It is important to understand what it means to be 100% recycled versus the more common use of “virgin.” 316 Insulation of Olympia refers to the use of a new raw material that has not been used before. Recycled materials can be made into new products or used as a replacement for virgin materials in existing products, with the aim to reduce pollution, conserve finite resources and save energy.

Recycled vs Virgin Materials: Which Insulation Should You Choose?

For example, the use of recycled plastic in place of virgin plastic in a polyolefin film re-processing application (down-grading) is considered to be primary recycling. In other cases, the re-use of recycled resin is blended with virgin polymer – often with the use of compatibilizers – to create an end product that exhibits the required quality attributes. This is most commonly done with polyolefin films for non-critical applications such as refuse bags or non-pressure rated irrigation or drainage pipes – and is also done in multi-layer applications where the recycled resin is sandwiched between surface layers of virgin resin (so called down-grading).

Even though there are some deviations in properties compared to the original virgin material, using a combination of primary and secondary plastics can be very effective. This is because of the many available compatibilizers and additives that can be used in order to achieve high-quality products.

Recycled materials are a valuable resource and can be a good substitute for virgin materials. Having said that, they do have their limitations. Nevertheless, they offer clear advantages such as cost savings and reduced carbon emissions and waste. It is important to consider these when designing a packaging solution for your business.

316 Insulation of Olympia
2511 Columbia St SW Olympia WA 98501
253-332-7606