Sustainability & End-of-Life Terms

The environmental vocabulary around mineral-based substrates: tree-free paper, process water, chlorine-free and plasticizer-free formulations, mechanical recycling by milling and waste-to-energy recovery.

Tree-Free Paper

Tree-free paper is a printing substrate made without wood-pulp fibre. Flexstone replaces wood pulp with calcium carbonate mineral powder, so no trees are harvested for its production. According to the Flexstone brochure, each ton used in place of art paper saves about 20 trees; the wallcovering brochure gives approximately 18 trees and 35,000 litres of water per ton against wood-pulp paper.

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Process Water

Process water is water consumed as part of a manufacturing process, such as the water that carries pulp fibres in papermaking. Flexstone production consumes no process water; only circulating water is used for cooling, and Newlife states that no wastewater, exhaust or residue is emitted. By comparison, the Flexstone brochure puts art paper at 20–35 tons of water per ton of product.

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Plasticizer-Free

A plasticizer is an additive, often a phthalate, that makes rigid PVC flexible. Plasticizers can migrate out of the film over time, which leaves the film brittle and raises health and environmental concerns. Flexstone contains no plasticizer: its flexibility comes from the mineral-and-resin formulation itself, so its properties do not depend on an additive that can migrate.

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Chlorine-Free (PVC-Free)

Chlorine-free means the material contains no chlorinated polymer such as PVC. PVC can release hydrogen chloride and other toxic gases when incinerated. Flexstone contains no chlorine, so it does not generate corrosive hydrogen chloride during recycling, milling or energy recovery. It is positioned as a PVC alternative for indoor graphics and wallcoverings that do not require a strict fire rating.

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Mechanical Recycling (Milling)

Mechanical recycling reprocesses a used material by milling and remelting it, without changing its chemistry. According to the Flexstone flyer, used Flexstone can be milled and blended with a variety of recycled plastic granules and re-manufactured into pipes and other plastic products. Production trimmings are recycled back into Flexstone, and Flexstone Pellet scrap can be re-pelletized.

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Waste-to-Energy

Waste-to-energy is the controlled burning of waste to generate steam or electricity. According to the Flexstone flyer, burning Flexstone Eco-Material produces only carbon dioxide, water and calcium powder, with no harmful gases or chemicals. The wallcovering brochure contrasts this with PVC, which may release hydrogen chloride and other toxic gases when incinerated.

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