Environmental Impact of Injection Moulding

Plastic – a material used by everyone, every day.

If you take a look around chances are you are surrounded by plastic; computer frames, fire alarms, kitchen utensils, medical devices and the interior of your car.

While there are various methods to manufacture plastic products, plastic injection moulding is one of the primary approaches many companies choose to adopt, and with plastic proving to be many people’s material of choice, there is a lot of pressure to ensure that both consumer organisations and manufacturing companies are doing their best to care for the environment.

We often hear about the many negative aspects of plastic, from the pollution, to the worries about the non-biodegradable nature of the material. Although this has gained a significant amount of press coverage in recent times, the fact is, that due to its desirable characteristics, plastic remains a very useful material to us.

Nevertheless, as we move towards a more environmentally aware society, laws and regulations to target landfills and promote recycling both commercially and domestically are playing a vital part in how we are dealing with our plastic products and waste.

Additionally, there are other positive environmental aspects to plastics and plastic manufacturing that continue to have a progressive effect on our environment.

With a specific focus on the environmental impact of injection moulding – advancements in engineering means that injection moulding machinery now uses 20%-50% less energy compared to 10 years ago and energy consumption is also something that is of expressive importance.

Caused by the lightweight nature of plastics, many manufacturers are choosing polymers as an alternative to metal for their products, including vehicles and aircraft, as the shift in weight has a direct positive effect on fuel and energy savings.

Likewise, plastic today is also used in building materials and processes such as insulation and double glazing windows – all of which is helping to save and produce energy.

Plastic injection moulding is a vital process in manufacturing and due to recent developments in the market, is providing benefits not only for the UK economy but the environment.