FRP & The Environment

Plastics often suffer from a poor public image. Combining the words “plastic” and “the environment” in the same sentence seems to bring many people to imagine landfills clogged with plastic bags floating in the wind or plastic cups and bottles on laying on the side of the road. Regrettably, those images are often applied to the industry as a whole – unfortunate because the reality of industrial plastics is different.

The manufacturer of Redco™ FRP, Strongwell, has a defined environmental policy available publically here. All manufacturing locations have been certified to ISO 14001 standards. Numerous environmental initiatives have been implemented at the plant including:

-A reuse and recycle program on cleaning solvent that saves 25,000 gallons annually.

FRP – a sustainable solution

-Replacement of regular light bulbs with high-effeciency options

-Scrap reuse and donation program that has reduced the amount of landfall use annually by 700,000 lbs

-Enclosed production machines to reduce styrene emissions by 80%

Furthermore, Strongwell continues to fund third-party studies into “Life Cycle Analysis” studies, which are peer-reviewed, and consistantly show the environmental advantage of fiberglass reinforced plastic over traditional materials.

You might ask how a plastic reinforced material might be more environmentally friendly than those traditional materials?

What is important is the actual manufacturing of Redco™ FRP. Producing FRP requires less energy and emits less greenhouse gas than the production of traditional materials such as steel. While those materials may be recyclable, the recycling process does take energy and suffers from the carbon emissions required to transport those materials to a recycling facility. Meanwhile, due to Redco™ FRP’s longetivity and strength it will outlast traditional materials – and save the energy, time and chemicals that may be required for constant maintenance.

FRP, a sustainable material with an ever-reducing environmental footprint?

Yes.

E-MAIL: sales@redwoodplastics.com
CDN: 1 800 667 0999
USA: 1 866 733 2684