How to Package Mulch and Similar Landscaping Products

The packaging and shipping of mulch and related products has very specific requirements and needs. If these needs are not accommodated, it can lead to problems, inefficiency and waste. If they are accommodated, your operation will run that much smoother and more efficiently.

Bagging

In most cases, standard stock bags will not work for the bagging of mulch and related products.  Size is very subjective, as is the need for side gussets or a lay flat bag.  There are three characteristics, however, that most mulch and related operations prefer:

• Vented Bags
  Vents are simply holes in the bag that allow the product to breathe.  There are different types of vents, but following are the most common:
• Micro-Perforation - pinpoint holes in the bag spaced two inches in every direction.
• Butterfly - partial holes held to the film/bag by a tab and spaced according to the customer's requirements.
• Normal - 1/4" round holes, punched fully out of the bag, and spaced according to the customer's requirements.
• Non-Slip Material
  Most standard low-density polyethylene bags (or LDPE) have a somewhat slippery finish to them.  This can look good and isn't a problem in many industrial applications, but can present serious problems when trying to stack your bagged product, whether on a pallet or on a job site.  A Non-Slip material will increase the friction between the bags and allow them to be stacked without that problem.
• UVI/UVA Treated
  A UVI/UVA treatment will protect the bag and its contents from the harmful rays of the sun.  The standard UVI/UVA treatment is a 1.5% concentration which will ensure a shelf life of one year.  Higher concentrations will extend the shelf life accordingly.  This prevents both the deterioration of the bag over time as well as the degradation of the contents.  Contrary to what many believe, UVI/UVA treatments do not require that the material be any particular color, much less black.  They can be clear or any other color.  Typically, the main reason some users prefer their UVI/UVA treated material to be colored is so they can easily differentiate it from those materials that are not UVI/UVA treated.  UVI/UVA should not be used with film/bags that come in contact with agricultural chemicals or pesticides.

In most cases, finding bags that meet at least two of these criteria means that you'll be dealing with custom made bags, as opposed to stock.  Let us know what you need and we'll help you determine what will work best, and what kind of minimums, costs and lead times are involved.  For additional information on poly bag options and characteristics, look at our Poly Bag FAQ post.

Transporting and Storing

Whether it's moving on the back of a flatbed truck, sitting for a period of time on a job site or in a retail environment, how you store mulch or related products is equally as important as how you bag your product.  Following are two options to consider when transporting and storing mulch products:

• Slip Sheets
  Slip sheets are simply a piece of corrugated cardboard that goes between the pallet and your bagged product.  It's a simple thing, but very important in that it will help minimize the possibility of the bags on the bottom getting torn and damaged.
  
• Single-Side Cling Stretch Wrap
  Sometimes called shrink wrap, stretch wrap is the clear, thin, poly product that is used to wrap a skid of bags and secure it to the pallet.  Unlike most stretch wrap applications, skids of stretch wrap do not have nice, smooth sides.  The convex nature of a pallet of mulch bags means that these skids, when stacked on or in the back of a truck, will make contact with one another.  If you're using standard stretch wrap, which is a two-side cling, you run the very real risk of your skids sticking together and tearing one another as you move them.  Single-side cling film means that only the inner layer of the wrap has cling and the outer side does not, eliminating (or at least minimizing) this problem.
• Pallet Covers
  These are often used in conjunction with stretch wrap.  Essentially, they are large bags that are turned upside down and pulled over the pallet or stack of bags.  They can be colored and/or treated with UVI/UVA.  They serve to protect your product from weather or light damage, and with the UVI/UVA treatment, can protect your product from the damage caused by the sun as well.  They can be used over or under the stretch wrap (if used over, it can eliminate the need for single-side cling film, as addressed above), and can be re-used as well.  Pallet covers can also be fairly easily printed in order to publicize your brand.  For more information on pallet covers and how to measure for them, look at our previous post on that topic.
• UVI/UVA Protection
  A UVI/UVA treatment (as referenced above) can be added to both stretch wrap and pallet covers.

Whatever your products and your needs, contact us and let us know how we can assist you to make the most of the options that are available.  We can provide you with stock product options, custom quotes, and samples where needed.