IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--During the 2018 Plastics Industry Fly-In scheduled for September 11 - 12, 2018, the Plastics Pipe Institute, Inc. (PPI) will provide The Hill with another perspective of the benefits of plastics. PPI is the major North American trade association representing all segments of the plastic pipe industry.
"While there is reuse of plastics in many industries, there is another facet of recycling that is not widely discussed," stated Tony Radoszewski, CAE, president of PPI. "And that is how and where to use recycled plastic to gain the most benefit. The pipe industry turns used bottles into pipe that will benefit the infrastructure for 100 years, and probably longer."
Radoszewski stated that PPI members involved in the manufacture of pipe used in storm water drainage systems now use post-consumer recycled plastics. Studies have shown that corrugated high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe manufactured with recycled materials performs the same as pipe made from all virgin HDPE resin.
North American standard specification bodies have recently expanded existing corrugated HDPE pipe standards to include recycled resins, permitting use of recycled HDPE drainage pipe within the public right-of-way. "This shift toward using recycled content," Radoszewski said, "presents an opportunity for design engineers and public utility agencies that are seeking to reduce their overall environmental footprint associated with storm drainage projects."
HDPE pipe is favored for its durability and environmental sustainability. Strong, durable, light-weight and flexible, it requires less energy to fabricate, transport and install than metal or concrete alternatives. Additionally, HDPE pipe can be recycled into many products including pipe.
"Using discarded bottles to make new ones is certainly beneficial, but taking that same old bottle and using it to make pipe is a far better use of recycled resin," Radoszewski stated. "Our industry takes a product that has a 60-day shelf life and turns it into a product with a 100-year service life. That is an extremely important benefit of plastics that we want our legislators to know."
Additional information can be found at the PPI website, www.plasticpipe.org.
