As the world is becoming more and more aware of the dangers of plastic and the effects it is having on our natural environment, we wanted to bust a few of the myths around the plastic polymer we use to manufacture our tanks.
It is no doubt that plastic is having a long lasting and negative impact on the world, and especially in the marine environments. It is estimated that every year, 8 million metric tons of plastic enter our oceans on top of the estimated 150 million metric tons already circulating.
However, there are some major differences between this plastic which is having such a lasting impact versus the plastic polymer we use.
DURABILITY, LONGEVITY & RESILIENCE
The first major difference is the length of time it is used for. The plastic that is circulating the ocean cannot be confused with the poly that our tanks or any poly manufactured tanks are made from. The plastic that is circulating the oceans is what is considered as "single-use-plastic". These are items such as plastic straws, single-use plastic bags, bottles or food containers. These items are used only once and thrown away immediately.
The poly that our tanks are made from is long lasting and durable which mean the tanks can last up to (if not longer!) 20 years. This means that you are getting years and years worth of use with it having no impact of the environment or animal life. With it's durability, our poly tanks are manufactured to outlast even the toughest environments.
May not look as smart as it once did, but over 10 years later, and still going strong.
RECYCLABLE
Yes, single-use plastics can be recycled, and across the world, thousands of tons of plastic is recycled every year. However, single-use plastics is simply downgraded to a lower form of plastic know as "downcycling". This plastic is then used to create items such as toys, car parts, drainage pipes, clothing fibres and park benches to name a few. However, many of these items cannot be recycled, creating a plastic "dead-end".
Other issues with single-use plastics, is that, similar to many countries, Australia ships much of our "recycled" plastic overseas as we don't have the resources to recycle the plastic correctly. In some cases, this plastic is then either incorrectly or illegally processed causing further damage to the environment or the local communities, or in other cases, simply dumped.
On the other hand, our poly tanks are 100% recyclable, given the tanks are thoroughly and correctly cleaned before processing.
Our polyethylene is one of the easiest plastic polymers to recycle. The plastic is sorted and cleaned, to remove any unwanted debris, then shredded and melted down to further refine the polymer. The plastic is then cooled into pellets which can be used in a range of manufactured products.
We proudly send our recyclables to Astron located in QLD, who melt the recyclables down and re-use the scrap poly to manufacture a whole range of products. This includes metropolitan power upgrades, coal seam gas projects, solar farm construction, wind farm development and gas pipeline infrastructure. Most notably, the NBN utilities the recycled poly for the piping that encloses the cables underneath the ground.
OTHER FACTORS
The method of rotomoulding tanks, or other products is completely environmentally friendly. Absolutely no harmful chemicals or toxins are dispersed during production, which means our carbon footprint is reduced. Also, we can proudly say that there are no wasted materials with rotomoulding here at Rapid Spray – we use or recycle every pellet!
If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to comment below or give us a call on 1800 011 000.
