethylene, poly bags are also referred to as High Density Poly Ethylene (HDPE) bags, and Low Density Poly Ethylene (LDPE) bags
  2. Anti-static bags designed to eliminate the risk of static build-up
  3. Merchandise bags with custom printed logos and colours
  4. Polypropylene bags which are typically clear and protect against moisture and humidity
  5. Trash liner bags for any size of trash disposal can or collection bin
  6. Pallet cover bags designed to protect shipments made on pallets, and usually made from LDPE
  7. Postal approved bags designed for the handling of items and merchandise
  8. Cushion bags designed to be inflated and included with shipments to protect the content
Polybags Limited, UK manufacture all above mentioned plastic bags at cheap prices.
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High Density vs. Low Density Bags

Low density polyethylene

Low density polyethylene (LDPE) is the most widely used material in plastic bags. Some familiar applications include heavy duty garbage bags, press seal bags and boutique retail carry bags. It is strong, has high tear resistance, is clear and is easy to print on.


Minimum Thickness = 25 microns
Maximum Thickness = 150 microns.

High density polyethylene (HDPE)

High density polyethylene is used for making singlet bags that are used by supermarkets. In its natural form it has a frosted appearance and makes a crackly/crinkly sound when crushed. It is stronger than LDPE but is not as tear resistant.


Minimum Thickness = 15 microns
Maximum Thickness = 70 microns.

HDPE is typically used for applications where a very thin cost effective bag is required. The classic high density application is liner bags where tear resistance is not required.

Please call Polybags Limited on 020 8575 8200 if you have any questions about what is the right material for your application.
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Points to consider buying Plastic bags

Looking on the internet and finding a right supplier of plastic bags can be daunting. What we can't help is to provide you with bags but we can list a points you should consider buying a quality plastic bags at cheap prices:
    • Lowest Prices
      Compare prices in the industry & Save. For an example Polybags Limited, UK offers the lowest price on custom printed bags. They're committed to offering you low prices, so they'd love to know if you found a better price for any bags at another retailer.

    • 100% Satisfaction Guarantee
      Again consider buying from a supplier who offers 100% no quibbles guarantee such as Polybags Limited, UK.

    • Manufacture Bags to Your Specifications
      Not any supplier would have any size you need in stock so choose a supplier who can make the bags as per your need...

    • No Minimum Order
      Choose a supplier who can offer you a low quantity purchase.

    • Fastest Turnaround Time
      If you looking for a custom bags and quick turnaround choose a manufacturer not merchants.

    • Free Sample
      If you unsure request a Free sample of your product before you buy. Polybags Limited,UK offers this service at no obligation.

    • Free Delivery
      Calculate total cost of plastic bags including delivery coz some retailer may sell cheap bags but charge an extra on delivery.

      Polybags Limited is UK's top supplier of plastic bags and polythene bags which offers most of above service....
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Top Plastic Bags Suppliers

Below is the list of top plastic bags suppliers:
    • Plastic Bags and Plastic Film - Polybags, UK
      Polybags Limited are manufacturers and suppliers of polythene and plastic bags/film. They supply minigrip bags, zipper bags, carrier bags, refuse sacks, bin liners, pallet wrap, garment covers, laundry film, biodegradable bags and many more....
      www.polybags.co.uk

    • Coreblimey
      Here at Core Blimey we stock a wide range of packaging products, everything from mailing tubes to bubble wrap to cardboard boxes to singlet bags with new products being added everyday. We are learning more about packaging all the time and are more than willing to help if you have a difficult or unusual product you are trying to find.
      www.coreblimey.com

    • Alpha Polybag Corp
      Alpha Polybag is known as a manufacturer of quality polyethylene products. Today, we utilize state of the art equipment to produce and print a wide range of products for customers in Food service, Industrial, Medical, Janitorial and Retail industries.........
      www.alphapolybag.com

    • CarryRite
      Carryrite is a specialist supplier of packaging products and services for retailers, promotional companies and corporations. We have the broadest range of high quality stock packaging, and can also arrange the production of custom and printed bags or labels to suit your needs.
      www.carryrite.com

    • Associate Bag Company
      We have the lowest prices on thousands of quality packaging supplies, shipping supplies, plastic bags, mailing supplies, paper bags, stretch wrap, cardboard boxes, envelopes and mailers, poly bags, adhesive tape, shrink wrap, and much more.
      www.associatedbag.com

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Other useful information

For more detailed information on plastic bags please visit www.packagingknowledge.com

The Plastic bag essay covers an interesting fact about history of plastics bags, how plastic bags are made, options available in plastic bags/film, list of major UK suppliers, standards of plastic bags for food & medical use and also enriched with common and exciting uses listed for plastic bags. And, these not all, this detailed essay also includes research news on plastic bags, unusual uses of plastic bags, jokes on plastic bags and many more. So, broaden your understanding on plastic bags.
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Wondering! What Thickness Bag you need?

The thickness of plastic film is measured in microns. One micron is one thousandth of a metre. Listed below are some typical thicknesses used for common applications.

ThicknessApplication
20 - 25Magazine Post Bags, Bread Bags, Carton Liners
37Heavy Duty Garbage Bags
50Press Seal Bags, Trade Show Carry Bags
60 - 75Frozen liquid food bags.
75 - 90Medium to large Retail Carry Bags
75 - 100Heavy Duty Industrial Bags, Potting Mix
125 - 150Ultra Heavy Duty - Sharp Quarry Rocks

If you are unsure about what thickness you need give a call to Polybags Limited on 020 8575 8200 and they will be able to recommend a thickness. Because they blow all our film on site we can vary the thickness to exactly match your requirements.
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How to Go Green

Reuse plastic bags
People in Britain use 8 billion plastic bags every year. The bags are manufactured from polyethylene, which is a product of the oil industry.

Plastic bags have many advantages over paper alternatives. They are lightweight and not voluminous which makes them cheaper to transport from the site of creation to the store. They are also durable and reportedly cause less environmental damage in their manufacture.

Because they are so light, plastic bags are not given so much focus when it comes to issues of landfill and recycling. Bulkier items such as cardboard, glass and organic matter are given greater consideration. However, once you start recycling your household waste and composting everything else you'll soon see that plastic becomes the major item in your black bin bag. However, it's just as easy to apply the mantra Reduce, Reuse, Recycle to plastic bags as it is any other resource.


Reduce
Plastic bags are very strong these days and can easily handle a maximum load. Reduce the amount of bags you need by using their full capacity. Alternatively, you can choose to use a non-plastic alternative, such as these bags made from reclaimed materials that are mentioned on the excellent Hippy Shopper website. The Plastic bag essay covers an interesting fact about history of plastics bags, how plastic bags are made, options available in plastic bags/film, list of major UK suppliers, standards of plastic bags for food & medical use and also enriched with common and exciting uses listed for plastic bags. And, these not all, this detailed essay also includes research news on plastic bags, unusual uses of plastic bags, jokes on plastic bags and many more. So, broaden your understanding on plastic bags.

Reuse
Plastic bags are durable, which makes them perfect candidates for reuse. Keep a number of plastic bags in the boot of your car ready for when you next go shopping. Invest in a bag for life, which is offered by some of the leading supermarkets. You can also use plastic bags as bin liners; to keep your muddy trainers separate from your gym kit; to carry your books to work or school (choose a bag from your favourite clothes store for credibility). There's loads of practical uses for them.

Recycle
Plastic bags can be recycled. Many stores have a recycling bin for them in their car parks. Anything that can be made from virgin plastic can be made from recycled plastic. The quality is the same.

Plastic bags can be a pain to store though. We use so many of them that they often end up taking over a broom cupboard, downstairs loo or spare cupboard. So why not make a handy storage tube for them? Here's how. You'll need a large rectangular shaped piece of material, or the leg of an old pair of trousers; a piece of elastic; an old boot lace or chord; some basic sewing skills.

Lay the material flat on the floor and place the piece of elastic along one of the short ends of the material. Fold the material over the elastic and hold it in place with some pins. Sew the fold into place.

Next, place the chord at the opposite end of the material and repeat the above. However you will not have to tighten or tie the chord. Make sure the chord is a few centimetres longer than the material is wide. This will be the end where plastic bags are stuffed into for storage. You can use this end for easy access if you want to remove all the plastic bags for some reason, e.g. cleaning.

Turn the material over so you can't see the seams from the two short ends. Fold the material lengthways and sew the two long edges together to make a tube. Turn the tube inside out to hide all the seams. Pull the elastic to about half of its full tension and tie a knot next to where the two corners of the material meet. This will be the elasticted hole at the bottom of the tube where you pull out the plastic bags. Tie the chord in a bow for tidiness. Add a hook if you want to hang it up in a cupboard.

Reference: http://www.howtogogreen.com/2005/05/reuse-plastic-bags.html
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