Thermoplastic Composite Sustainability

Plastic milk jugs and old car bumpers currently go to the landfill or incinerator when thrown away. By adopting Thermoplastic Composite technology, these materials will be diverted and used to produce structural materials to construct bridges, piers, retaining walls and other structures. The natural durability of plastic will lead to a structure requiring little to no maintenance. The structures will have an extremely long life, measured in decades or centuries, not months or years. At the end of the life of the structure, the material can easily be melted down and reformed into new structural elements every bit as strong as the original. The result is a continued cycle of production, construction, use, demolition and recovery, utilizing little energy but providing tremendous sustainable value.

Service Life: How long will Thermoplastic Composites last? No one is entirely sure. Accelerated weathering tests demonstrated the material does not lose much if any strength after fifty years of simulated use. This means a structure built from Thermoplastic Composites should be as strong after fifty years as it was the day it was built. This longevity requires virtually no maintenance. Compare this to wood, steel or concrete structures that require high maintenance expenditures but will continue to weaken. Structures built from traditional materials are typically projected to be replaced after fifty years of service. The rare exception to replacement cycle requires extraordinary maintenance efforts. If Thermoplastic Composites are used, the bulk of infrastructure expenses will be able go to new construction and not maintenance.

Sustainability Technique	Sustainable Characteristics of Thermoplastic Composites
Reduce Material Used	Thermoplastic Timber is a light weight high strength material. Designing with Thermoplastic Timber often nets a significant material reduction over traditional timber structures and provides a lighter design than similar steel or concrete structures.
Reduce Waste Generated	Thermoplastic Timber absorbs energy well, especially with high impact loading. This prevents the material from mushrooming when pilings are driven. Pilings have been driven to 65ft and a refusal of 37.5 tons with virtually no mushrooming. This reduces the amount of material that must be discarded from a piling after it is driven.
Utilize Recycled Material	Thermoplastic Timber is made from 100% recycled plastic. Utilizing the material avoids the land filling of waste plastic.
Reduce end-of-life disposal waste	Thermoplastic Timber can be recycled at the end of a structure’s life. This ensures the waste plastic used to make thermoplastic timber is removed from land filling permanently and not just for the time period a structure stands.
Reduce GHG Emissions	On average, the majority of waste plastic ends up in landfills. A small percentage, approximately 20%, is incinerated. The incineration process releases significant greenhouse gases. By recycling the plastic instead of disposing of it, the net GHG emissions are reduced. The EPA estimates that recycling plastic has a net GHG emission reduction of 0.12 MTCO2 Eq for each ton of plastic recycled. (http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/waste/calculators/ReCon_Online.html)
Procure locally to reduce transportation costs	Thermoplastic Timber is currently produced in one facility in Pennsylvania. The facility is located on a railspur and is close to highway and river transportation routes. This offers significant flexibility in minimizing transportation costs. The material has also been designed with local manufacturing capabilities. The molds used to produce the material fit standard plastic machinery, allowing contract manufacturers around the country to produce the material. As volumes grow, the material will be able to be produced locally.
Reduce fuel used in construction	Thermoplastic Timber is a light weight structural element. This reduces the size of the construction equipment required to handle and move the material, thereby reducing full consumption.
Reduce Life Cycle Costs thorough low maintenance solutions	Thermoplastic Timber requires minimal maintenance. It does not require any sealer, coating or other surface treatment. The material has excellent wear resistance, minimizing the need to replace high wear elements.
Increase expected life through durability and corrosion resistance	Thermoplastic Timber is impervious to moisture and insects. It will not rot, rust or corrode. The material is also wear and abrasion resistant. This ensures structures built from the material will last. In accelerated weathering testing, the material showed no loss of strength after 50 years.
Reduce the impact on the natural environment	Thermoplastic Timber is completely non-toxic and will not harm the environment. Once produced, the material does not outgas any chemicals. It also will not leach chemicals into the environment even when installed in salt water, marsh or wetland environments. This makes the product ideal for applications in highly sensitive environments, especially fragile marine ecosystems.