The five-gallon pail is often used to hold paint, ketchup, and a host of other products. It’s a standard container in North America and has widespread industrial and consumer applications.
Given that it’s made of plastic, regulators in this part of the world are keen to have manufacturers attempt to make the pail ‘greener’ by using a certain percentage of recyclable materials. In the US, for example, for some applications, regulators require 25 percent recycled content for pails.
Since recycled materials are often dark colored and most of the pails are produced using injection molding, it is natural that brands do not want the recycled core material to be visible at the injection point.
Engel, one of the leading manufacturers of injection molding equipment sees this as a great opportunity and hence, has come up with a new co-injection process that enables the use of completely encapsulated recycled material content in the production of pails. In absolute terms, the company claims up to 30 percent of the recycled content can be used in the pails.
While Engel’s work is compelling, the other option for those that want pails created with recycled content is to use conventional processes for sandwich injection molding.
Truthfully, using recycled materials isn’t hard, and neither is concealing them to make the exteriors look suitable for common consumer applications. Working with an experienced manufacturing organization can provide insight into the processes and materials to use based on the application and prevailing regulations.
To learn more about the use of recycled content in pails and other parts, get in touch with our team now.
