Dangerous New Narrative Emerging from Plastic Pipe Industry Associations

A dangerous new narrative is emerging from plastic pipe associations that plastic pipes containing recycled polymers are vital to the circular economy and that they are ‘engineered for eternity”.

https://wastemanagementreview.com.au/pipas-engineering-for-eternity/

Grossly misleading statements are being published such as “Unlike other materials that may corrode or degrade over time, plastic pipes are resistant to chemical attack and maintain their integrity in harsh soil and wastewater environments. “

This is where advocacy crosses the line to misinformation. Such statements are being penned by persons without any scientific grounding or qualifications other than perhaps in marketing and writing press releases.

Clearly plastic pipes can and do degrade and are particularly vulnerable to chemical attack such as chlorine oxidation and oxidative embrittlement. For example, studies in Sweden by Lundback (Polymer Deg. Stab., 91 (2006), 843-847) demonstrate that even 1ppm levels of chlorine, that is normally present in drinking water, can also be deleterious to polybutylene pipes. Alarmingly the lifetime shortening in polybutylene pipes exposed to chlorinated potable water was approximately by a factor of 10 with respect to that obtained in pure water.

Hyperbole such as plastic pipes are “engineered for eternity” is creating a false impression of unrealistic durability as plastic pipes will definitely not last an eternity and designers, installers and end users needs to be educated on their limitations to avoid costly premature field failures.

Further advocating the use of Recycled Content in Plastic Pipes is fraught withproblems as new research has demonstrated that incorporating post-consumer 2 recycled polypropylene (PP) into virgin, extrusion grade PP substantially reduces pipe lifetimes under internal pressure as the recyclate content increases.

If not carefully selected, even a 10 % addition of an unsuitable recyclate, containing large non-polymeric inhomogeneities, can reduce ultimate failure time by a factor of more than 30. This drastic decrease occurs because rigid inorganic particles act as stress concentrators, accelerating crack initiation and propagation.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142941825002661

Be prepared for more such spin in the future as three plastic pipe industry associations have recently announced that they are joining forces to speak their ‘truth’ and wage a public relations fightback.

https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/plastic-pipe-trade-groups-launch-truth-about-pipes-pr-campaign