Food, small parts or jewelry - transparent bags are the perfect helper for packaging and storing a wide variety of things. It is obvious that with paper as packaging material exactly this requirement, namely transparency, cannot be met. The logical consequence: it has to be plastic.
But there are major differences here, which not only relate to the design of the transparent bags - to the specific purpose for which this packaging is purchased. Not every plastic is suitable for everything.
Transparent bags - how can they be defined?
As specialists for sustainable and uncomplicated packaging for a wide variety of industries, we naturally deal with this big issue: sustainable plastics that help our environment. There are some synonymous terms like plastic, film or plastic bags - and they usually consist of Polyethylene (PE) or Polypropylene (PP).
Three sides of these transparent bags are closed, one remains open and usually without closure. Since these packaging items are made of flat film, semi-tubular or tubular film in different thicknesses, you will find the appropriate number of welds. This is not problematic, because the stability does not suffer in any way.
In addition to the material, the film thickness determines the type of relevant uses:
Thickness in millimeters - in micrometers - Uses
- 0.010 mm - 10 µm - very thin but strong HDPE for fruit packaging
- 0.025 mm - 25 µm - thin LDPE for textile packaging and as a keep-fresh bag
- 0,050 mm50µm - stable film made of LDPE for carrier bags and as freezer bags
- 0.100 mm-100 µm - stable, high quality for packing metal or screws.
- 0.150 mm-150 µm - very stable construction film or silo film
- 0.200 mm 200 µm - stable vapor barrier film for roofs
Not all of these articles are transparent, but this list gives you an overview of the wide variety of film products. As you can see, different plastics are used - we also explain them in more detail:
- Low Density Material (LDPE)- low density polyethylene - food safe
- High Density Material (HDPE)- High Density Polyethylene - Food Safe
- Middle Density Material (MDPE)- Medium Density Polyethylene - Food Safe
- Oriented Polypropylene (OPP)- oriented polypropylene - high transparency
- Cast polypropylene (CPP)- cast polypropylene - high transparency and abrasion resistance
- Recycled Low Density Material (rLDPE), Recycled High Density Material (rHDPE), Recycled Middle Density Material (rMDPE) made from recyclates
- Bio-based plastic (Bio)- made from compostable material such as corn or potato starch.
So not all plastic bags are the same - the different materials result in the respective properties and thus the possible applications. Some examples of the types of transparent bags offered in everyday life should give you some orientation - and we have not yet taken into account any colors or thicknesses:
- food safe transparent bags
- Tear-off bags with needling, hot needling, micro perforation or hot perforation on rolls
- Side gusset bags - with and without side seam
- Bottom gusset bags - with and without bottom seam
- Bag with parting or double seam
- Bag with sealing edge for vacuuming
- Flap bag
- blocked bags
- perforated bags
- antistatic bags
- sealable pouches including pressure seal, slide or zipper, adhesion seal, self-adhesive seal or drawstring.
 So they are used in the most diverse areas of daily life. Nevertheless, these transparent bags are no longer allowed in every design. As of January 1, 2022, an amendment to the Packaging Materials Act in Germany - and others are likely to follow. |
Plastic bag ban: What is still allowed - and what is not?
The aim of the amendment is to limit the EU-wide consumption of plastic bags. According to a directive issued by the EU Commission in 2015, we should only use 40 bags per person per year by 2025. Of course, this requirement does not apply to all plastic bags; it is specifically aimed at disposable items.
Such bags were handed out at supermarket checkouts or for packing fruits and vegetables. As soon as the plastic bags are strong and large enough that they can be used several times, they are not affected by the ban.
A decline in consumption has already been recorded in Germany since 2016, as many retailers have committed to a more environmentally friendly approach to packaging items - and this is precisely the direction in which the law now intends to continue.
The prohibited articles - and the penalties for violation
Thus, transparent bags were by no means banned, but rather Plastic carrier bags with a thickness of less than 0.05 mm. By comparison, the thin bags you get at the fruit store are made of film with a wall thickness of less than 0.015 mm. These are still permitted, provided they are not offered at the supermarket checkout, but are used for the initial packaging of certain foods or are necessary for hygienic reasons.
Interesting: Organic plastic bags have also been banned. In this way, the legislator is taking account of the fact that biodegradable plastics are by no means as environmentally friendly as many consumers initially assume. In the course of the degradation processes - whether in an industrial composting plant or in the compost at home - these plastics decompose into their components in the best case, so that they can no longer be used.
Moreover, it remains questionable whether the theoretical approach works in practice. As tests show, considerable residues remain of the supposedly degradable plastics. The designation is therefore misleading and tempts consumers not to dispose of these bags properly.
If traders violate this law, which has been in force since 2022, this is considered an administrative offense but can be punished with a fine of up to 100,000 euros.
 According to the Federal Environment Agency, more than 4.7 billion plastic bags were consumed in Germany alone in 2019 - that is, 59 bags per citizen. However, only 1.5 billion plastic bags are affected by the ban. |
Why do plastic parts and plastic bags in particular harm our environment?
The boom in these plastics is becoming the bane of the environment. Because the bad image stems precisely from this improper use and the resulting amount of plastic waste that is not disposed of properly. With dramatic consequences: This decomposes very slowly into smaller and smaller particles to be distributed as microplastics after many decades.
For example, the German Federal Environment Agency estimates that a plastic bottle that enters the sea takes up to 450 years to decompose into these tiny particles. The consequences for living creatures and the environment are difficult to assess, but an intrusion of these microparticles into food chains is likely.
You've probably seen pictures of marine animals caught in old plastic packaging or with their stomachs filled with plastic waste - that's terrible and certainly not the point of plastic packaging. However, there is no need to completely abandon transparent bags or pack everything in paper: Paper bags and pouches are not usually used more than once.
Instead, they consist of fresh fibers for which valuable woods are used for disposable packaging. The decisive advantage of paper is that it decomposes quickly in nature - but the starting material is lost.
Transparent bags and carrier bags - waste or useful?
Of course, you can pack your groceries in a cloth bag or use paper bags, if that's possible. But there are good reasons to prefer transparent bags: for packing and preserving food, safely storing small parts and many other occasions.
The more often you use these transparent bags or carrier bags, the better it is for the environment. Using them just three times improves the eco-balance compared to disposable polyethylene (PE) packaging.
The German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) has looked at various alternatives to plastics and had their environmental impact analyzed.
Surprisingly, disposable glass also has disadvantages: although glass can be recycled easily and enjoys a good image in terms of the environment, it is hardly suitable as a packaging alternative. On the one hand, it is a heavy material, and on the other, both carbon dioxide and pollutants are released during production and transport.
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Even paper is not unproblematicEven paper is not problematic, since its production is by no means as environmentally friendly as its image would suggest - provided the packaging is only used once. |
Conclusion: Transparent bags - versatile in every respect
Both in terms of the materials from which transparent bags are made and in terms of the designs and possible uses, these packaging materials prove to be extremely diverse. There are so many different plastics with specific properties that a suitable solution can be found for every purpose.
There are also major differences in terms of the possibility of disposing of transparent bags in an environmentally compatible manner: While the biodegradable plastics prove to be extremely stubborn and are by no means environmentally compatible, transparent bags made of other plastics can be reprocessed and sent for reuse as recyclate - this is the best solution.
Even the bags made from PLA, i.e. corn or potato starch, are not without problems: to meet the demand for packaging, enormous quantities of important foodstuffs would have to be processed for them. Nature would be even more polluted by the cultivation of such areas.
So you can twist and turn it: Without petroleum-based plastics, realistic demand cannot be met. It would therefore make more sense to develop a genuine circular economy in order to effectively reduce the consumption of new raw materials. So it's also up to us ourselves, because consumer behavior certainly has a major influence.
