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Expert Interview: Plastic pipes in a circular economy
Material recycling has been established in the plastic pipes industry for as long as 30 years. However, it is worth taking a closer look to establish the kinds of materials and applications for which this is possible. With regard to pipe products made of recyclates, not only are they frequently met with reluctant acceptance, but there is also limited availability. Moreover, there are a number of applications for which the standards and regulations do not declare use of recyclates as permissable. Among the examples for this, to name just a few, are drinking water and pressure applications. Markus Hartmann, the Managing Director of the [German] Plastic Pipes Association (KRV), has looked into the backgrounds thoroughly and answered our questions in an expert interview:
Mr. Hartmann, the finite nature of resources calls for going easy with them. The traffic light coalition wants to lower consumption of primary raw materials – e.g. for crude oil – and closed-loop material cycles. Are plastic pipes sustainable?
Plastic pipes are long-term investment goods, having a proven life cycle of more than 100 years and can be recycled when their useful life is over. Even these aspects alone demonstrate their sustainability. Pipe networks made of plastic pipe systems are stable, operational, and leakproof in the long run.
What is the plastic pipes industry already contributing today to make recycling of the raw materials involved possible?
As early as from the 1990s, the plastic pipes industry established a functioning infrastructure for the circular economy. In general, thermoplastic materials such as polyethylene are perfectly suitable for recycling. They can be comminuted by mechanical means and re-fused afterwards provided that the collected and processed material is unmixed and clean. This involves some elaborate and challenging processes.
We at egeplast primarily use the thermoplastic material polyethylene and make it a point to recycle 100 percent of the by-products accruing on our premises. This way, every single gram of plastics ultimately becomes a pipe and no material is wasted. How come that the market in general does not use more recycled materials?
Owing to the exceedingly long useful life of plastic pipes, there is only a relatively low rate of returns. The pipes, some of which have been operative for many years, continue to fulfill their purpose, thus there is no reason to replace these pipes. Moreover, the high-grade recyclates made of former pipes are in very high demand for other applications, too and also end up being re-used as plastic pipes in other product. Generally, thermoplastic recyclates can easily be fed back into the processing line to manufacture new pipes.
What are some of applications for which a circular economy is already being implemented successfully today?
Even for pipes made of recycled materials there are – subject to the applicable quality standards – numerous possible uses. Most of them are in the context of sewage disposal, rain water management as well as cable protection. For standardised solid-wall pipes and fittings
of the kind used for the construction of gravity sewage pipes, 10 to 15 percent of recyclates can be added. For a multilayer pipe wall, the medium layer can even consist of up to 100 percent recyclates. Without exception, plastic pipes are long-term investment goods characterised by chemical stability, corrosion resistance, pressure resistance and an excellent static load-carrying capacity. Thanks to their outstanding material properties, they ensure top-quality drinking water and safe transportation of gas via our gas networks. For drinking water and gas supply pipes, however, only virgin material can be used for hygienic reasons and for reasons of public health, safety and environmental protection— the relevant details have been laid down in standards and technical regulations.
“In general, thermoplastic materials are perfectly suitable for recycling.”
Markus Hartmann
When facing the task of installing fibre-glass cables, network operators can choose from a product line made by egeplast which consists of up to 100 percent of high-quality recyclates. What needs to happen in order to increase the acceptance of products made of recyclates?
Public-sector contractors could e.g. set a good example for their calls to tenders by giving preference to sustainable product solutions over conventional alternatives. Last year, the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection initiated a stakeholder process on the subject of “green lead markets“, to which we as the Plastic Pipes Association actively contributed. Simultaneously, the procurement law for public procurement is currently under revision, with a draft bill being expected in the second quarter of 2024. We as the Plastic Pipes Association have prepared a relevant position paper and submitted it to the political decision-makers.
egeplast Microduct
Green Line
| Sustainable protection for fibreoptics without loss of quality |
| 100 % high-quality recycled materials |
| fulfills the highest quality requirements |
Thomas Fink, Product Manager of Telecommunications with egeplast: “With this product line, we provide a response to challenges associated with climate change and increasingly scarce primary resources. Our engineers were able to optimise the composition in a way which enables it to comply with all technically ambitious specifications. Continuous material validations as well as laboratory tests and controls ensure the top quality level which is paramount to achieve the required performance for glass fibre injection. Our products can be connected to preexisting grids and are compatible with all components within a fibre optics infrastructure.“
Contact
Markus Hartmann
Managing Director,
Kunststoffrohrverband e. V.
Kunststoffrohrverband e. V.
E-Mail: markus.hartmann@krv.de
Tel.: +49 2381 9755 981
Dr.-Ing. Thorsten Späth
Head of Product Management,
egeplast international GmbH
egeplast international GmbH
E-Mail: thorsten.spaeth@egeplast.de
Tel.: +49 2575 9710 266
