Project Update (January 2022)
Mortar Tub Products for the Construction Sector Successfully Created Using Recycled Plastic
Supported by Welsh Government, WRAP has successfully collaborated with Resilience Sustainable Solutions, Corilla Plastics, Green Edge Applications and Cardiff University to develop mortar tub products for the construction sector using recycled plastic.
The remarkable achievements of this project include the development of a 100% recycled material mortar tub and a second tub containing 75% recycled material.
A circular economy model was developed by tracking the tubs throughout their lifetime using QR codes and existing asset tracking technologies.
On top of this, the partnership has established a closed loop recycling option for a product previously destined for landfill. Potentially, this could divert more than 30,000 units produced by Corilla, weighing around 600 tonnes of waste from landfill each year.
Despite the increasing knowledge of the harmful effect of plastics on the environment, and a consensus over the need to reduce its usage, the actions of both customers and manufacturers in the construction industry are yet to reflect this.
The partnership identified 700 used mortar tubs which were destined for landfill or incineration. To avoid their disposal, relationships were developed with the key players across the value chain, to collect and recycle these tubs and manufacture them back into new mortar tubs.
Through the project, a safe, robust, low carbon product was developed which we hope is timely in meeting market demands for embodied carbon in the supply chain. The Carbon benefits of using recycled content are clear through the Carbon savings. Each tub made from recycled plastic highlighted a Carbon Dioxide Equivalent saving of over 18,000kg.
To overcome perception around technical barriers, WRAP will soon report the durability of these products compared to virgin products.
The findings of this trial can be applied to any manufacturing process to support a roll-out of similar circular economy models, in Wales and across the globe. The project demonstrates the effectiveness of recycled plastic tubs and encourages the construction sector consumers to switch to using recycled plastic products.
Manufactured 250ltr Single Skin Tubs