Posted by Max Chen on February 16, 1999 at 18:23:33:
In Reply to: Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment posted by Patrick Armitage on February 04, 1999 at 15:33:55:
I started designing plastic enclosures for computers and computer peripherals about a year ago. I've talked to a few manufacturers and a couple reps from GE Plastics, and the industry looks grim. Plastic performance dependents on the purity of the pellets, state of the tooling, design of the part, ambient humidity, location of the gates, etc... For our manufacturer to get a single part to perform and look within the industrial designer's and client's standards, the part had to be shot over 100 times. All the test pieces were thrown away. This is pretty normal when setting up the tool but still sounds wasteful.
The problem with using recycled plastics and regrind is that the consistancy is unreliable. Computer enclosures must meet flammablity standards, but regrind/recycled material does not keep its material properties. A batch of recycled material can be totally unpredicable - even if it is all from the same number (PET for example). That PET must be from the same source because the recycled properties depend on how it was originally manufactured. I've been basically told that the high tech industry can not use recycled plastics.
Although the GE rep did tell me that IBM has been trying very hard to use a certain percentage of recycled plastic. The quality checks necessary to insure consistant performance from their recycled material is cost prohibitive to most companies though.
I found the people at Amazing Recycled Products to be quite helpful. www.amazingrecycled.com Maybe your local recycling center has some very useful resources. You won't have to dig deep to reach a boon of once idealistic but now bitter people working in the recycling industry. (sorry)
Let me know how the dissertation goes and if you find some good resources. I'm dying to know more even though I sound jaded.
-Max