What is in a Reee chair?

Here at Pli we believe the Reee chair has a great environmental story when it comes to the recycled PC/ABS from games consoles. However, we are regularly asked about the other materials — predominantly the steel content — and if they stack up to Reee’s other green credentials.

Finding a supply of 100% recycled steel tubing is our ultimate goal for the Reee chair. Until we do, it’s good to know that in 2005 the British steel industry used 42% recycled content in the production of new steel. This figure will only have risen due to industry regulation, high oil/energy prices and high demand for steel. Looking at these new figures, we have done a full breakdown of the recycled content of the Reee chair.

Recycled/recyclable content

• Total weight of Reee = 5kg
• Seat/back plastic (PC/ABS) weight = 2.4kg / 100% recycled content / 100% recyclable
• Miscellaneous plastic = < 0.1kg / 100% recyclable
• Steel = 2.6kg / 42% recycled content (*based on the UK average in 2005. ) / 100% recyclable
• Recycled content of Reee = 70% [ 48% recycled plastic, 22% recycled steel ]
• Recyclable content of Reee = 100%

* Recycled steel content figures from BRMA (British Recycled Metals Association) as recorded in a 2005 study [http://www.recyclemetals.org/whatis.php].

Energy savings

Recycled materials also have energy saving benefits over their virgin counterparts. Both plastic and steel come from unrefined raw material; petroleum and iron ore respectively. They require energy-intensive industrial processes to turn them into usable manufacturing material. Recycled material, on the other hand, only needs to be recovered, separated, cleaned, and reprocessed. This is still a labour-intensive process but, with clever product design and the development of disassembly and reprocessing systems, the energy used in recycling a material can be reduced even further.

• Recycled Plastic = A study by Axion Recycling shows a 93% reduction in CO2 footprint when comparing recycled plastic to virgin plastic. Axion Recycling reprocess the PC/ABS used in the Reee Chair
• Recycled Steel = A 2005 Study by BRMA show a 62-74% energy saving when using recycled steel content (42%) in the production of new steel