Fletcher Building aims to turn 4 million plastic bottles into pipes a year

Image courtesy of Fletcher Building

A subsidiary of New Zealand’s Fletcher Building has pledged to recycle 4 million plastic bottles as drainage pipes.

Iplex Pipelines uses polyethylene plastic (PE) from bottles in its plant in Palmerston North City in North Island, and plans to expand the operation.

Vaughn Bedser, the factory’s manufacturing manager, said: “Our trial using recycled plastic was a huge success. Our technician determined how to combine the right amount of recycled PE into the line without any impact on pipe quality.

“We will be continuing to use recycled plastic for the foreseeable future. Through using at least 25 tonnes of recycled PE each month, it will reduce the production of new plastic, and recycle more than four million plastic bottles in the space of a year.”