Recycled Mixed PlasticsThis section covers most of the furniture we produce, together with the plastic lumber, the bollards and the bird's mouth fencing.
 The shredded plastic coming in  The various extrusion moulds for the recycled composite profiles  A 100mm X 100mm profile being withdrawn  Cutting with a slow speed circular saw
Working with our materialsOur recycled composite profiles (RCP’s) can be worked in principle in the same manner as wood with the same woodworking tools. For sawing and drilling we recommend working the RCP steadily and slowly. The general rule is to choose a cutting speed which prevents the material melting on the surface of the tool. At low temperatures, the RCP’s will be slightly stiffer. However, due to the combination of materials used in the construction, the RCP’s exhibit good physical properties to at least 20 degrees below zero. In warm weather conditions the material tends to become slightly tougher and more flexible. Drilling
Use metal or wood bits (HSS or HM type). Spiral or speed bits are both acceptable – do not use a high drilling speed. See table below.
Sawing
RCP’s can be sawn with a handsaw, circular saw or a chop saw. See table below.
Rolling, Milling and Planing
All of these techniques can be used with the British Recycled Products RCP’s. Care is required and experimentation on scrap material is advised. | | Units | Drilling | Circular Saw | Band Saw | Milling | | Clearance angle | degrees | 10-12 | 10-15 | 30-40 | 5-15 | | Cutting edge side rake | degrees | 3-5 | 0-15 | 0-5 | 0-15 | | Cutting speed | m/minute | 50-100 | <3000 | 500-1500 | <1000 | | Tooth distance | mm | - | >10 | >5 | - | | Nose angle | degrees | 60-90 | - | - | - | | Feed | mm/rotation | 0.2-0.5 | - | - | 0.1-0.5
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| Technique | Comment | | Nails | British Recycled Products RCP’s can be nailed but experience has shown that it is advisable to pre-drill. | | Screws | It is preferable to pre-drill the holes for the screws and to deepen the holes when using screws with a countersink head. If this is not done, the material around the screw head has a tendency to bulge slightly. This bulge can be removed with a sharp knife. | | Construction Staples | Stapling is possible but we recommend against using stapling as a constructive connection. | | Bolts | Bolts must have a clearance hole drilled that can accommodate the size of the bolt being used. | | Slits | Slits can be made by drilling a number of holes next to each other and by removing the walls between drilled walls either by moving the drill sideways or by using a mill drill bit. | | Welding | British Recycled Products RCP’s are manufactured using mixed plastics that improve the structural performance of the material however welding has not been shown to produce acceptable joint strength and therefore is not recommended. | | Gluing | In general, gluing does not produce acceptable results therefore is not recommended. |
Click here to download technical data (in the form of a 1Mb Excel file) from a tensile test performed at Sheffield University.
For WRAPs report on the environmental benefits of recycling click here
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