It is for anyone who has received a parcel cushioned with Forever Green air cushion film, whether you bought it yourself or it arrived in an order from an online shop or other business. We run it at our own cost. It takes a couple of minutes, costs you a second-class stamp, and it keeps the film out of the places where plastic does harm.
How Return 2 Recycle works
- Request a free mailer using the form in the Return 2 Recycle section of our sustainability page (press "Request free mailers"), or through our contact page. Most of our films are printed with a QR code that goes to the same form. Our bubble and quilt films carry a "recycle me" message with the website address instead.
- Deflate and flatten your used air cushion film and put it in the mailer. The mailer is 6" x 9", which is usually big enough for a large amount of deflated film. Larger sizes are available on request.
- Post it back using the address label we supply.
That is all you do. We pay for the mailer and the postage to send it to you. You pay for a second-class stamp on the return.
Our guarantee, and the ground rules. We guarantee that every parcel we receive is recycled, provided it contains clean Forever Green air cushion film and nothing else. Return 2 Recycle is for Forever Green film only, so please don't put in other soft plastics or other suppliers' film, and keep the film clean and free of anything else in the mailer, because contaminated film can't be recycled. We can't control whether a parcel arrives, but everything that does arrive in that condition is recycled.
The mailer is made from the same recyclable material as the film, so the two are recycled together.
Who can use it
Anyone who has Forever Green air cushion film. If you're a business that buys our film, you can use it for your own used film. If you're a customer of one of those businesses and a parcel arrived cushioned with our film, you can send that film back too. Our films are printed so you can find the form straight from the film itself: most carry a QR code to scan, and the bubble and quilt films say "recycle me" with a website address instead.
For businesses and distributors that use our film
If you pack your orders in Forever Green air cushion film, or you are a distributor who supplies our film to your own customers, Return 2 Recycle gives you something useful to tell the people you serve: the film can be sent back and recycled, at no cost to you or to them beyond a second-class stamp. The same principles apply whether you use the film yourself or pass it on.
There are two ways to use it:
- Offer it as part of your own service. Tell customers that the film in their parcel can be returned for recycling, alongside the rest of your packaging and sustainability information. Distributors can do the same with the film they supply.
- Let it show how you choose suppliers. Packaging is one of the first things a customer sees. Choosing a supplier that takes responsibility for the film at the end of its life says something about how carefully you make those choices.
Easy places to mention it are your packing slip or an insert in the parcel, your order confirmation or returns email, and your website's sustainability or delivery information. Customers who see the "recycle me" print, scan the QR code or follow the website address on the film will find the same form. The form asks which seller or order the packaging came from, so we can send you, on request, a summary of the mailer requests that came from your customers. It shows how many of your customers have asked to recycle the film from your parcels, which you can use in your own sustainability communications. We report numbers and the source, not your customers' personal details. Get ready-to-use wording and see how it works for businesses
Packaging regulation for businesses is tightening, including extended producer responsibility (EPR) in the UK, and similar rules for companies that sell packaging into the EU. Return 2 Recycle does not change what your business must report or pay under EPR or any other regulation, so check your own obligations with your compliance adviser or scheme.
What happens next
When the returned film has built up to a suitable weight and volume, we send it to a specialist recycling company, currently TerraCycle, or a similar recycler if we change partner. The recycler cleans and sorts flexible plastics, fuses them into denser pieces and blends them with other plastics into recycled material. That material is used to make new products, such as construction materials and household items, so the film is kept in use rather than thrown away.
Why we do it
Plastic film is often a lower-impact way to protect a parcel. Life cycle analysis compares packaging materials across their whole life: how much material and energy go into making them, how far they travel, and how well they protect what is inside. Studies such as Denkstatt in Europe and Franklin Associates in the US and Canada found that plastic packaging generally has a lower environmental impact than alternatives of equivalent protective function. Our article What Life Cycle Analysis Actually Means explains how this works, and the environmental filter in our Education Hub has many more related articles.
The main place plastic films perform badly is when they end up in nature, usually through littering or poor waste management. That is not the material's fault: any packaging material that is littered harms the environment.
So the question is what happens at the end. Return 2 Recycle exists to make sure the film is not littered. As long as the used film is collected and recycled, the benefits shown in the life cycle analysis stay in place, rather than being undone at the final step.
There is also very little to send back. An inflated air cushion is mostly air. Deflated, it is a tiny fraction of the volume of protective packaging it was when it protected your parcel, so a full mailer can hold a lot of film.
Small effort, shared benefit
Most packaging problems are not solved by one big change. They are solved when lots of people make a small, consistent effort. Return 2 Recycle is designed to make that effort as easy and as cheap as possible: a free mailer, a few minutes, and a stamp. If every user of air cushion film did it, the combined effect would be large.
It is also our way of taking responsibility for the packaging we sell, rather than leaving the end of its life to someone else.
Other ways to recycle air cushion film
Return 2 Recycle is our service, but it is not the only option. Many supermarkets have soft plastics collection points, and some local authorities collect soft plastics from the kerbside. You can find your nearest soft plastics collection point by searching "soft plastics" with your postcode on Recycle Now.
Also from Forever Green
If you're thinking about your packing as a whole, Pack Proof by Forever Green is our free Try Before You Buy service: send us one typical order and we repack it and post it back at our cost.
Related questions
Can I recycle air cushion film? Yes. Return 2 Recycle lets you post deflated Forever Green air cushion film back to us for recycling, and many supermarkets and some councils also collect soft plastics.
What does Return 2 Recycle cost? The mailer and the postage to you are free. You pay for a second-class stamp on the return.
I received a parcel packed in your film. Can I send it back? Yes. If the parcel was cushioned with Forever Green air cushion film (look for the "recycle me" print, a QR code or a website address on the film), request a free mailer using the form.
What can I put in the mailer? Used, deflated Forever Green air cushion film, clean and with nothing else in the mailer. We can't accept other soft plastics or other suppliers' film.
How big is the mailer? 6" x 9", which is usually large enough for a lot of deflated, flattened film. Larger sizes are available on request.
What happens to the film I send back? When we have collected enough, we send it to a specialist recycling company, currently TerraCycle, or a similar recycler if we change partner. They process it into recycled plastic material that is used to make new products, such as construction materials and household items.
Do you guarantee the film is recycled? We guarantee that every parcel we receive is recycled, provided it contains clean Forever Green air cushion film and nothing else.
Is plastic film really a low-impact packaging choice? Life cycle analysis studies generally find plastic packaging has a lower impact than alternatives of equivalent protective function. The weak point is littering, which is why encouraging recycling the film properly matters. See What Life Cycle Analysis Actually Means.
Can I offer Return 2 Recycle to my own customers? Yes, if you pack your orders in Forever Green air cushion film, or you distribute it to your own customers. You can mention it on your packing slip, in your order confirmation or returns email, or on your website. Customers who receive your parcel can then request a free mailer, and we recycle the film.
Does Return 2 Recycle help with EPR? Some customers use it as a simple way to help used packaging get recycled and to show that in their sustainability communications. It does not change what you must report or pay under EPR or other regulations, so check your obligations with your compliance adviser.
Return 2 Recycle is run by Forever Green Packaging. Request a free mailer, or see our sustainability page for more on how we approach packaging.
Last checked: 29 October 2026.
