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Tube Products International September 2013
plast ic pipes and tubes
Sustainability of plastic pipes
A new study by the independent Flemish
Institute for Technological Research
(VITO), funded by the European plastic
pipes industry, has found that plastics
are more sustainable than alternative
materials for piping systems.
The results indicate that, on average,
plastic pipes have an environmental
footprint that is two thirds less than pipe
systems made from materials such as
concrete, copper or ductile iron.
“Plastic pipes are generally acknowledged
to be easier to install, less expensive,
more durable and more innovative
than the alternatives, but we now have
conclusive scientific evidence that they
also have less impact on the environment
than other materials,” commented
Hans Telgen, chairman of TEPPFA, the
European Plastic Pipes and Fittings
Association. To make a fair comparison
between different types of material and
determine the environmental impacts
of different products, each stage of
their lifecycle was tested and analysed.
Comparisons have to bemade according
to recognised ISO standards using the
same functional unit for each compared
material in a particular application.
‘Environmental footprints’ can be either
adverse or beneficial. Adverse effects
such as emitting greenhouse gases may
arise in either the product’s production or
disposal process; beneficial effects help
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by
saving energy while the product is in use.
A scientifically based full Life Cycle
Assessment (LCA) is a widely
accepted, standardised method for
comparing the environmental impacts
of different products or services. This
type of assessment typically involves
systematically collecting and evaluating
quantitative data on the inputs and
outputs of material, energy and waste
flows associated with a product over
its entire life cycle. A whole range of
processes need to be assessed to
calculate overall impacts, beginning
with the manufacturing of raw materials,
to transforming them into products,
continuing through the product’s
transportation and installation, the
product’s lifetime of use and, ultimately,
the product’s disposal or re-processing
at the end of life. The findings of LCA
assessments are published in the form
of Environmental Product Declarations
in accordance with prEN 15942 to
help communicate a product’s overall
environmental impact.
TEPPFA represents manufacturers of
plastic pipe systems and national pipe
trade associations across Europe. The
trade association has developed a set
of independently verified Environmental
Production Declarations covering the
main types of plastic pipe systems,
based on up-to-date LCA data.
These Life Cycle Assessments were
prepared by VITO following ISO standard
14025 methodology. VITO’s findings
were then independently validated
by another sustainable development
institute, Denkstatt GmbH in Austria,
again following ISO 14025 methodology.
The study involved collecting data on
plastic pipe systems from companies
covering more than 50 per cent of the
European market. Data for comparable
alternative material piping systems
(concrete, ductile iron and copper) was
based on publicly available information.
The environmental impact of each
pipe material was assessed against six
different criteria across its full life cycle:
• Abiotic depletion: the over-extraction
of minerals, fossil fuels and other
non-living, non-renewable materials,
which can lead to exhaustion of
natural resources
• Acidification potential: emissions
such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen
oxides from manufacturing processes
result in acid rain, which harms soil,
water supplies, human and animal
organisms, and the ecosystem
• Potential for eutrophication, which
arises from of the over-fertilisation
of water and soil by nutrients (such
as nitrogen and phosphorous). This
speeds up plant growth and kills off
animal life in lakes and waterways
• Potential for contributing to global
warming (carbon footprint): the
insulating effect of greenhouse
gases – CO
2
and methane – in the
atmosphere is a major contributor to
global warming, affecting both human
health and that of the ecosystem in
which we live
• Potential for ozone-depletion:
depletion of the ozone layer in the
atmosphere caused by the emission
of chemical foaming and cleaning
agents allows the passage of greater
levels of UV radiations from the sun,
causing skin cancer and reducing
crop yields
• Potential
for
photochemical
oxidation, where the photochemical
reaction of sunlight with primary air
pollutants such as volatile organic
compounds and nitrogen oxides
leads to chemical smogs that affect
human health, food crops and the
ecosystem in general.
Different types of pipe systems
need different types of performance
characteristics. These are met by a
range of alternative materials and
different classes of plastics. From this
study, direct comparisons were made
between polypropylene or PVC plastic
pipes and ductile iron pipes in soil
and waste pipe systems; polyethylene
or PVC plastic pipes and ductile iron
pipes in pressurised water distribution
systems; three different types of PVC or
polypropylene plastic pipes and concrete
pipes in non-pressure sewage systems;
and cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) or
multilayer PE-PEX/AI/PE-PEX plastic
pipes and copper pipes in hot and cold
solid wall systems.
The study was conclusive in favour
of plastic pipe systems. Across the
whole range of applications assessed
it was found that, on average, the use
of plastic-based pipe systems reduces
the environmental footprint compared to
alternative materials by two thirds.
TEPPFA
– Belgium
