Plastic Sustainability
When using a material, it’s important to think about its sustainability, and for a material to be truly sustainable, it must be environmentally, economically and socially sustainable, also known as the three pillars of sustainability. Plastic makes a positive contribution to all three of these pillars…
Environmental Sustainability
Plastics have a great energy-saving potential and environmental profile, they are durable, corrosion free, easily moulded, and lightweight, meaning they can be produced into a range of products easily and save weight on products such as cars, aircraft, packaging and pipework.
Compared to other materials, plastic uses much less energy to be produced, and once the plastic products are no longer needed, they can be either recycled or turned into energy.
Economic Sustainability
Plastic materials are a big contribution to the UK economy and a healthy manufacturing sector, and they have many sustainable benefits, including:
- Plastic materials are cheap to produce and import.
- Plastics are lightweight so reduce the amount of fuel vehicles use.
- When plastic insulation is used there is reduced energy usage.
- The plastic industry’s turnover is around £17 billion.
- The plastics industry is a leader in research and development, and innovation.
- Plastic packaging reduces food and consumer goods waste due to its protective properties.
Social Sustainability
Plastics contribute to social sustainability in many ways, including:
- The plastics industry creates a wide range of careers across the UK.
- Increased safety in the medical industry.
- Increased safety in the transportation industry.
- Plastics are essential in modern day healthcare and are used to create medical products such as blood bags, fluid bags, surgical gloves, catheters, and endotracheal tubing.
Here at Rayda, we create bespoke plastic products from extrusion for our client’s requirements. For further information on our extrusion process or for any general plastic enquiries, please contact us today.