The biggest hurdle to overcome with regards to using resin containing recycled content is something I like to call the performance bias.
Our performance bias tells us that in most cases, second hand materials aren’t going to perform as well as their brand new counterparts. It’s a bias that generally serves us well, but during the (admittedly esoteric) exercise of selecting an engineering resin it can do more harm than good.
Consider this:
In the consumer realm, companies like Wal Mart are liable to bump you in favor of a competitor who uses recycled content in their products. In the medical space, Kaiser Permanente’s sustainability scorecard could have a similar effect.
Designing a product takes a lot of hard work. It would be a shame if it’s market success was hampered in any way, especially when the solution could be so easy.
How easy? Let’s look at Valox.
Valox is a trade name for Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) and is known for it’s resistance to chemicals and wear, making it an ideal material for buttons, gears, bushings, cams, etc. It comes in several grades, but one of the more interesting is the Valox iQ series.
Valox iQ achieves a 50-85% reduction in carbon footprint by using post-consumer (not to be confused with pre-consumer) PET feedstock. At the same time, the resin boasts a substantially improved flow rate, as well as mechanical properties equal to (and often greater than ) virgin resin.
That’s right, it is genuinely better. Check it out… (from one of the best materials sites, Matweb)
Valox iQ vs Valox
That’s not to say that resins with recycled content aren’t without their problems. One issue for example is whiteness: some recycled plastics and bioplastics prove difficult to get to a super clean white (although these guys made it work).
The bottom line though? With numbers like the ones above and the amount of effort it takes to make a comparison (that spreadsheet took as long as it looks like it did) between a virgin resin and it’s more sustainable counterpart, taking the risk of ignoring recycled resins is unnecessary, and could incur the wrath (or worse, apathetic dismissal) of your buyer.
What do you think? Have you had any experience working with recycled resin’s? Horror stories?
I’d love to hear them.
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