Ecosheet being used on a construction site

A reusable construction board made from recycled mixed plastics is on offer from 2K Manufacturing, based in London, UK.

'Ecosheet is the world’s first eco-friendly plywood substitute,’ says Turul Taskent, Director of 2K Manufacturing. The board is said to offer stiffness and cost values that match traditional plyboard, ‘but it has a much longer lifecycle, as normal plywood absorbs water over time and warps’. It can also be broken down and re-moulded at the end of its lifetime.

The board is made using a powder impression moulding (PIM) technology that enables up to seven waste polymers to be processed into one, and can incorporate organic materials that are attached to the plastics, such as wood or food waste.

The durability of the product comes from the way the materials are processed, says Taskent. ‘All plastics are reduced to powders, which are scattered onto a heated mould.’

In normal injection or blow moulding, he explains, polymers are melted down before being extruded through a nozzle at high pressures. ‘It is difficult to use mixed plastics with varying densities because they have different melting points, and contaminants like wood or bits of sandwich can block the injection nozzle.’ The system uses existing grinding techniques to reduce the materials to powder, and can handle batches of up to 15% organic waste, he adds.

The technique uses styrene or polyolefin-based plastics as the binder. ‘So plastics with higher melt temperatures are bound with one or two groups,’ he says.

The heated moulds can reach temperatures of 250ºC, depending on the materials used.

A cell foam core is applied to the centre of the Ecosheet being moulded using chemical blowing agents. These release nitrogen gas when the moulds reach a certain temperature, generating the formed structure of the board. Solid laminates are then added to the outside.

Taskent adds that this ‘is the only technology of its kind in the world that uses mixed plastics,’ including waste electrical and electronic equipment.

The PIM technology was originally developed by UK-based Environmental Recycling Technologies for automotive parts. 2K Manufacturing licensed the process in December 2007. Its first production facility, which will open later this year, will use 24,000t of waste plastic. Test production is expected to begin this spring.

Further information: 2K Manufacturing