Sustainable solutions with modern materials
Beyond the inspiring speeches and promises, we believe it’s the practical solutions that really count when it comes to sustainability. To be able to talk about the effectiveness of such solutions requires visible and concrete actions, and Pintaplast’s mission is precisely to help you benefit from optimal, concrete and sustainable solutions. Taking into account the social and environmental impact and looking for responsible alternatives, we believe that long-term responsible practices are needed in this industry.
Despite the fact that recycling processes have advanced significantly in recent years, there are still some challenges in the use of recycled materials, and this is not due to a single factor. Performance, sustainability and even the difficulty of obtaining suitable raw materials are among the factors that still challenge green practices, even though the industry enjoys legitimate support and is constantly growing.
Source foto: Arch Daily
Translucent systems, impressive for their lightness of material and durability, with a useful life of 10-15 years, can be reprocessed once their life is over, thus achieving new applications for them without harming the environment. In other words, they can be given a new lease of life by being recycled. But there are also successful examples that show the possibilities of recycled materials, avoiding landfill or burning
Depending on the raw material, the plates can be grouped into:
- Post-industrial material: from waste created during the manufacture of plastic products.
- Post-consumer material: from products used over the years.
In the case of post-industrial, the colour of the product may vary and so may the degree of translucency, but the quality is almost as good as that of the virgin raw material because the product has undergone a single thermal degradation process. In the latter case, however, the colours can only be opaque, as the granules are usually mixed.
Source foto: Arch Daily
Even if it becomes a different product, the piece often retains the characteristics of the original. Polycarbonate, which is not a renewable material but is recyclable, is also subject to these universal recycling rules and sometimes the recycled material can no longer serve the same original purpose because it has been exposed to contamination and ageing.
While some materials, such as steel, allow repeated recycling with minimal loss of performance, there are other materials that lose their qualities and cannot be reprocessed indefinitely. However, polycarbonate is a particularly useful product as it retains many of its properties, even though some characteristics may be altered during the recycling process.
Source foto: Arch Daily
When it comes to the use of recycled materials in the construction industry, there is an important debate about the biases surrounding them. Despite the existence of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), which should provide clear information on the characteristics of recycled materials, there are still many gaps in this area, which may limit their use in certain constructions. However, an open culture in the construction sector is crucial for the affirmation of recycled materials and the conservation of resources and environment.
You can also read about the applications of polycarbonate, the exceptional results and the unique projects in which it is used in this article: https://www.archdaily.com/997035/upcycling-polycarbonate-trapezoidal-and-corrugated-sheets-from-waste?ad_source=search&ad_medium=projects_tab&ad_source=search&ad_medium=search_result_all
