Recycled plastic lumber

MRPL manufactured recycled plastic lumber MWR microwave radiation... 

Mixed recycled plastic lumber bridge decks, boat docks, doors, floors, furniture, windows, fences, pallets, etc. are product examples in service. Plastic lumber would be maintenance-free for at least half a century, as opposed to 15 years for treated wood and 5 yeare for untreated wood. Extensive use is made in applying plastics in wood to improve their structural and decorative properties. 

Plastic lumber scored a major commercial breakthrough during 1999 with Home Depot Inc. to stock products from USA Plastic Lumber Co., Boca Raton, FI (USA s largest maker of recycled plastic lumber made mostly from HDPE milk jugs and shampoo bottles). Home Depot is the world s largest home-improvement retail chain. Also aboard in USA stocking Boca s lumber were the nation s second (Loewes) and third (Menard) largest home-improvement retailers... 

Robbins, A., 2000 State of the Recycled Plastic Lumber Industry, Plastic Lumber Trade Association, http //www.plasticlumber.org. 

Urey, C., Uncle Sam Recruits Recycled Plastic Lumber, Plastics News, July 13,1998. 

Recycled plastic lumber (RPL) was developed as a substitute for treated wood [51]. RPL, being a product of commingled plastics, can contain as much as 100% post-consumer plastics (or a blend of recycled plastic and recycled wood waste), while structural plastic lumber is... 

In 1999, the Plastic Lumber Trade Association reported that recycled plastic lumber (RPL) was growing at a 30 percent annual rate. Growth of plastic lumber has been fueled by growing knowledge about performance properties of the material and how they relate to composition, as well as by the development of performance standards such as the standard test methods developed by ASTM. By the end of 2000, eight ASTM test methods for RPL had been established, and several others were at various stages of the development process. The Association has also participated in a number of demonstration projects. ... 

There are numerous applications for recycled plastics (Table 9.1) [124], From reuse in the same application as initially used (whether at 100% or more commonly compounded at some lower quantity), to being used in less demanding applications, recycled plastics utilization has made dramatic inroads in many industries. The manufacture of plastic lumber, however, exists almost solely because of recycling. Plastic lumber does not age or splinter as does real wood but its cost to manufacture is sig-... 

As a stmctural element to support paneling and wall mounts, there is growing iaterest ia the use of plastic lumber produced usiag the recycled scrap or waste of polyethyleae (HDPE), polypropyleae, and PET materials from various packagiag and other high turnover appHcations (12,17,18,21,23,24,32,34,44,62,68-71). 

Plastic lumber can be manufactured from mixed-polymer post-consumer recycled materials. One example incorporates polyethylene and polypropylene into a final material. How do processors achieve this incorporation in light of the immiscibility of the two polymers ... 

Another type of plastic recycling doesn t involve a phase change at all. Instead, plastics are chopped into small pieces and pasted back together in new forms. Such plastic lumber can be used to construct park benches, porches, and playground equipment. 

Plastic lumber is made from recycled plastic, especially soft drink bottles and polyethylene waste. 

Some of the procedures of value for processing of mixed plastic wastes may also be useful for the recovery of value from the laminates used for efficient packaging of food and beverages (e.g., milk cartons, Tetrapaks). A combination of heat and pressure may be employed on a recycle stream of this type of material to fuse the mixed fibrous and resin components into a dense board-like product [31, 32]. This highly weather and insect resistant product, Eco Superwood Plastic Lumber, may be sawn, nailed, drilled, etc., like wood, and it resists rotting in direct contact with the soil without the need for preservatives. 

B.A. Hegberg, Technologies for Recycling Postconsumer Mixed Plastics Emerging Plastic Lumber Production, Office of the Univ. of Illinois Center for Solid Waste Management and... 

Residential carpets are continuing to be more visible in MSW. Carpets are quite complex with polyamide/PP/PET face libers, PP backing, latex adhesive, and calcium carbonate as tiller. In addition, the recycled carpet will have a higher amount of dust particles. There have been efforts in the United States to collect residential carpet. As it is very difficult to separate the different components of the carpet, the reasonable way is to shred the carpets and pelletize it so that the pellets can be used in products such as plastic lumber. Only a small percentage of the face materials (nylonb and nylon 66) are recovered and recycled. 

This book summarizes information on plastics recycling based on studies conducted for the state of Illinois. Part I discusses characterization, collection, costs, and markets for mixed plastics recycling. Part li discusses recycling technologies, Including those for processing and separation, buyer specifications, and the manufacture of plastic lumber. Appendices Include lists of scrap plastic handlers and brokers, manufacturers of recycling equipment, and information sources. 

Plastics make up only about 8 percent of the volume in the average landfill but represent a huge investment of energy and raw materials. Most plastics produced from petroleum materials by polymerization of monomers such as ethylene or vinyl chloride are thermoplastic materials and can be cleaned, melted, and re-formed. Thermosetting plastics can also be cut into pieces that are mixed with other plastics or used as fillers. High-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PETE) are the most widely reused plastic materials, but polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene, and polystyrene account for 5 percent of the recycled plastics. In 2001 80 million pounds (36 milfion kilograms) of plastics were recycled in the United States. Recycled plastic materials are used in the production of bottles, fabrics, flowerpots, furniture, plastic lumber, injection molded crates, and automobile parts. 

Figure 22.20 Plastic lumber Is made from recycled plastic, such as used soft-drink bottles, milk jugs, and other polyethylene waste. 

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