Recent studies have questioned whether plastic really gets recycled. The resulting headlines have accused plastic makers of tossing recycled plastic in landfills, oceans, and incinerators while claiming they’re re-using the material.
At FSorb we don’t speak for plastic makers, but we do know this: We buy recycled plastic. It’s the primary ingredient in our high performance sound panels. Every FSorb panel we sell gives plastic material a new and long-lasting life shaping the acoustic atmosphere of buildings.
How can both of these things be true? How could we buy recycled plastic if the plastic industry disposes of it? The answer depends on what kind of plastic you’re talking about.
PET: The Fully Recyclable Plastic
Consumer plastics in the U.S. come in seven categories. Next time you’re holding a plastic bottle or container, you can find its category on the label or on the plastic itself.
The category labels look like this:
If the plastic you’re holding is labeled with No. 1 (PET or PETE), that plastic might have a future shaping the acoustic environment of a building by finding its way into an FSorb panel. PET stands for polyethylene terephthalate. This polymer entered the market in the early 1970s as soda bottles. It was the original type of consumer plastic.
Unlike newer forms of plastic, like low-density polyethylene (LDPE) or polypropylene (PP), PET plastic is easy to recycle. This type of plastic can be turned into new plastic bottles through closed-loop recycling. That’s why almost every municipal recycling program in the nation accepts this type of plastic.
Additionally, PET material can be turned back into polyester fibers. These are the fibers that make up at least 65 percent of any FSorb panel.
How Reusing Reclaimed Plastic Adds Value
Each year, consumers throw away about 350 million tons of plastic. Most of this plastic fills up landfills or incinerators, where it harms the environment. A small percentage of this plastic also lands in our oceans. All of this waste creates a huge environmental problem.
As we developed FSorb panels, we set out to give builders and designers the best tool for shaping sound. We also wanted to create a sustainable product — one that improves the environment rather than contributing to climate change and depleting natural resources.
Using reclaimed plastics helped us accomplish both these goals at the same time. The recycled plastic fibers we use melt at different temperatures. With the right blend of materials, our panels bond together in the presence of heat alone. We don’t need glue or other artificial compounds to bind our panels. This process creates the simplest, best-performing, and most environmentally friendly sound panel in the market.
Making sound panels this way bakes value for the consumer and the environment into every panel. Our UL Environmental Protection Declaration (EPD) explains this practice of using recaptured plastics.
FSorb Panels are Fully Recyclable, Too
The environmental value of FSorb panels continues after the end of their lifespan. Because they’re made from simple, recycled plastic and do not include chemical-based adhesives, FSorb panels are fully recyclable, just like any other product made from PET plastics.
Of course, we expect that you won’t need to recycle these panels any time soon. FSorb panels last half a century, on average — much longer than the 10- to 20-year lifespan for traditional sound panels. But it’s good to know that if you remodel and decide to change out the sound panels that create a calmer atmosphere, improving mental health and productivity, it will not stress our environment if recycled.
Reducing, Recycling, Reusing at Every Step
So, recycled plastics are used to create FSorb panels, and our panels can be fully recycled at the end of their life. But what about the manufacturing process itself? What happens to our scrap material?
First, we minimize waste by nesting our cutting patterns. This also keeps costs low and value high by getting the most out of the material we buy. Naturally, we can’t always avoid negative space, especially with custom patterns. When this happens, we save the scrap to use for unique visual patterns and customized designs in the future.
Some scrap material will never fit into our commercial line of products. We save this material for non-profit organizations that need acoustical performance but don’t have the budget (or the need) for panels that match a design scheme. This scrap material helps nonprofits and charities create peaceful spaces.
If, for some reason, we truly can find no need for scrap material, we recycle it. After all, it’s PET plastic which is easy to recycle.
Other Environmental Benefits of FSorb Panels
The value of environmental consciousness extends beyond the materials we use to make FSorb panels. This value also comes from our:
Bonding process: Unlike most sound panels, FSorb panels do not rely on glues, tapes, or resins to bond panels together. Instead, we use heat and specially selected recycled fibers to bond panels as we make them.
Antimicrobial products: Unlike panels that use cloth or cotton, FSorb panels do not attract mold or mildew. They also don’t hold onto excess moisture, which helps make the room’s cooling system more efficient.
Durability: Cleaners can dust or wipe off panels without worrying about harming the material.
Long-lasting: FSorb panels last longer than the life of most interior designs. Chances are you’ll remodel before you need to replace your FSorb panels.
See the full list of FSorb’s environmental benefits here.
The Cyclical Value of Giving Back
Creating value in a product line doesn’t happen by accident. Value has to be engineered into a product from its inception. That was the goal of FSorb founder Doug Bixel, a builder who saw the need for quality sound absorption that could be installed seamlessly, meeting the needs of builders and designers.
At every step — from designing and making to installing and using — FSorb incorporates the values of performance, convenience, and sustainability. Since they incorporate so much reclaimed plastic, FSorb panels extend value to another step in the process: Reusing.
With the value of reused materials in the mix, FSorb panels keep giving value even after their lifespan as sound panels.
At FSorb, we are motivated by improving human health and do so by creating eco-friendly acoustic products. Our mission is to help designers build beautiful spaces that reduce excess ambient noise while calming the human nervous system. With over 25 years in the acoustic business we stand behind FSorb as a durable, environmentally friendly, and low-cost product. If you want an acoustic solution that is safe to human health at an affordable price, then we are your resource.
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