Sellotape gets right up my nose. Everything biodegradable on my presents except for that sticky little glistening strip. Now some of you may be thinking chill, Sellotape is cellophane and therefore biodegradable. To which I will waspishly reply
“NO! I checked it out.” I wrote to Sellotape and they said they now only used plastic to make their tapes.
You might think masking tape being made of paper could be used instead but the adhesives often contain synthetic chemicals.
Here are some compostable, biodegradable and recyclable paper tapes with better glues.
Brown Kraft Tape
I have used this self adhesive packaging tape. It is paper based and has a silicone free backing and is 100% recyclable and it is claimed biodegradable. It is used by professional graphic and art houses for the mounting of pictures and photographs during framing.It comes on cardboard rolls and you can get it in all different widths.
It works really well and sticks to just about everything. You can use it with gift wrap for presents, (read more here), but I have also sent it through the post on parcels and it has remained secure. Plus it is great for labelling stuff. Sticks to glass for a surprisingly long time - even in damp conditions.
Buy
I can only buy this on line and it sometimes come packed in plastic. Check with the supplier.
Tapes Direct sell it and I got some from Ebay.
Green Stationary
This online company also sell a biodegradable tape. Here is the blurb
“Eco paper packing tape, 50 metre long rolls of 50mm wide parcel packing tape made from brown 100% recycled paper, with a latex-based adhesive - a totally biodegradable tape to seal your parcels. Hi tac gives strong adhesion to boxes and cartons. Sold individually, this product has a matt finish.”
I have to bought from them so I don’t know what the onward packaging is like…….
And of course…
Amazon
Being committed to local shopping, I prefer to buy that way whenever possible. I would encourage you to do the same. One of the joys of living plastic free is mooching round the local shops seeing what you can source.
If you can’t buy local please do check the links above to the suppliers and buy direct from them and support their online businesses.
If you can’t do that then I have put together and Amazon catalogue. Yes I know…
| 50mm Brown Self Adhesive Picture Frame Back… £3.60 |
75mm Brown Self Adhesive Picture Frame Back… £5.05 |
25mm Brown Self Adhesive Picture Frame Back… £1.99 |
If you buy a product via this link we do get an affiliation fee for this. This is not why we do it.
Pity theres no clear tape options. That’s what I need ideally
The other tapes up there I have used and again they claimed to be biodegradable. They certainly felt like paper.
is that the one they market as Sustainable paper packaging tape? i see that it now say 60% bio based. Do you mean the rest is plastic? They certainly used to market this as a paper tape. Please do let me know. and thanks for the heads up.
Correction
I have investigated Tesa’s Tape and sadly it is NOT biodegradable as you state above. It is made from recycled plastic but it cannot go in the recycling bins.
Shame.
Hi, I have been also investigating alternatives to sticky tape. I came across tesatape and while it is an improvement to regular tape as it is made from recycled plastic, I did not find any claims that it was biodegradable as you have suggested.
I’m kind of hoping I’m wrong here, and that you have some additional information which you can pass on to me.
Thanks
This self adhesive paper tape is great but, and its a big but, self adhesive paper address labels, and post office labels don’t stick to it, because of the waxy finish. If any one has a solution to this I would love to hear from it. I pack loads of parcels, biodegradable boxes, loose fill, bubblewrap but the sellotape problem has me stumped. I use the water activated paper tape when I can but its not always easy.
yes packaging is a real problem. and expense is a big factor wen choosing. let us know how you get on.
Hi, Having such a difficult time sourcing good biodegradable packing. I sell lots of ceramics online so need top rate packaging. The problems I have are:
1. Eco bubble wrap by Jiffy is very stiff and unyielding and not good for delicate items.
2. Paper tapes all seem to have a waxy finish, they stick beautifully, but all the address labels and postage labels don’t stick to it.
I would love to use 100% biodegradable packing but so far having a difficult (and expensive) time of it.
Great business opportunity for someone to set up a really good eco friendly packaging company.
I have used it for parcels sent through the post and it has worked so far. I use the very thick one.
Could this be used for shipping, taping up boxes and envelopes and such?
We do that too!
Use string?
RT @polytheenpam: #plasticfree tape for wrapping those pressies http://t.co/Yh504UCzNO
RT @polytheenpam: #plasticfree tape for wrapping those pressies http://t.co/Yh504UCzNO
#plasticfree tape for wrapping those pressies http://t.co/Yh504UCzNO
RT @polytheenpam: This self adhesive paper tape with silicone free backing 100% recyclable #plasticfree. #plastic & good for labels! http:/…
This self adhesive paper tape with silicone free backing 100% recyclable #plasticfree. #plastic & good for labels! http://t.co/Yh504UCzNO