Here at Boxhead Plastics, we choose to work with post-consumer Polypropylene (PP). We source all of our plastic from discarded car bumper bars which we collect, recycle and turn into new products.
We all know that plastic is everywhere, terrible for the environment but very practical and useful to humans. This is why more than 380 million tonnes of new plastic is produced in the world each year.
Plastics are a sophisticated mix of chemicals and engineering and not all plastics are the same. In fact, there are seven types of plastics that exist in modern-day society, some of them are reusable, some are recyclable, and some need to be disposed of in different ways.
Polypropylene (PP) is one of those seven types and is recyclable which is why we make our products from it. Want to see first-hand what PP is? Go to your bathroom or kitchen and grab a bottle, look for the number 5 recycled symbol.
Polypropylene plastics are widely used for packaging, cosmetics, disposable containers, electronic devices, and car manufacturing. Most modern cars are now made up of around 40% PP plastic. The variety of applications of polypropylene is possible because it is lightweight, strong, durable, and has a high level of heat tolerance.
This plastic can also be recycled and reused efficiently and is relatively easy to mould and work with. However a study commissioned by APCO in 2021 found that only 8% of Australian polypropylene (PP5) packaging was being recovered for recycling.
The recycle rate of PP in the Australian automotive industry is shockingly lower than 8%. With 40% of car components (Knauf Industries) made from plastic and 700,000 cars being disposed of annually in Australia, sadly most automotive plastics end up in landfill, including waste from the smash repair industry (Evans 2022).
On average it takes 20-30 years for the Polypropylene to decompose. A polypropylene car bumper bar can weigh up to 5kg with a length of up to 2 meters. This is indeed a bulk waste problem filling up our landfills and damaging our environment.
The reason why most of this plastic ends up in landfill is because it is costly and time intensive to collect and recycle, plus it is a logistical nightmare transporting this bulk waste item from one stage of the processing to the next. This circular approach to sustainably managing this plastic crisis demands investment beyond the eco businesses tackling this problem.
Despite all this, Boxhead Plastics is working hard to steer the automotive industry in the right direction. Boxhead Plastics sees this scrap Polypropylene as a valuable commodity that must never be wasted. And with an army of volunteers we are able to grow our financially stable business model to continue collecting more and more bumper bars.
Plastic has been an integral part of modern society and our relationship with plastic isn’t beyond repair. Sustainable use of plastic is possible through reuse, recycling and remanufacturing. Polypropylene is the perfect plastic and is the only plastic Boxhead Plastics chooses to work with.