Which is More Eco-Friendly: Polyurethane or Plastic?
7th Jul 2024
Protect Our Destiny Graphics - Copyright 2024 POD Ware Pty Ltd
Polyurethane (PU) is more environmentally friendly and efficient than plastics.
Polyurethane is employed in numerous products to safeguard the environment and help combat climate change.
It is an effective insulator that increases the energy efficiency of buildings and reduces their needs for heating and cooling, which means savings in consumption and emissions essential for achieving cleaner cities by lowering their carbon footprint.
Did you know? PU is a lightweight alternative to steel and other heavy materials, even traditional plastic.
It is incredibly versatile due to its ability in several material combinations. From any desired rigidity, density, and flexibility, as a solid piece or in foam form.
Additionally, It can also stretch and return to its original form because it is incredibly wear-resistant, giving it outstanding longevity and user-friendliness. An extensive portion of recycled polyurethane are reprocessed for use in the automotive interiors, specifically in seating, dashboards, door liners and handles.
For example, they are used to create energy-efficient lightweight vehicles that use fewer resources.
Manufacturers are also working on extending the end-of-life phase of PU. They are also looking for ways to create greater sustainability.
With many innovative ways to work with Polyurethane scrap remains are repurposed as a carpet underlay.
As A Consumer, You Want To Be Confident
As consumers, we all want peace of mind when buying recycled products and want to know if these products are safe in our home environment.
According to proven research data, Polyurethanes do not contain chemicals that harm the human endocrine or hormone systems, wildlife and ocean life, nor alter the pH levels of soil or water.
Reduced Ecological Footprint
PU can be environmentally friendly compared to single use plastics. Although both materials originate from fossil fuels, they result in different forms due to their distinct chemical compositions.
While PU offers benefits in terms of durability and performance, its environmental impact varies depending on how it's produced and managed at the end of its life cycle compared to other plastics.
Polyurethanes are safe materials, and they are also sustainable and affordable.They also aid in conserving natural resources by reducing the need for excessive energy usage, in contrast to plastics.
As a consequence, why opt for polyurethane over other alternatives?
The Reason Why Polyurethane Is A Better Choice
Polyurethane accounts for only 2% or less of all waste detected in ocean surveys, whereas over 95% of plastics found in the oceans are thermoplastics.
Polyurethane materials generally last longer than popular thermoplastic equivalents, minimising waste at the source.
Regarding construction waste, the trend is to produce prefabricated finished components to be assembled and installed on the building sites. This procedure will generate almost no waste.
The advantage of employing PUs to replace synthetic plastics (such as polystyrene, polyvinyl, and synthetic rubbers) or natural polymers is undeniable.
There is the potential to utilise bio-sourced polyols, reducing the environmental impact of PU and rendering these polymers greener compared to their fossil-based plastic counterparts.
In addition, polyurethane does not need a specialist recycling facility.
Recycling Efficiency
Recycling Polyurethane through different methods:
- Parts returned to their pre-polymer state through chemical reactions.
- Recycled Polyurethanes will revert to their original form as a polyol.
- Its long lifespan makes it more cost-effective in the long run.
- Plastics often break down when pushed to their limits.
How Is Polyurethane Recycled?
The polyurethane residues are ground down and reprocessed to make foam for boards, roofing and other insulation products, but also for high-density panels that replace wood and its chipboard items, as well as many products, such as carpet underlay and packaging material.
Polyurethane formulations can be recycled into its original form, polyol, thus showcasing a sustainable cycle. Consequently, it emerges as a more environmentally sound and efficient alternative to traditional plastics.
How Plastics Affect The Environment
Plastics are everywhere, and they have caused significant environmental damage.
Most plastics are thermoplastic and become malleable when heated, necessitating a heating process followed by injection moulding into the desired shape. Upon cooling, plastics can partially replace metals like copper and zinc in some applications.
These include bottles, grocery bags, and containers that litter beautiful natural locations like National Parks, polluting our oceans, beaches and camping grounds. Plastic bags are responsible for blocking stormwater drains and sewer systems.
Plastic is mainly synthetic but can also incorporate polymers that are a natural production of fossil fuels from coal, oil, or natural gas.
Plastics are one of the reasons for fracking. Ethane is required to process plastic. Fossil fuels are needed to refine and make plastic.
A considerable amount of energy is squandered in the manufacturing process of the end product, only for its longevity to dwindle after several uses, rendering the energy investment unjustifiable.
It takes a large amount of energy resources to produce a single water bottle. The amount of water required to produce the bottle is six to seven times greater than the volume it holds.
In the United States alone, plastic water bottles significantly contribute to landfill waste. Estimates suggest that over 2.5 million plastic bottles are disposed of every hour, equating to an average of 170 water bottles per person annually. Despite their convenience, plastic water bottles also contribute to unnecessary waste.
By recycling your PET water bottles, you are reducing the amount of fossil fuels used in their production.
Did you know? You have to remove the screw cap from the water bottle before recycling it. Otherwise, this step must occur during the sorting stage at the recycling facility.
Because the screw cap is either high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or polypropylene (PP), As a result, it must be removed from PET bottles before recycling to minimise contamination.
The reality is that the production of plastic is not very environmentally friendly. And neither is the use of it.
Fracking damages the environment with chemicals, large amounts of water, and sand at high pressure to break into underground rock formations.
Not only does it harm the planet and water systems, but it also creates air pollution through the methane it releases.
Fossil Fuel Production , Livestock Farming and Landfills contribute a significant amount of Methane (CH4) accounting for approximately 30% of the current increase in global temperatures.
Methane has a shorter atmospheric lifespan, a potent greenhouse gas that absorbs more energy while it remains in the atmosphere. This makes methane emissions an important focus for climate mitigation efforts alongside reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
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Ocean Plastic Recycling Challenges
Recycling ocean plastics presents unique challenges due to factors like the vastness of the ocean, microplastics, and the high energy cost of recycling processes.
A mixture of ocean plastics is even more challenging and requires more energy-intensive sorting and processing methods than recycling single plastics.
The sorting and cleaning processes involved in recycling plastics can actually diminish the overall energy efficiency of the recycled material. This is because these procedures often require significant energy inputs themselves.
Energy used for transporting plastic waste to recycling facilities and then transporting the recycled plastic to manufacturers can affect its overall energy efficiency, especially if transportation involves long distances or inefficient vehicles and ever-increasing fuel costs.
Recently, brands have falsely marketed their products as sustainable using the term "Recycled Ocean Plastics." However, this practice is neither energy-efficient nor truly sustainable compared to recycled single plastics.
Recycled ocean plastics also have limitations suited for their end purposes. They are often heavy and brittle, with low impact strength, making them unsuitable for most consumer products.
That’s before you start requiring more energy to produce the actual product! As demand for a product increases, so does the energy required to manufacture it.
However, studies have estimated that recycling single plastics requires less energy than producing them from raw materials.
For example, mechanical recycling of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles requires about 50% less energy than virgin PET processed from crude oil.
Ocean debris is a global problem that enters the environment around the world on land, at sea, or through disasters.
Even on the most remote island in the world – Henderson Island, in the South Pacific – Researchers found 17.6 tonnes of plastic and an estimated 2,000 pieces of microplastics per square metre.
The largest is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, spanning 1.6 million km². To put its size into perspective, Germany covers an area of 357,386 km². It harbours a staggering mass of 80,000 tonnes of plastic debris in the North Pacific.
Please read the full article Garbage Patches at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Image Credit (NOAA).
Predominantly of fisheries-derived plastics, this issue will only escalate as fishing activities intensify.
The debris encompasses a range of sizes, from large abandoned fishing nets, drink bottles, and shopping bags to minuscule microplastics, plastic pieces smaller than 5mm.
As depicted in the illustration below, ocean life and wildlife ingestion of these plastics cause internal physical damage to the digestive system.
As a result, these microplastics they consume ultimately find their way back onto our dinner plates.
Overall, as much as it is imperative to keep our oceans clean from consumer waste plastics - the expensive energy costs to separate these plastics are not a viable option compared to a single recycled plastic.
There has to be a better energy-efficient solution to clean up and process the world’s ocean garage.
What Is The Least Stainable Plastic To Recycle?
The worst plastic to recycle depends on several factors, including the recycling infrastructure in a particular country, the cost of processing, and the market demand for particular recycled materials.
However, plastics like PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) and PS (Polystyrene) can be complex due to their chemical composition and the complexity of separating them from other materials during recycling.
These plastics may also release harmful chemicals when melted down for recycling, making them less desirable to recycle compared to other plastics like PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) drink bottles, PP (Polyethylene) food storage containers or HDPE (High-density polyethylene) recycling bins.
What Is The Typical Cost Of Processing Recycled Plastic?
The cost of processing plastic can fluctuate based on market demand for recycled materials, availability, energy costs and other resources needed for processing plastic variables.
It is safe to say that a significant consideration for recycling operations can impact the economic viability of recycling programs.
Recycling plastics tends to be more expensive than producing plastics from natural resources. Due to the costs of collection, transportation, sorting, and cleaning can be labour-intensive processes.
Recycling Codes
Did you know there are seven plastic resin identification codes, each represented by numbers 1 through 7?
The Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) developed a coding system to give manufacturers and recyclers a uniform way to identify the resin type of plastic containers to be correctly recycled.
Polyethylene Terephthalate
This includes;
- Microwave-proof or oven food trays, drink bottles, food containers, textiles, monofilament plastics, carpets, cling films and industrial plastic wrap.
High Density Polyethylene
This includes;
- Bottles (beverage, detergent, shampoo), bags, cereal box liners, extruded pipe, and wire end cable covering.
Polyvinyl Chloride or Vinyl
This includes;
- Packaging clamshells (hinged containers), shrink wrap, window and door profiles, pipes and fittings, power, data and telecoms wiring, cables and services ducting, internal and external cladding, roofing and ceiling systems and membranes, rainwater, soil and waste systems and flooring.
Low Density Polyethylene
This includes;
- Bags (produce, dry cleaning, newspaper, garbage bags), squeeze bottles, container lids, shrink wrap, toys, coated milk cartons and beverage cups, and wire and cable coverings.
Polypropylene
This includes;
- Medicine bottles, straws, bottle caps, jars, yoghurt, other food containers, hot beverage cups and food packaging.
Extruded and Expanded Polystyrene
This includes;
- CD Cases, yoghurt containers, cups, plates, bowls, cutlery, hinged take-out containers (clamshells). Construction foam blocks, Packing peanuts, foam popcorn and other packaging foam.
Other Resins
Other resins are different from the above six recycling codes or made from a combination of resins.
This includes;
- Reusable water bottles of various sizes, glasses (lenses), some citrus juice and sauce bottles, oven baking bags, and custom packaging.
Pitfalls to Avoid
Many manufacturers and consumers misinterpret the label as an indicator of the recyclability or recycled content.
As a conscientious recycling consumer I was misled by the above recycling symbol often placed on the packaging or accompanied by marketing communication such as “Please Recycle,” “100% Recyclable,” or “Recycled Content.”
These incorrect uses confuse people and often lead them to put non-recyclable packaging in their recycling bins.
Why is this a problem you may ask?
Once more, it’s expensive and labour-intensive for recycling facilities to separate these non-recyclable materials.
It can also lower the quality and value of the recycled raw materials that manufacturers use to make new products, which can also cause a higher production rejection rate.
Using Recycle Plastic Blends With Virgin Plastics
When blending recycled plastics with virgin plastics for example; raw polypropylene, the optimal percentage of recycled content can vary based on the desired properties and application.
Here are some insights:
Research on virgin and recycled polypropylene/high-density polyethylene blends showed the following findings:
Generally, recycled blends have lower hardness, density and melting temperatures than the same of virgin blends.
Another study identified Injection Moulding or Thermoforming as an optimal blending ratio for hard plastic waste: 78% of post-consumer waste and 22% of post-industrial waste met the injection moulding and thermoforming requirements.
In instances of high-quality consumer products, the recycling rate ratio is typically less than 5%.
Inroads For Recycling Plastics
A blend of recycled plastics and road base is gaining popularity as a sustainable solution for managing plastic waste and reducing landfill waste caused by post-consumer plastic.
In Australia, a product called Reconophalt (TM) is the first road surfacing material in the country containing high recycled content derived from waste streams, such as soft plastics, glass, and toner.
The addition of shredded recycled plastic into small granules added to asphalt and other materials can increase the durability of the road, improving resistance to cracking and deformation.
Statistics: For every one km road with two lanes of Reconophalt, the following materials are used (on average):
- 200,000 recycled plastic bags.
- 63,000 recycled glass bottles.
- Toner from 4500 used printer cartridges.
- 250-tonnes of reclaimed asphalt road.
Nature's Recyclers
Plastic-eating bacteria and enzymes are promising solutions to the global plastic waste problem by reducing landfill waste by billions of tonnes.
Scientists in Japan made a startling discovery in March 2016. They found that some PET bottles at a recycling plant were deteriorating because of the bacteria Ideonella sakaiensis.
Scientists, researchers, and students from The University of Texas at Austin have discovered enzyme variants that can break down plastics that typically take centuries to degrade, accomplishing this in a matter of days.
Philosophy Behind POD = Protect Our Destiny
It has always been our ideology at PODWARE that all manufacturers should consider these basic principles for a sustainable future.
To simplify the analogy. Vast amounts of drinking bottles should not contain dissimilar plastics, placing the responsibility back on the consumer or the recycling facility to separate twist-top lids to prevent PET recycling contamination.
Since the onset of POD producing products, the correct foresight has been to create organic designs with functionality, longevity, and the best materials, thereby reducing short-term consumer waste.
With the release of the Original Classic Signature Shape, the POD Handboard is crafted entirely from 100% polypropylene, with no additives other than organic colours.
Due to the shape and configuration, these handboards will outlast the consumer's lifespan with the durability to be passed down to the next generation.
That supports our view that the use of plastics after many years of fun bodysurfing can be recycled, unlike many single-use plastic consumer items.
All our packaging avoids single-use plastics. In our warehousing and distribution processes, we prioritise the use of cardboard. Additionally, we make a conscious effort to reuse all our packaging materials to minimise landfill waste.
Polyurethane foam blanks have been commonly used in surfboard manufacturing since the late 1950s.
Building upon 35 years of research and responsible manufacturing practices, we are proud to offer our customers and excited to develop a range - of lightweight polyurethane sustainable bodysurfing hand boards.