Environmentally Vacuum Cleaner Bags (DE-UZ 211)

Vacuum cleaner bags are a widely distributed product used in almost all households. It is estimated that around 140 million vacuum cleaner bags are used every year in Germany. Vacuum cleaner bags are a product that cannot be disposed of as either recyclable waste (dual system) or – due to their non-biodegradable content – as organic waste. Vacuum cleaner bags must be disposed of as residual waste and are thus only subjected to thermal processing. The raw materials used to produce the bags are lost as a result. Therefore, the use of high-quality primary materials for this product group should be avoided – as far as this is technically possible.

In order to reduce the consumption of resources for vacuum cleaner bags, the Blue Angel thus requires that they are produced using a high proportion of recycled materials. In addition, it places requirements on the bag's good fitness for use to ensure that this single-use product has a long service life and also to improve the technical service life of the vacuum cleaner. For this purpose, the Blue Angel places requirements on the bag's capacity to retain dust particles and its strength. A bag with a high capacity to retain dust particles but with a low strength can break at an early stage and thus even damage the motor inside the appliance.

To round off the requirements for overall environmental performance, the Blue Angel also focuses on the secondary packaging of the products. For vacuum cleaner bags, this packaging must only be made out of paper or cardboard containing at least 90% recycled materials. Packaging made of plastic or other materials is not necessary for vacuum cleaner bags.