9 Innovations for Recycling and Replacing Plastics

The Plastic Invention

A little more than 100 years ago in , an invention was made by Leo Baekeland in the city of New York, that would change the very character of our world and way of life. He named his creation as 'plastic,' and hoped that it could be mass produced and used for making appliances affordable for the common people. Little did he imagine that his invention would go far and beyond, and in every home, office, restaurant or car parking today- you could just glance up and spot a minimum of 5 plastic articles in your immediate vicinity.

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Items made out of plastic have become an intrinsic part of our lives. From the start of our day with a plastic tooth brush, to the end of our day with a night-cream in a plastic tube, we are surrounded by plastic. Supply of cheap plastic made producing and packaging consumer goods easier, prices became cheaper and demand increased. And now, fast forwarding to the year , we are literally flooded with plastics.

By , the number of plastics in the ocean will be more than the number of fishes.

(Source: United Nations Environment Programme)

And this, we just cannot let happen! Now that we have produced and used so much of plastic waste, we have to find a way to recycle and reuse them. Earlier, we at seventeen goals Magazin had made a post on recycling techniques for people to get involved. Today we write about 5 innovative ways in which plastic is being recycled and up-cycled to create items of value.

Nine innovations to up-cycle Plastic waste

1) Plastic roads: To stop plastics from ending up in oceans and landfills, some companies around the world are now trying out a new strategy of melting plastic products, combining additives and then using the mixture to pave roadways. MacRebur is one of the pioneer companies in building plastic roadways. Using only single use plastics for their purpose, they contribute in reducing the carbon footprint.

2) Eco-Bricks: Mountains of plastic waste accumulate in many low income countries. Is it possible to do something useful with it? Ecobrick's initiative has a creative answer: empty plastic bottles are filled with clean, dried and single use plastics, stuffed inside to the brink without any space in between! This makes them enormously resistant and like an eco-brick, which can then serve as reusable building blocks for a number of purposes like building tables, beds, stages or even walls. In South Africa even a school was built from Ecobricks.

3) 3D Printing Street Furniture: Imagine a Lab in the port city of Thessaloniki, which uses the plastic waste from the Greek households and creates urban furniture. The New Raw has made this a reality. In this project, parts from recycled plastic products are used to transform them into innovative products that breathe a new life into the public spaces within cities.

4)  Refugee Shelters from Plastic: The number of refugees and homeless persons in the world have been increasing. This raises the need for coming up with affordable housing solutions. Researchers from University of Bath have been working with plastic engineering company Protomax to design and test reusable shelters. The material used for the shelters is called Storm Board and is made up of recycled waste plastic. Such low-cost and easy-to-construct housing will be more and more in demand in the coming days and can indeed be part of a solution to the big plastic waste pandemic.

5) Flower pots made from recycled plastic: A Dutch success story: the Elho company from Tilburg has been using plastic waste as a raw material for several years. Their motto: "Give room to nature". From watering cans to pots in all possible colours: every thumb turns green by itself! For instance, a watering can from Elho is made from 12 plastic bottles of liquid detergent.

6) Recyclable thanks to magnets: Altais Nova, previously called as Aronax Technologies, Spain, is developing a magnetic additive that when applied to a material, creates better air and moisture insulation. Because of the magnetic nature of the additive, which is small and platelet-shaped particles of silicates and iron oxide, makes it easier to identify and separate the packaging at the recycling stage. Sensitive products such as coffee and medical products can be easily stored using this.

7) Plastic made of wood: The Technical Research Centre of Finland VTT has created a compostable multi-layer material from agricultural and forestry by-products that can be used for packaging items like muesli, nuts, dried fruit and rice. These wood by-products contain cellulose, the most abundant renewable polymer on the planet - an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuel-based multi-layer plastic packaging.

8) Straw instead of Styrofoam: The Landpack company from the Bavarian city of Alling produces insulating materials from straw. The straw mats insulate just as well as polystyrene and can be used in food shipping, but are much more environmentally friendly and inexpensive. And the farmers also get something out of it: a buyer for their straw that they don't need.

9) Disposable crockery made from plant residues: The company Bio-Lutions, based in Hamburg and Bangalore, has developed an effective solution to plastic waste: Compostable packaging made from plant residues. Agricultural waste can be used for such packaging, i.e. components of plants that are no longer used for other purposes, e.g. tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, hops or hemp plants as well as straw and grasses. Chemical additives are not used in the entire production process of disposable tableware. In Germany, the Bio-lutions products are now available from PapStar, the party disposable tableware manufacturer.

Transition to the recycling economy

These innovations show what can be achieved when the principles of the circular economy is adopted. While ocean and beach clean up campaigns to collect plastic waste are required, this will never be enough unless we reduce our plastic obsession. As individuals, we need to phase out plastic products and phase in alternative lifestyles. And until we achieve that, let these innovations give us hope!

Header Picture: Brian Yurasits, Unsplash

All-weather car floor mats are the best option for floor protection when it comes to your car. However, 3D/5D floor mats are usually matte black and don&#;t offer that much stylistic value to the vehicle. 

Remember that a 5D floor mat is what you need because it provides the best value when comparing affordability with the protection aspect. 

There are pros and cons to all sorts of floor mats, regardless of whether they are 3D/4D or 5D rubber floor mats. Now, even though the mats are usually black, there are plenty of ways you can customize your car floor mats. 

You can elevate your car&#;s aesthetic with simple tweaks. When anyone hears customizing floor mats, they think of paint. So can you paint the car floor mats? Well, in short, yes, yes, you can. 

Depending on how much your floor mat is exposed to wear and tear, you can use primer and exterior house paint or specialty paint to customize your car mats. 

You can easily add lettering and designs to the mats to ensure they represent your unique sense of style. Now that you know you can paint your car floor mat let&#;s talk about the other things you need to know about painting rubber floor mats.

With competitive price and timely delivery, XINXINGHUAGONG sincerely hope to be your supplier and partner.

Gauging The Use

Whenever you are thinking about painting your rubber floor mat, you must consider the mats&#; placement and how much it&#;s used. If you are an active person and take your car out frequently, you have to make sure you use durable, weather-proof paint. 

However, if your car sits in the garage, then you wouldn&#;t need to use high-quality paint for the customization. Once you have gauged the use of your car&#;s floor mats, then you can move on o finding out your paint options. So let&#;s get into it. 

Choosing The Right Paint Options

Because all-weather car floor mats are made out of fire-resistant rubber and rubber is a flexible material, you need to find the right paint to ensure longevity. 

The paint you choose needs to be as flexible as the material itself because you have to make sure it doesn&#;t crack with use. If your mats have light-duty usage, you can use the usual 100% acrylic exterior house paint. 

It sticks well to rubber mats and is flexible enough to remain intact if it doesn&#;t get into light abuse. You cannot use simple water-based paint because the moisture from the outside will destroy the paint. 

So when painting your rubber floor mat, you should use a fast-drying oil- or shellac-based primer. At least use it for the first coat of the customization. 

You can get the paints in spray cans as well as in a brushing formula, and you can use it as a top-coated with the acrylic paint. One problem that pops up frequently with spray cans is that not all can be used on rubber car floor mats. 

So make sure that you read the labels before you buy the paint. The best type of paint you can use to paint your floor mats is to use solvent-based tire paint. You can even get paint kits that come complete with brushes, primer, and tape if you want to paint stripes.

The Method For Painting

You have to handle the painting process properly if you want the design to withstand the harsh environment. Before you start customizing your floormat, make sure you take it out. 

The car&#;s floor mats are exposed to a lot of dirt and grime, and with black rubber mats, you won&#;t be able to see most of it. That&#;s why before you start painting, make sure the surface is clean and dry. 

So take the car mats out and have the all-weather 3D/5D mat scrubbed thoroughly with a degreasing detergent such as trisodium phosphate (TSP) or dishwashing detergent and rinsed clean. 

Once you are done with the cleaning, make sure you dry the mats entirely before starting priming or painting. Always paint outside, and if you can&#;t, make sure you paint in a well-ventilated space. 

If you are using a solvent-based paint, then there&#;s all the more reason to paint in a well-ventilated place because of the dangerous fumes. 

Once you are done painting the design, let it dry out. It should take around 12-18 hours to settle correctly. After the floor mats are dry, you can install your 3D/5D car floor mats. 

Express What You Want

So that&#;s all you need to know about painting rubber floor mats. Make sure you follow all the steps for a seamless customization process. 

It&#;s relatively easy to do the customization on MudSmart&#;s special custom 5D floor mats. So if you are looking for an all-weather car floor mat upgrade, then you can check out the MudSmart site. 

Now there are plenty of online businesses that will provide you with custom floor mats that come with the design you want. Make sure you cover all your aspects when choosing a design pattern. 

Do your research and find the right partner who allows you to express your unique sense of style. So that&#;s about it for now. 

If you have any queries regarding floor mats, you can drop them in the comments below or hit us up on our socials. We will come back with something new about car floor protection soon. Until then, see ya!

Originally posted in: https://www.mudsmart.com/painting-rubber-floor-mats/

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