Hot demand for construction board made from packaging waste

New Zealand builders can now replace plywood, particle board and plaster board with low carbon, environmentally sustainable construction boards made from everyday packaging waste. Used beverage cartons, soft plastics and coffee cups are all being converted into saveBOARD building products.

The waste-to-building material technology has been brought to New Zealand by saveBOARD, whose first plant has just opened at Te Rapa near Hamilton. The factory will divert up to 4,000 tonnes of waste from landfills every year to produce 200,000 construction boards.

saveBOARD makes an impact resistant board with similar performance to plywood, oriented strand board (OSB) and particle board that can be used for interior and exterior applications. The technology to make the boards was developed in the United States, where it’s been widely used for more than a decade.

Tesla chose the membrane roof substrate for its 200,000m2 Gigafactory in Nevada. The Tesla roof equates to upcycling 2,000 tonnes of composite plastics and saves 336,000 kgs of embodied CO2 compared to using plywood.

Paul Charteris, saveBOARD Co-Founder and CEO, says making high-performance, low carbon building materials using 100% recycled materials from everyday waste is a game-changer for sustainability in the construction industry.

Moons align to create demand

Since the initiative was announced in March, enquiries and demands from architects and construction companies have gone through the roof. More than 300 companies are lining up to buy saveBOARD products, with one company wanting to take 25% to 30% of its production capacity.

Charteris says the moons have aligned to create real demand for this new product:

• COVID-19 has affected the international supply chain creating a shortage of imported building materials

• James Hardie has closed a division in New Zealand, exacerbating this shortage

• Unable to spend their money on international travel, New Zealanders are splashing out on home improvements

• A housing increase means there was existing high demand for building materials

• Climate change means architects and building companies are looking for every opportunity to specify or use low carbon building materials.

“Each year, more than 400,000 tonnes of packaging waste are sent to landfills. Packaging material is a highly engineered product that is a resource we can upcycle into a circular building product.

“Everything that goes into saveBOARD is locally sourced, so there is no importing from China. It is made right here in Hamilton from post-industrial and consumer packaging waste material received from large food and beverage companies — such as Fonterra and Frucor — that want to meet ambitious waste reduction targets.

“saveBOARD is a healthy product made with zero water, zero glues, zero chemicals and zero VOC emissions or formaldehyde. It meets all obligations under the Building Act, reduces waste from the environment and achieves up to a 90% reduction in embodied carbon. We can also take back the offcuts to be remanufactured into new boards, providing a zero waste to landfill solution,” Paul adds.

Australian grant to set up NSW plant

In addition to its new Te Rapa facility, saveBOARD has received a A$1.74 million grant from the Australian and New South Wales Government towards setting up a A$5million facility to enable more packaging to become 100% recyclable, in line with Australian national packaging targets.

The Australian saveBOARD plant will reprocess used beverage cartons, collected through a container deposit scheme, soft plastics and coffee cups collected through the 'Simply Cups' recycling programme. It will also source material from document recycling company Shred-X.

The project is the first collaboration between Tetra Pak and SIG Combibloc in Australia under the umbrella of the Global Recycling Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment. It is a joint initiative with saveBOARD and its supporters Freightways and Closed Loop.

A perfect example of a circular economy

Building a circular economy also requires backing from key industry partners. saveBOARD has funding and support from food processing and packaging solutions company Tetra Pak, freight and logistics company Freightways and circular economy pioneer Closed Loop.

Tetra Pak Oceania, Managing Director Andrew Pooch says the solution demonstrates Tetra Pak’s commitment and contribution to a low carbon economy. “It is more than just an investment for us. It is the right thing to do to help limit waste to landfill and support a technology that improves local waste collection and recycling infrastructure.”

Mark Troughear, Chief Executive Officer at Freightways, says its investment in saveBOARD allows the logistics company to grow its waste renewal division through a commitment to circular waste solutions with minimal carbon kilometres while providing a new strategic growth category.

“saveBOARD completes an end-product solution for Freightways, where waste can be regenerated and reused into world-class products while utilising our core capabilities in pick-up, process and delivery channels,” he adds.

Rob Pascoe, Managing Director at Closed Loop, says saveBOARD products will be the interior and exterior board products with the lowest carbon footprint on the market. Adding that, “saveBOARD promises a better, greener and more affordable solution that can lead us towards a more sustainable future. It’s the perfect example of the circular economy in action.”

Tim Marshall

Senior Account Director, Wright Communications