We often get asked about the environmental credentials of our PVC based industrial flooring so we recently published a detailed blog all about what Ecotile floor tiles are made from. However with paint being such a widely used industrial floor covering we decided to produce this infographic so you can see just what the alternatives are like. We hope you find it useful.

Full Text version:

Industrial Floor Paint vs Industrial Sustainability; how do they mix?

1. Floor paint is the most common industrial floor covering is the UK
2. There are around 800,000,000 square feet of industrial floor space in the UK – This is equivalent to an area the size of Oxford and Cambridge combined (potentially covered in industrial floor paint!)
3. Over 12 billion litres of paint are made and sold each year – That’s enough to fill the River Thames with paint all the way from Windsor Castle to Tower Bridge in London
4. £35 billion is spent annually on paint
5. China is the largest paint producer in the world
a. It is also the largest paint consumer
6. What can be found in your tin of floor paint?
a. VOCs (volatile organic compounds)
b. Titanium Dioxide
c. Biocides
7. What health conditions have been linked to VOCs?
a. Asthma
b. Lung and breathing conditions
c. Liver damage
d. Kidney damage
e. Eye irritation
f. Skin conditions
g. Headaches
h. Nausea
i. Muscle weakness
8. Do VOCs have any impact on the environment?
a. VOCs, Ozone & Smog – One of the concerns about VOCs is how they can contribute to Smog. When VOCs, nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide react in sunlight this causes Ozone, a constituent of smog.
b. 1.3 Million – The number of deaths last year linked to air pollution according to the World Health Organisation
c. Where are the smoggiest places on earth?
i. Iran
ii. Mongolia
iii. India
iv. Pakisthan
v. Botswana
vi. Saudi Arabia
vii. China
9. Does Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) have an impact on the environment?
a. During the TiO2 manufacture of process emissions are produced including (depending on process): CO2, N2O, SO2, NOx CH4 and VOCs
b. Waste streams can include spent acid and metal sulfates
c. Co2 levels threaten to have an irreversible effect on our marine ecosystem unless reversed
10. What are Biocides?
a. Biocides – as their name would appear to suggest – are by their nature toxic, and their use strictly controlled in the European Union. We do not know how they are regulated in other parts of the world. Many paint producers claim that these ingredients are commercially sensitive and do not openly inform us about their use.

Sources:
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/03/oceans-massive-irreversible-impacts-carbon-cuts-global-warming
http://www.care2.com/causes/top-10-smoggiest-countries-in-the-world.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1327910/Paint-fumes-trigger-asthma-cancer-Hidden-dangers-decorating.html
http://www.greenspec.co.uk/building-design/paint/
http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol93/mono93.pdf
http://conservationbytes.com/2010/05/05/environmental-reprobates/
http://www.coatingsworld.com/heaps/view/965
http://www.newmanwebb.co.uk/

Lucinda OReilly

Lucinda O’Reilly, Exports & Marketing Director is an integral part of the team that has grown Ecotile Flooring in to the successful manufacturing business it is today. Over the last 20 years she has successfully employed her skills in sales and marketing to ensure Ecotile Flooring is recognised as the market leading manufacturer of PVC interlocking floor tiles. Lucinda’s love of travel means the Ecotile brand is dominant all over Europe, North America, the Middle East, Asia and India.

To ensure compliance with export regulations Lucinda has gained accreditations from the Chamber of Commerce in Incoterms & Export Licence Controls and Export Procedures & Documentation and has completed the Institute of Export course on Incoterms 2020. She is a member of the Institute of Export, was a finalist in the Natwest Open to Export competition in 2018 and was instrumental in Ecotile Flooring winning a Queen’s Enterprise for International Trade in 2017. Lucinda has recently been interviewed by BBC News and Channel 4 News for her insights on Brexit and is an Export Champion for the Department for International Trade.