Use canvas as building pipe insulation

Doing building work? Building owners and governments can ask for canvas jackets to be used on exposed pipe and duct insulation, instead of flexible PVC jackets. Canvas jackets have been used for over 100 years worldwide, and using them instead of PVC has both health and environmental benefits.

Between 2018 and 2020, the UK construction industry increased its plastic waste output by 45.72%.

Source

Benefits

  • Better indoor air quality in buildings as no off-gassing (airborne chemical release that happens with PVC)
  • Made of 100% natural cotton - a renewable biodegradable resource
  • No change to building design, worker skills, building codes or costs
  • Same durability

Challenges

  • Requires changing behaviour of engineers and installers
  • An ethical choice as long as you are not throwing away existing insulation to use canvas

Making a difference

Prevents 1 to 5 million sq.ft. of scrap PVC jacket and slivers from going to landfills and waterways per year.

There are hundreds of other ways to solve plastic pollution

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