Packaging Plastic Reduction Calculator

1. What this tool measures

The tool compares the weight of plastic in one packaging option against another, per closure or per package. It does not measure carbon emissions, energy use, recyclability or other life-cycle impacts, and it is not a life-cycle assessment. Plastic weight reduction, total material weight, freight and EPR fees are calculated and reported separately. Total weight is shown because some EPR programs and customer reporting count all packaging materials, not only plastic. EPR fee estimates apply a separate rate to each material. Twist ties contain steel wire, so their total weight reduction is lower than their plastic reduction. If Option A contains no plastic, a plastic percentage cannot be calculated and is shown as n/a.

2. Formulas

Plastic reduction (%) = (Plastic in A − Plastic in B) ÷ Plastic in A × 100

Total weight reduction (%) = (Total weight of A − Total weight of B) ÷ Total weight of A × 100, where total weight includes plastic, paper, steel wire and tags

Twist tie weight (g) = grams per foot × tie length (in) ÷ 12

1/8 in tie plastic per foot = 0.30 g clip × (1 − 2022 reported reduction at 4.0 in) ÷ 4.0 × 12 [2] [12]

Annual plastic (lb) = units per day × days per year × grams per unit ÷ 453.59237

EPR fee (per unit) = Σ (material grams × fee per lb for that material) ÷ 453.59237

EPR savings = (EPR fee for A − EPR fee for B) × annual units × share of sales into EPR states

Annual clip spend = annual closures ÷ 1,000 × clip price per 1,000

Clip freight spend = annual clip spend × freight burden %; twist tie freight spend = $0 [10]

Freight savings = freight spend for A − freight spend for B

Percentages shown in results are rounded down to the nearest 0.1%, and increases are rounded up, so displayed figures never overstate the benefit. Published Bedford figures round to the nearest whole percent, so they may differ from this tool by up to 1 point. Unrounded values appear in "Your calculation."

3. Input data for this category

Tie values are shown at the tie length selected above. Status key: Measured sample = weighed in Bedford's lab (production tolerance ±5%). Engineering value = Bedford engineering calculation. Working value = internal working figure pending confirmation. Derived estimate = calculated from published Bedford figures or from the weight of a comparable Bedford product.

4. Validation against published figures

At 4.0 in against a 0.30 g clip, the 1/8 in, 28 ga ties reproduce Bedford's 2022 calculations: 84.4% (PL), 87.7% (PL/PA) and 90.0% (PA/PA, MG paper) [2]. The 4.125 and 4.25 in rows of the same tables imply the same plastic per foot within 0.5%, which supports scaling by length. At 3.75 in, the model returns 60.4% for PolyTwist® and 90.6% for the 1/8 in PA/PA tie, compared with 60% and 91% in Bedford's 2024 published comparison [3] and the 91% paper tie figure in the 2025 Sustainability Report [4]. The same 2024 publication reports 83% for a standard plastic/paper tie. That figure is understood to be based on a 5/32 in, 27 ga tie, for which the model returns 84.6%; the 1/8 in, 28 ga PL/PA tie returns 88.4%. The published 83% remains the more conservative figure. At 4.00 in against a 0.330 g polystyrene clip, the 5/32 in PL/PA tie returns 85.1%, compared with 85.5% in Bedford's 2026 working scenario [5]. Produce results reproduce the April 2024 lab study exactly [8]. PushTag® returns 76.3% against the October 2019 cabbage overwrap sample, compared with 76% published [13].

5. Sources

1. Bedford Industries engineering closure weights, March 2025. 27-gauge plastic/paper wire tie 0.49 g/ft; PolyTwist® 0.38 g/ft; CloseIt® C100 clip, HIPS, 0.030 in, about 0.30 g; CloseIt® C100 clip, HDPE, 0.030 in, calculated estimate about 0.28 g. Clip weight varies with the opening style.
2. Bedford Industries internal plastic reduction calculations, August 2022, at 4.0 to 4.25 in tie lengths versus 30-mil CloseIt® C102 and C103 clips. Used for validation only.
3. Bedford sell sheet SUS-PR-TIE, January 2024. Comparison by weight; 3.75 in Bedford twist tie, CloseIt® C102 and Kwik Lok® J-NRP TGR-2. Reports 83% (plastic/paper), 91% (paper/paper) and 60% (PolyTwist®).
4. Bedford Industries 2025 Sustainability Report. EcoTwist™ reduces plastic by 91% compared with a common plastic tab-style bag closure.
5. Bedford Industries working EPR scenario, October 2026. Twist tie 0.160 g total, composed of 64% steel wire, 30% plastic and 6% paper; tab-style clip 0.330 g, 100% polystyrene. Source of the plastic/paper tie composition, pending bill-of-materials confirmation. The scenario's 0.330 g clip is used for validation only.
6. Kwik Lok® J-NRP values are Bedford estimates based on the weight of the comparable Bedford CloseIt® C100 clip in the same resin and thickness [1]. They are not based on Kwik Lok's published specifications or on measurement of Kwik Lok samples. The 45 mil values are scaled from 30 mil by thickness (1.5x). The JM-NRP long values are scaled by an assumed 1.3x for added length, so the 45 mil long value is 0.30 g × 1.3 × 1.5 = 0.585 g. These values have not been provided or verified by Kwik Lok Corporation.
7. Bedford Industries CloseIt® clip procedure. Confirms polystyrene substrate and availability in 0.030 and 0.045 in thickness.
8. Bedford Industries lab study, "Resealable Plastic Bag, Plastic Clamshell Container, Foam Tray with Cling Wrap: Plastic Reduction," April 16, 2024. Current packaging samples were weighed including labels and zippers. Replacement BibTies and PTie weights are tie material and tag without wire; wire is counted separately for freight and EPR. Replacement weights are ±5% per production tolerance. Tie material, including any paper, is counted as plastic, which understates the reduction. Package labels are counted as plastic, which may modestly overstate it.
9. EPR fees are illustrative blended rates of $0.60/lb plastic, $0.10/lb paper and $0.15/lb steel. They do not represent any state's or producer responsibility organization's actual fee schedule. The default 21% share approximates the U.S. population in states with enacted packaging EPR laws as of 2026.
10. Clip freight is estimated as a percentage of annual clip spend, using your clip price and a default freight burden of 8%. Actual freight varies with carrier, distance, order size and frequency. Twist tie freight is shown as $0 because Bedford ships twist tie orders of 150 or more spools to a single U.S. location at no freight charge; smaller orders, multiple ship-to locations and shipments outside the United States may incur freight. The default clip price of $3.00 per 1,000 is an assumption; enter your actual price. Freight is not modeled for produce packaging.
11. Water bottle equivalent assumes 10 g of PET per 16.9 oz bottle. Actual bottle weights range from about 9 to 15 g.
12. Bedford derivation of tie weights, October 2026. 1/8 in, 28 ga plastic per foot is calculated from the 2022 reported reduction versus a 30-mil CloseIt® C102 clip at 4.0 in [2], using a 0.30 g clip weight from [1]; the 2022 source does not state the clip weight used. The 1/8 in PA/PA value uses the 2022 MG paper construction; the Kraft paper construction reported 91.7%. 5/32 in PL and PA/PA plastic equals the 1/8 in value × 1.25 (the width ratio), assuming the same ribbon thickness. 5/32 in PL/PA uses the 27 ga plastic/paper values in [1] and [5], which do not state tie width; the width-scaled 1/8 in value (0.1384 g/ft) is within 6% and lower, so the value used is the more conservative of the two. Steel: 27 ga 0.3136 g/ft per [5]; 28 ga 0.275 g/ft, scaled by wire cross-section (0.0162 in vs. 0.0173 in diameter). Paper: 5/32 in PL/PA 0.0294 g/ft per [5], scaled by width for 1/8 in; PA/PA paper is assumed to be twice the PL/PA value. Paper and steel affect only the freight and EPR estimates.
13. Bedford Industries in-house comparison data, October 2019. Traditional cabbage bag (described in Bedford publications as cabbage overwrap), 24.5 x 14.6 in unfolded, 5.29 g; PushTag®, 1.5 x 2.5 in, 1.25 g. Reduction = (5.29 − 1.25) ÷ 5.29 = 76.37%, published as 76% in Bedford sell sheet SUS-PR (April 2023) and the 2025 Bedford Sustainability Report. The 5.29 g value is the specific October 2019 comparison sample; cabbage bags vary in size and film thickness. The entire PushTag® weight is counted as plastic.

6. Limitations

Results apply to the specific product configurations listed above. Your packaging may differ in size, thickness, gauge, length, opening style, resin or label. Bakery comparisons assume one closure per package. Bedford tested specific produce replacements for each package type (shown in green in the quick-pick table). Other produce pairings are weight comparisons only, and all comparisons assume the replacement performs the same function for your product. The tool does not account for differences in bag film, product protection, shelf life, labor or equipment.