Plastic Dyetubes Or Weapons Of Mass Destruction.

If you visit a Yarn Dyeing Plant, then you cannot miss that almost all the plants in US, Europe, S.America and now quite a few in Asia, use Plastic Dyetubes as package centre for yarn dyeing.

Package centres for yarn dyeing were historically cones, which got changed to stainless steel cylinderical dyetubes and that got moved further to Dyesprings and that got replaced with Plastic Dyetubes.

Technologically, Mantex Dyesprings are the Best Solution, as they expand the capacity of dyeing, reduce the cost of yarn dyeing, provide a quality advantage on account of its openness, eco-friendly etc etc. But then the market flirts with whatever new comes it way. Plastic were the Inthing at one time and industry was exploring all applications,which the plastics could capture and one such application they found was plastic dyetubes.
Dyetubes are actually pathetic in terms of productivity as they have to be stacked on top of one another, can not dye polyester as PP is not 130 deg compliant and ofcourse environment hazard for its disposal. ITMA after ITMA I kept shouting to the yarn dyeing industry for the hazards of using Plastic Dyetubes and none would listen. However, now the time has come, when the world is realizing how plastics and related carbon emissions are becoming a global threat.

Ironically, still very large segment of yarn dyers do not realize that plastic dyetubes are Self Inflicted Weapons Of Mass Destruction.

Let us study this case below

WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION NO 1

COMPRESSIBLE PLASTIC DYETUBES

Compressible Plastic Dye tubes Most Yarn Dyers in Europe and US import their yarns out of Asia on these ONE TIME USE dye tubes. This helps direct dyeing, without the need of making a soft package.RESULT Dye tubes are only 75% recyclable and 25% disposed into the environment.

Average weight of a standard dye tube = 45 gmsAverage
Non reclaimable plastic contributed = 11.25 gms
Plastic disposed per day with 5 tons of dyeing/ day = 47 kgs
Plastics disposed per year of 300 days working = 14 Tons.
Plastics disposed by 100 such plants in US or Europe or Asia = 1400 TONS

14 TONS OF PLASTIC PER YEAR / YARN DYEING PLANT OF 5 TONS / DAY

OR 1400 TONS PER YEAR FROM 100 PLANTS IN ONE CONTINENT.

PLASTICS DISPOSED IN LAST 20 YEARS INTO ENVIRONMENT ON ACCOUNT OF THE ONE WAY
PLASTIC DYE TUBES IS 28.000 TONS IN ONE CONTINENT

WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION NO 2


NON COMPRESSIBLE PLASTIC DYETUBES

Additional Carbon Emissions = 25% = 7.5 Tons of CO2/ 5 tons of yarn dyeing per day.


Additional Power consumption = 25%. = 10 cents per kg
Additional Chemicals and auxiliaries = 25% = 12 cents per kg
Additional Water = 25% = 5 cents per kg
Additional Labour = 25% = 5 cents per kg

Additional water of 2 litres per kg of yarn dyeing works out to 10KL for 5 tons of yarn dyeing per day. For 300 days of working, the extra consumption is 3000K.

This 3000KL needs extra power for circulation, extra chemicals and auxiliaries, extra heat load, extra effluent treatment and is fully wasted at the end.

The plastic disposal is still a hazard.


WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION NO 3


CASE STUDY OF SEWING THREAD INDUSTRY

Take the case of one large Multinational sewing thread maker having its spinning unit in China and rolling out polyester spun yarn sewing thread to its global dyeing and finishing operations.Say the capacity of this company is 200 tons of yarn dyeing per day ( actually much larger, but let me be generous )across its global operations,. Let us work out the Non Recylable plastic disposal of this company into the environment.
Plastic Disposal per day into the environment = 2.25 Tons.
Plastic Disposal per year ( 300 days) = 675 Tons.
Plastic Disposal in the last 10 years = 6750 Tons

Check the websites of any large MNC maker of sewing thread and read the Environmental Policy. Judge for yourself! This is only the plastic disposals equation. The secondary carbon emissions include the making of these plastic dyetubes.Transporting prewound soft packages into a container gives only 60% loading and this makes it still worse in terms of carbon emissions.Interestingly, the whole sewing thread industry across the world largely imports its spun polyester sewing thread yarns out of China on these dyetubes .

The impact of non recylable plastic disposal from such an Industry would account to more then a Million Ton each year.

Where is Greenpeace???