The Environmentally Friendly Secret Weapon Every Building Should Have
When designing or remodeling a building, facility owners are faced with many challenges. The two most common needs for a building concept are aesthetically pleasing designs and durable features, but a commonly forgotten yet important aspect is a strong environmental impact. But how can you build a facility and incorporate sustainable materials at the same time?
While unknown by many building owners or facility managers, there’s an environmentally friendly secret weapon that every building should have. You can read on to learn about the sustainable benefits of HDPE plastic materials.
Recyclable
The recycling loop works at its highest level when buildings purchase materials made from post-consumer recycled products but are also recyclable so they can be disposed of in an efficient manner. This process helps to reduce industrial waste, but not all facility and building materials are able to contribute.
HDPE plastic materials are available with up to 100% post-consumer products in order to provide facility managers with the ability to support the recycling loop. And with 100% recycling material, you can dispose of these products in an environmentally friendly way when you’re remodeling or renovating. HDPE secretly provides this added sustainability while other common building materials, such as phenolic or solid color reinforced composite, do not.
Non-Chemical Dependent
Many facility owners constantly experience a need for expensive chemical cleaners in order to efficiently clean their building materials. This is especially common in restrooms, where germs are frequent. However, these harmful cleaners usually have concerns surrounding their production and impact on indoor air quality.
Thankfully, if you choose materials made of HDPE plastic, you won’t need to worry about these harmful chemicals. HDPE plastic can be power washed or steam cleaned. And since it’s built with a solid color throughout and scratch resistant, facility owners won’t have to reapply chemically infused paints to cover up fading or marks.
Free of Urea-Formaldehyde Resins
While you may not be able to see them, many facility and building products have added urea-formaldehyde resins worked into them. While used to increase durability, this type of resin can be harmful for the air around your building. Your patrons will be in jeopardy of moderate to severe allergic reactions that could result in anything from a runny nose to difficulty breathing.
While HDPE plastic helps to improve and maintain an environmentally friendly and healthy air quality level by staying free of added urea-formaldehyde resins, other building and facility materials, such as phenolic, do not.
HDPE is an environmentally friendly secret weapon that every building should have. Not only is the material customizable for design and durability, but it also features a number of sustainable benefits that facility managers have the opportunity to take advantage of.
Scranton Products features a number of HDPE plastic materials near you that you can add into your building. You can also take a look at our continuing education courses to learn more about the beneficial environmental impact of HDPE.