Valox iQ recycled resins are helping to bring green technology into the kitchen.
The materials — supplied by engineering resins leader Sabic Innovative Plastics US LLC of Pittsfield, Mass. — are being used in Green Street-brand kitchen utensils. Valox iQ is made from recycled PET water bottles. The maker of Green Street products is Robinson Home Products Inc., the Buffalo, N.Y.-based firm that also distributes the Oneida, Sunbeam, Rubbermaid and Crock-Pot brands.
Robinson utensils made with Valox iQ include spatulas and serving spoons.
Sabic IP product market leader Dennis VanPoppelen said that the deal with Robinson is “a significant new close for this product line.” Valox iQ is a good fit for Green Street utensils because the material has broad chemical resistance to cooking ingredients, good cleaning characteristics and Food and Drug Administration food-contact compliance, VanPoppelen said via e-mail.
Valox iQ also has high heat-resistance capabilities and excellent appearance in a broad array of colors. The material combines the traditional strengths of polybutylene terephthalate with the added benefit of significant environmental benefits over traditional products, VanPoppelen added.
Valox iQ resin is designed to contain up to 60 percent post-consumer recycled content from PET water bottles by weight, which reduces the amount of material not going to landfills, he said. Sabic IP's standard PBT resins are sold under the Valox brand name as well.
Outside of the kitchen, Valox iQ and Xenoy iQ resins — based on recycled PBT/polycarbonate blends — are utilized in products ranging from cooling fans for computers, auto door handles and instrument panels, and industrial carpeting.
New grades of Valox iQ in development are targeted at meeting the ongoing need for enhanced chemical resistance, flammability performance and impact performance, VanPoppelen said. Some of these developments combine Sabic IP's Valox iQ PBT resin capability with the firm's enhanced technology for more environmentally flame-retardant systems that eliminate the use of brominated or chlorinated substances.