PP Raffia Scrap Buying Guide: Woven Sacks, FIBC and Tape Waste

PP raffia is one of the most widely traded streams of recycled polypropylene. It comes from woven sacks, FIBC (jumbo) bags, tarpaulins and the tape lines that make them. Because there is so much of it, and because it is mostly a single polymer, raffia scrap is a common feedstock for recyclers and for manufacturers who want recycled PP for tapes, moulding or compounding.

But "raffia scrap" covers a wide range of quality. Laminated, printed, dusty, post-consumer sacks are a very different material from clean tape waste off a loom. This guide explains how to tell the difference and what to ask before you buy.

Types of raffia scrap

• Tape and loom waste: off-cuts and rejected tape from raffia plants. Usually clean, unprinted and consistent. This is the easiest raffia to process.
• Post-industrial bag waste: rejected or trimmed sacks from bag makers. Often printed and sometimes laminated, but clean.
• Used woven sacks: bags that held cement, fertiliser, grain, sugar or chemicals. Volume is large, but residue from the contents is the main problem.
• FIBC bags: heavier fabric, often with loops, liners and stitching that need removing. See PP woven bag scrap for how these are usually traded.

For an overview of the raffia stream itself, see PP raffia scrap and the raffia knowledge page.

Lamination and printing

Many woven sacks are laminated with a thin coating to make them moisture resistant. The coating is often a PP-based layer, but in some bags it can include PE. A small amount of PE in PP is tolerated by many applications, but it lowers stiffness and can affect tape drawing. Ask the supplier whether the bags were laminated and, if possible, what with.

Printing inks add colour and can cause gas, odour and specks during reprocessing. Heavily printed bags tend to produce darker, less uniform granules. If you need a light or natural colour, ask for unprinted or lightly printed material and request photos showing the print coverage.

Colour and what it limits

Raffia comes in white, natural, and a range of colours. Sorting by colour before grinding gives you more options later:

• White and natural raffia can be used for light-coloured products or recoloured easily.
• Single-colour lots, such as all-green or all-blue, can go into products of the same colour.
• Mixed colour raffia usually ends up as grey or black granules, which limits the end use.

Agree the colour with your supplier in writing and keep a retained sample from the approved lot.

MFI for tape extrusion and other uses

Raffia tape is made from PP grades with a fairly low MFI so that the film can be slit and drawn into strong tapes. If you plan to make tape again from recycled raffia, you need the recycled material to stay close to that range. Each reprocessing cycle tends to raise MFI as the polymer chains break down, so heavily reprocessed raffia may no longer draw well.

Ask for MFI tested per ASTM D1238 or ISO 1133 at 230 C with 2.16 kg, which is the standard condition for PP. If the material will go into injection moulding or compounding instead, a higher MFI may be acceptable or even useful. Our guide on how to check MFI explains how to compare values.

Contamination checks

Used sacks carry whatever they held. Cement and fertiliser dust, sand, grain and sugar residue all end up as ash, specks or odour in the granules. Check:

1. Dust and residue: shake a sample bag and look at what falls out. Ask whether the material was washed or only dusted.
2. Stitching thread, labels and paper: these should be removed before grinding.
3. Liners and other polymers: FIBC liners are often PE film and should be separated.
4. Hazardous contents: avoid bags that held pesticides or chemicals unless the supplier can show proper cleaning.
5. Moisture: washed raffia that is baled wet will grow mould and add weight you pay for.

Ash content is a useful single check for dirt and filler. Some raffia is made with calcium carbonate filler, so ask about it, as it changes density and how the material behaves. See contamination for more.

Scrap, agglomerate or granules?

Raffia can be bought as baled scrap, as agglomerate or as recycled PP granules. Scrap gives you the most control but needs washing and reprocessing capacity. Granules are ready to use but you depend on the supplier's process. Our guide to scrap vs regrind vs granules covers the trade-offs.

Getting quotes for raffia scrap

When you post a requirement, state the raffia type, whether lamination and printing are acceptable, colour, form, washed or unwashed, MFI target if needed, quantity and your location. PlasticSetu's sourcing desk shares it with matching verified suppliers, collects quotations and arranges samples before you commit. Get quotes to begin.