The Traffic Safety Industry And Recycling

By Morgan Ambrose

It is well known that there is a huge momentum around the nation to push businesses and government entities to be more environmentally friendly. Using recycled products is a tremendous part of initiatives under way across the country. The traffic safety industry is not exempt from this pursuit, because of this, municipalities and many private companies are looking for ways to cut cost as well as reduce their carbon footprint.

The state of California is a great example. In this state traffic safety products are made out of post-consumer recycled materials which are used for planning and construction. The state provides contracts for products such as traffic signs reflectivity and speed bumps. The EPA also has suggested content levels for products made for traffic safety. For instance barricades, traffic cones, parking stops and other devices all have suggested levels of post-consumer materials such as PVC, rubber, and LDPE plastics.

Incentives provided by states can tremendously decrease the production cost of devices made of cement, plastic, and reflective technology. Materials purchased that originate as post-consumer materials are frequently sold at a markdown price to manufacturers. These materials often cost less for suppliers to obtain and convert the items into usable materials, which are then passed along to makers of traffic safety devices. For example, The Commonwealth of Massachusetts uses devices such as speed bumps, parking stops, barricades, and chock/wheel blocks that contain 80% post-consumer plastic materials. The use of these materials has shown substantial cost reductions over the life cycle of the products.

As our society becomes more mindful of the carbon footprint we place on the environment, recycling initiatives begin to move through to other industries. The traffic safety industry uses an immense amount of non-biodegradable materials that are vastly re-usable. Plastics, rubbers, and even concrete can be broken down and used in other areas instead of ending up in a landfill. The additional benefit to these practices is that costs for materials that are re-used can be considerably lower than buying new materials at a higher cost. These savings are passed on to manufacturers and at the end of the day to consumers.

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About The Author
Impact Recovery Systems manufactures flexible, durable, high impact traffic control and traffic systems for both permanent and temporary applications.