Many companies seek to produce a better waste sack. It is a worthy goal, but one hampered by cost of development and the reality that a sack costing even 1p more will simply not sell.
Cromwell Polythene is re-launching its clinical waste sacks range, making extensive use of star seal technology to maximize carrying capacity, while optimizing leak resistance. Now, that might mean the same old stock is being re-invented or that there is some subtle but significant change. It is not really clear which.
What is necessary is a puncture- and tear-proof sack of lightweight construction and, for ease of gathering at the neck, thin-walled construction. Some may favour a semi-translucent material to get some idea of content, while others will favour anything but those thick and shiny heavy duty sacks that are so difficult to gather, and almost impossible to tape, to write on even with the best felt tip pen, or on which to attach a sticky label; it’s as if they are truly teflon coated and that doesn’t aid waste tracking.
Thick wall bags are difficult to close effectively and ever more prone to leakage from the neck, to an extent that the quality of the bottom weld becomes almost irrelevant. Once waste sacks are removed from their sack holders, vertical orientation during removal from the ward, in a Eurocart, during later storage and bulking, then on route to the final treatment point is not upright. A sound bottom weld flapping skyward is of no use when the content is leaking out from the tied but inverted neck!
The environmentally conscious would favour bags not made from virgin material. Manufacturers claim that is impossible if bags are to be made in the current array of colour combinations but the colour density if not set in any standard or guide and less intense or deeper colouring of recovered plastic sacks would be just as acceptable and probably quite effective.
It will also help if users could exercise a modicum of common sense in packaging wet wastes that are destined to leak, perhaps using an alternative and fully leak proof bin. However, blaming the producer is not acceptable unless that contractor has taken steps to provide guidance and offer support, and provided a range of suitable containers for more difficult wastes.
I suspect a commercial lobby at work, to sell a more profitable product.
A better sack is sorely needed. Integral handles mounded or cut into the top edge would surely be advantageous.
And above all, a better closure please. Tying or taping at the neck does not work, especially with sacks manufactured from thicker materials. Biobins are a sound alternative, with a reasonable seal and of a design that lends itself to upright stacking. However, that rarely happens and it is not uncommon to see them flying through the air to land in any orientation. Compression does the rest and the contents leak.