The pipes, fittings and chambers used by Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. to drain fields, store rainwater and control erosion not only manage precious water resources, but also come from environmentally friendly raw materials.

According to the latest ranking published by Plastics News, Green Line Polymers, a subsidiary of ADS, recycles high-density polyethylene plastics and makes them into recycled resins for use in North America's third largest pipe, profile, and pipe extruder.

Due to price increases, a better product mix and the growth of the domestic construction market, Hilliard, Ohio-based ADS had sales of $1.385 billion in fiscal year 2019, an increase of 4% over the previous fiscal year. Compared to similar products made from traditional materials, the company's thermoplastic bellows are generally lighter, more durable, more cost-effective and easier to install.

Green Line adds to the attractiveness of ADS, helping it to obtain green stripes on pipes for rainwater and sanitary sewers, highway and residential drainage, agriculture, mining, wastewater treatment and waste management. The subsidiary has 7 factories in the United States and 1 factory in Canada. The subsidiary removes PE detergent bottles, plastic barrels and telecommunications pipes from landfills and turns them into plastic pellets to meet Or infrastructure products that exceed industry standards.

ADS stated that it has become the largest consumer of recycled HDPE in the United States. The company transfers approximately 400 million pounds of plastic from the landfill each year.

ADS President and CEO Scott Barbour said in a telephone interview that the company’s efforts to use recycled materials resonated with customers, such as municipalities and the adoption of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Plan certified building developer.

"The materials we use are more or less from the region, and we recycle them to make them a useful and durable product that will not be affected by the plastic circular economy for 40, 50, 60 years. This has implications for these customers Some real benefits," Barber said.

ADS officials estimate that the US market served by the company's products represents approximately $11 billion in annual sales opportunities.

Thirty years ago, ADS used almost all virgin resin in its pipelines. Now, products like Mega Green, a double-wall corrugated HDPE pipe, have a smooth interior to improve hydraulic efficiency, and the recovered HDPE content is as high as 60%.

ADS started using recycled materials about 20 years ago, and then found itself sourcing from external processors in the 2000s.

"We knew we would consume a lot of these things," Barber said. "This is the beginning of Green Line Polymers' vision."

ADS opened Green Line in Pandora, Ohio in 2012 to recycle post-industrial HDPE, and then added facilities for post-consumer HDPE. Last year, the subsidiary reached a milestone, marking 1 billion pounds of reprocessed plastic.

Barbour said that ADS has invested 20 to 30 million US dollars in the past 15 years to increase its recycling content, expand the Green Line to eight sites, arrange procurement resources and hire chemical engineers, chemists and quality control experts.

In addition to Pandora, the subsidiary has dedicated recycling facilities in Cordele, Georgia; Waterloo, Iowa; and Shippenville, Pennsylvania; and a combined recycling and manufacturing facility in Bakersfield, California; and Weaver, New York Lee; Yokum, Texas; and Thorndale, Ontario.

The company has 4,400 employees worldwide, but it does not list the number of Green Line employees. However, their contribution is measurable: 91% of ADS's non-virgin HDPE raw materials are processed internally through Green Line operations.

"This shows the scale of what we are doing. This is a considerable exercise," Barber said. "Many of our plastic competitors have used recycled materials to some extent, but none of them have done this vertical integration."

He added that ADS’s single-wall pipes have the highest recycled content in its product line, while some products of double-wall pipes (the company’s largest production line) contain recycled content, while others are pure HDPE to meet regulations and regulations. Requirements. Public works projects.

Barbour said that ADS spent a lot of time, money and energy on quality control, equipment investment and testing capabilities.

"We want to make sure that the material is enhanced to make it the best formula to run through our extruder," he explained. "It's like having the perfect gasoline for a car. We use this idea to improve it."

Barbour said that the enhanced materials increase output during extrusion and corrugation, thereby increasing productivity and quality, leading to better durability, reliability, and consistent handling.

"We want to be a leader in the construction industry in reusing recycled materials for our product types," Barber said. "We were there and we finally told people this."

In the field of corrugated HDPE pipes in the United States, ADS mainly competes with JM Eagle in Los Angeles; Prinsco Inc. in Willmar, Minnesota; and Lane Enterprises Corp, headquartered in Camphill, Pennsylvania.

Cities in New York State and Northern California are the first ADS customers to focus on improving infrastructure with sustainable products.

"It's on the edge of the market and it's rising," Barber said.

He added that ADS is ahead of other manufacturers in terms of experience, breadth of engineering and technical capabilities, and nationwide.

According to Barber, the company has good news to spread.

"We manage a precious resource: water," he said. "Nothing is more important to sustainability than healthy water supply and healthy water management, and we use a lot of recycled materials to do this."

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