Digital material passports - Smile Plastics

This is part of the 'Unlocking sustainable designs through digital material passports' exhibited at The Summit — BE-ST Fest '23.

Swimming in discarded plastics, we have tried to tackle the problem with recycling. However, regular plastic recycling shortens the polymer chain and degrades the resulting product.

Stepping into the space is Smile Plastics. Using a patented process that does not degrade the polymers, they allow these items to be upcycled again and again.

A Smile Plastic panel quite literally wears its lifecycle on its sleeve! Whether it’s the glimmer of yoghurt pot foil or the monochromatic flash of a barcode, it’s a visual reminder of how plastic can still play a part in responsible material selection now into the future.

The boards are also 100% recyclable and have a buy-back system so the boards can go back into the manufacturing line and be turned into new boards!

DIGITAL MATERIAL PASSPORT

Product Name: SMILE Plastics

Product Site: Smile Plastics - Recycled Plastic Materials Design (smile-plastics.com)

Supplier: Maconda Materials

Material Origin

• Raw Material Sourced:
  United Kingdom
• Manufacture Site:
  Surrey, UK
• Biogenic Content (i.e. natural material content/sequestered carbon info):
  None
• Recycled Content:
  100% Recycled and Recyclable

Embodied Carbon

• Embodied Carbon Value:
  Product EPD not available

Circularity, to cover aspects like:

• Takeback schemes:
  SMILE plastics takeback scheme
• Reuse Potential:
  High reuse and repurpose potential within the manufacturing line
• Warranties:
  Not Specified

Health & Wellbeing

• Material Emissions:
  Minimal VOC Emissions (Self-Declared)
• Material Content:
  Minimal VOC Content (Self-Declared)
• Ingredient Transparency:
  Nondisclosed
• Hazardous Materials:
  None found (Self-Declared)

Certifications

• ISO14001 / 9001 Certified

What is a digital material passport?

A material passport is a digital document listing all the materials that are included in a product or construction during its life cycle in order to facilitate circularity decisions in supply chain management at the end of the building life.

At Cundall, we want to create a passport for materials and products that will also provide information before its use, so designers and contractors have a better understanding of the materials and their impact on the embodied carbon and health well-being of a project, facilitating the inclusion of the best low carbon and healthy materials that align with their design.