GRP - A high-quality plastic
Thermosets, such as GRP, have excellent properties. They are inexpensive to produce, very stable, durable, lightweight and weatherproof. Due to these characteristics, they are used in numerous industries.
It is widely used in the boat industry. Since the 70s and 80s of the 20th century, the majority of sailing and motor yachts have been made from this composite plastic. Accordingly, several 100,000 leisure boats have been produced and sold in recent years. The lifespan of such a GRP boat is around 50 years. The boom in boats began in the 1970s, which is why many boats will reach their "end-of-life" (EOL) in the next few years and require sustainable disposal.
In addition to leisure boats, rotor blades for wind turbines are also made from GRP components. Because the energy of the future will come from renewable sources, wind energy will also be increasingly used (e.g. offshore parks in the North and Baltic Seas). As a service life of approx. 20 years is expected, more and more wind turbines will reach their EOL in the coming years and must be disposed of properly.
Industry also uses large quantities of GRP as a construction material for pipes, profiles, automotive components, etc. The manufacture of GRP products generates production waste, which is estimated to correspond to around 10% of the annual production volume
Growing demand for recycling solutions
Due to the outstanding properties of glass fiber-reinforced plastics, their production has been steadily increasing for several years. In 2019, more than 1.141 million tons of this material were produced across Europe, with continuous growth forecast for the coming years. At the same time, the amount of GRP components that reach their EOL and need to be disposed of is also increasing. Already today, > 200,000 tons of GRP waste have to be disposed of in Europe every year, and the quantities will increase significantly in the future.
Because this issue has hardly been given any attention in the past, there is currently a disposal problem that threatens to get worse. Sustainable GRP recycling is therefore urgently needed. To date, however, no recycling method in the sense of the circular economy has become established on the market.
This is where we come in. In keeping with our name, we look for innovative and sustainable solutions to create something new from something old.
