You may have heard the term “closed loop recycling” and wondered what it means. After all, isn’t recycling just reusing something?
Actually, when something is recycled, it’s broken down into a usable raw material and made into something else. For instance, old cars are recycled by being torn apart, having their plastic components separated from their steel components, and then having the steel melted down and used to make other things.
Ultimately recycling is good, but it’s not always as simple as just choosing products that can be recycled. Take the age-old debate about paper vs. plastic bags, ultimately there is no strong conclusion, other than that neither option is optimal for frequent grocery shopping trips. There are so many factors to consider from the effects of cutting down trees, to the energy it takes to recycle a product, to the actual recycle rate (is it convenient to recycle?).
With Ariaprene, one thing we’ve placed a strong focus on is closed loop recycling. Basically this means that all or part of the recycled product can go back into making new products. In this case, scraps cut from Ariaprene foam, can be reprocessed and added back into the compound used to make new Ariaprene foam, or into new products. These scraps don’t even leave the manufacturing facility, so it’s easy to track them and make sure that they are in fact being recycled rather than going directly into a landfill.
As more people have been learning about the importance of closed loop recycling, manufacturers have responded by making products from materials that can be renewed through this process.
Ariaprene is the leading alternative to synthetic foam because of its superior performance characteristics, and because it can be recycled in a closed loop process. Old Ariaprene can be shredded and turned into new Ariaprene as well as other useful materials.
When you buy items made with materials like Ariaprene you’re voting with your pocketbook to bring about a more sustainable form of manufacturing.
To learn how we do it, watch our 90 second Scrap Recycling Video.
