Greener patch repair as Pipe Doctor switches to recycled plastics

Recycled lay flat tube (LFT) and groundsheet are being phased into Pipe Doctor patch repair materials by manufacturer S1E – which will save a total of almost 7 tonnes of virgin plastic per year.

“The recycled plastic performed excellently in tests, so customers won’t see any difference in practice, just a slight change in colour,” stated S1E Operations Manager, Russell Edwards.  “The change is great for the environment as well as being a step in our journey of continuous improvement and environmental responsibility.”

The change applies to all Pipe Doctor LFT and groundsheet, including bulk materials and those used within the Pipe Doctor patch repair kits.  Recycled plastic is defined as that which contains 30% or more of recycled material and can contain up to 70%.  This is the definition used in, for example, the government’s new Plastic Tax, which is due to take effect in April.  The material can be recognised from the slight brownish-grey tint to it.

“We’re making the switch now as we’ve now discovered an alternative plastic that works really well,” explained Russell.  “Tests in the past, of previously available material, have not given the results we would want to see and that our customers need, which is why we didn’t make the change before.  

“Recently, our supplier sent a delivery of recycled material for the S1E team to test.  We were surprised with the excellent results this time.  I have since been reassured by the supplier that this recycled blend can be replicated for each S1E order without issue. We’ll be stringently testing each roll of material to ensure compatibility as we phase this new material in, but I don’t foresee any problems.”

New deliveries of plastic to S1E will contain the recycled plastic from now on and will be received by customers as stocks of the previous material are phased out.