In the past 3 months, thousands, perhaps even millions, of acrylic sneeze guards/screens were used as prevention against COVID-19. These screens are still necessary for the time being, but Heathland and PyraSied are already working together on an approach to be able to collect and recycle all those screens into new acrylic sheets. The companies are already working together to recycle used acrylic sheets and production waste.
Heathland and PyraSied have been working together for many years in the recycling of acrylic. The material is extremely suitable for recycling. It is the cleanest plastic from a recycling point of view. In contrast to many other plastics, acrylic is very suitable for both mechanical and chemical recycling. The advantage of this is that there is no downcycling with Acrylic, whereby a secondary product of lower quality is produced, but there is really closed-loop recycling. Acrylic can be completely returned to the basic raw material (from polymer to monomer) during the recycling process. From this basic raw material, completely clear (or in any desired colour) new acrylic sheets can then be made. Best of all, you can recycle it over and over without losing quality.
PyraSied is a forerunner in the Dutch market in recycled acrylic. PyraSied has been selling recycled acrylic for at least 7 years. Interest was low in the first few years, but in 2019 PyraSied nevertheless took the first step in the Netherlands to expand the stock of Greencast® clear recycled acrylic with different colours, variations and thicknesses. We saw the trend around sustainability and recycling increasing and that is why we, as a specialist in acrylic, felt that anyone who wants to use acrylic should also be able to choose recycled acrylic in their idea or product.
This year PyraSied launches the recycled acrylic brand Ecocrylic® XT made from Heathland’s recycled raw materials. All acrylic sneeze guards that are collected, as soon as we do not need them anymore, can be recycled to new sheets of Ecocrylic® XT and Greencast®.
Do you want to stay informed of our plans or are you interested in collecting the acrylic screens together with us, please let us know by sending an email to marieke@pyrasied.nl
Heathland Plastic Recycling from Utrecht has been recycling plastic, especially PMMA, since 2006. PMMA waste is collected through a logistics collection system, sorted, shredded and then mechanically or chemically recycled. Heathland is also the initiator and coordinator of the MMAtwo project, in which research is being conducted at a European level into methods for recycling PMMA more efficiently.
PyraSied Xtreme Acrylic from Leeuwarden is a wholesaler, fabricator and developer of acrylic and design plastics and environmentally friendly plastics. PyraSied has existed for more than 35 years and sells and processes its materials mainly within plastic fabrications, interior construction, architecture and industry sectors. In addition to recycled acrylic, PyraSied also sells decorative sheets made from plastic waste, such as yoghurt cups, PET bottles and PE cutting boards.