Recycling used stretch film

Why stretch film is worth collecting

Pallet film comes off at the receiving dock in big, clean sheets of a single plastic. The common machine film is cast LLDPE;² hand film is the same family. That makes it one of the easier plastics to recycle, if it is kept apart from everything else. Plastic recycling overall is low: EPA's 2018 figures put plastics at 35.68 million tons generated, of which 3.09 million tons, 8.7 percent, were recycled.¹ Clean, sorted film is how a warehouse lands on the right side of that figure.

What spoils a bale

• Labels, tape and paper stuck to the film.
• Food, liquids and mud.
• Other plastics mixed in: strapping, bags, bubble wrap, shrink film of a different resin.
• Coloured, black or opaque film mixed with clear, unless the recycler takes mixed colours.
• Wet film baled and left outside.

How docks usually do it

A bin or cage beside the receiving dock for clear film only, emptied into a baler when full; bales stored dry and collected by a recycler or a waste hauler that takes film. The work is in the sorting habit at the dock, not the equipment. Ask your waste hauler first: many already collect film from warehouses, and they will say what they take and how it must be presented.

What a bale is worth

Whether a recycler pays for film, takes it free or charges to collect it depends on the market for recycled polyethylene, how clean the film is, how much you have and how far it travels. Prices move with resin markets, so we don't print one. A site generating a trailer-load of clean clear film every few weeks is in a much stronger position than one with a few bags a month; small sites often do better by joining a hauler's existing route than by baling.

Retail drop-off and small quantities

Store drop-off bins for plastic bags and film take polyethylene film from households, and some take small quantities of clean stretch film. They are not set up for a warehouse's volume. For a business, the route is a waste hauler, a recycler that collects film, or in some areas a returns arrangement with a supplier. Ask before assuming any of them will take coloured or printed film.

Keeping records

If your company reports on waste or plastic, weigh bales before collection and keep the recycler's receipts. That gives you the tonnage diverted, which is the figure most reports ask for, and it shows whether a change of film or wrap pattern actually reduced what goes out the door.

Using less in the first place

The film that never needs recycling is the film you don't use. On a wrapper, pre-stretch set right and a gauge matched to the load do more for the waste bill than anything at the bale. The film per pallet guide shows how to measure use; PCR stretch film covers buying film with recycled content in it.

Balers and compactors

Vertical balers, the upright kind that sit beside a dock, take loose film and press it into dense bales that can be stacked and loaded onto a truck. They are common in retail back rooms and distribution centres that already bale cardboard. Use a separate baler or bale run for film so cardboard and plastic don't mix. A compactor that crushes general waste is no help: film sent there goes to landfill. Train staff to recognise which bin is which, and put the film bin where film is actually cut off, not across the building.

Wet and dirty film

Film from outdoor yards, produce or meat plants is often too dirty for ordinary recyclers. Some specialist processors wash film; ask your hauler.

Reuse before recycling

Film can't be reused once cut, but much can be saved before that: shorter tails, no double wrapping, and a gauge matched to the load. Reusable pallet wraps and straps exist for loads moving between your own sites. Every pound of film not put on a pallet is a pound nobody has to bale.

Who to ask first

Your existing waste hauler, the recycler that takes your cardboard, or a local business recycling directory.

Questions readers ask

Can we recycle film with labels still on?

Some recyclers accept a few labels; many don't. Peel them off at the dock where you can, or cut the labelled section away.

Is there a minimum quantity?

Recyclers and haulers set their own. A baler that makes dense bales lets a smaller site reach a worthwhile load sooner.

Does stretch film recycle with plastic bags?

Both are polyethylene film and can go together in some programmes, but sorting rules differ by recycler. Ask before mixing.

Does dirty film still have value?

Sometimes, to processors that wash it, but at lower prices or a charge. Keeping film clean at the dock is nearly always cheaper than cleaning it afterwards, and grease or soil-stained film is the hardest to place.

Facts on this page last reviewed 2026-11-13.