"Plasticos Hidrosolubles" & AIJU develop Hunting Cartridge Wads based on PVA Biodegradable Materials
These cartridges, completely biodegradable, will reduce the impact of hunting sports, contributing to the sustainable cycle of the products.
- (1888PressRelease) January 10, 2012 - When a shot is fired, of all the cartridge components being discharged from the gun, the cartridge wad lasts longest in the environment. Generally, the cartridge wad is shot anywhere from 50 to 80 metres, which makes them very difficult to recover in spite of the shooters' environmental awareness.
According to the Spanish Ministry of the Environment and a report issued by Maxam Outdoors (one of the most important manufacturers of hunting cartridges), worldwide 3,000 million hunting cartridges are used yearly (1,000 million in a controlled environment and 2,000 million in open areas, with special incidence within wetlands). These wads can weigh between 2.5 & 4 grams, which equates to an annual 6,000 tonnes of non-biodegradable materials within the environment, which creates a health risk for humans and for the planet. With the market implementation of this project, a global reduction in residues of 800 tonnes is expected, 200 of which would be at a European level.
Consequently, an innovation project, initiated in August 2011, is being developed and is being supported by the European Commission within the CIP Eco-Innovation program, titled, "Biodegradable and environmental friendly component (wad) based on PVA for a cartridge." The main objective of this project is the design, manufacture and launch onto the market of an innovative and ecological hunting cartridge wad. This wad, manufactured with the Green Cycles formulation, is water soluble, biodegradable and eco-compatible, which will minimize the environmental impact of hunting activities or shooting practice. AIJU is going to work on this project, led by the Valencian SME Plásticos Hidrosolubles (PH), for two years with the aim of improving the material formulation.
Miguel A. León, the project technician at AIJU says, "We are going to actively collaborate with Plásticos Hidrosolubles on the development of a PVA based formulation of the material so that it meets the specific requirements of this kind of product. The complexity of this development revolves around the nature of the material, as its mechanical properties vary widely according to the environmental conditions of where the product is to be found."
We hope that many related initiatives successfully stem from this project, which in turn are able to contribute to the preservation of our environment.
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