Are Silicone Products Sustainable?

In the eco world, a common material that is used as an alternative to single-use plastic is silicone. At some point in our lives we have all seen reusable silicone straws or heard about reusable silicone bags—which perhaps is what led you here.

While silicone is not a perfect material, there are some key differentiators to consider when determining whether silicone is sustainable or not—and whether a product made from this material is right for you, like:

• How it’s made
• Its safety
• Its usability
• And its end of life

How It’s Made

On a basic level, silicone is most commonly made from 4 natural resources:

1. Silicon
2. Oxygen
3. Carbon
4. Hydrogen

The most energy intensive part of making silicone is the extraction of silicon from quartz, as it needs to be heated to the high temperature of about 1400℃ [3]. However, there’s less energy invested in the mining process because quartz is so abundant and doesn’t have to be mined in slabs like many other materials [4].

It is important to note that not all silicone products are created equal. Some silicone products contain what’s commonly known as fillers which can be detrimental to not only its sustainability, but also its safety.

Is Silicone Safe?

When purchasing plastics you should always be aware of what it’s made of. Unlike other plastic-free alternatives, you can’t just shop for silicone products anywhere and expect that they’ll be worth your money and contribute to a zero-waste lifestyle.

In fact, silicone can contain chemicals and fillers that prevent silicone’s resistance to heat and durability. Those chemicals can also leach out of the silicone, potentially being a health hazard.

When shopping for silicone products, make sure you always choose high quality. Look for products that are marked as medical grade or food grade and are stamped with approval from the FDA.

*All Net Zero Company silicone products are made from 100% FDA and LFGB certified food grade silicone.

Is Silicone More Sustainable Than Other Plastics?

The plastics industry considers silicone a plastic, and so do we. When compared to traditional plastics—like the plastic fork you get with your takeout—silicone is much better for the environment because of its durability, reusability, and its ability to completely break down. This is why so many green companies, like us, still use it in their products.

Silicone is extremely durable and significantly more ocean-friendly. If left to its own devices in a landfill, silicone will take centuries to break down. Though when it does break down, it will return to the earth—unlike plastic which becomes dangerous plastic microbeads. Traditional plastics are one of the most persistent pollutants on the planet and are typically quite fragile.

Furthermore, silicone has antimicrobial properties, which offers protection against bacteria, mold, mildew, and other hazardous microbes.

End of Life

When reusing is no longer an option, like plastic, silicone can be recycled multiple times without losing its structural integrity—though this process is still almost always considered downcycling. This means that it slowly degrades with each subsequent use and almost always results in a lesser product.

Silicone usually cannot be recycled by municipal facilities and has to be sent to a specialized recycling company to be properly recycled. Because of this, many users will simply throw away silicone at the end of its life (where it will sit without breaking down for centuries). Try looking up a silicone recycling organization or facility next to your place such as Terracycle.

TerraCycle offers free recycling programs around the world, sponsored by brands like us, to help you collect and recycle your hard-to-recycle waste. They have a team of in-house scientists that analyze materials to determine the best way to process it into new materials and are continually evolving as technologies change [1].

While it would be ideal to break silicone down to its original components and reused that way every time, it is currently very lengthy, energy-intensive and expensive to strip the substance down [2].

A better method is to further re-use the material by tearing, grinding, or melting it to make things like cooking molds, shredded playground mulch, industrial lubricant, or water-resistant insulation and powders for things like solar panels [2].

Source:

1. TerraCycle, “How We Recycle,” TerraCycle. [Online]. Available: https://www.terracycle.com/en-CA/about-terracycle/how_we_solve.
2. ECO USA, “Procedures for Silicone Cookware Recycling,” ECO USA, 11-Jul-2018. [Online]. Available: https://www.ecousarecycling.com/procedures-for-silicone-cookware-recycling/.
3. CES, “The chemistry behind silicones,” CES-Silicones Europe, 23-Jul-2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.silicones.eu/the-science-behind-silicones-the-substances-used-to-manufacture-them/the-chemistry-behind-silicones-how-they-are-made/.
4. Megan, “Is quartz sustainable? an honest look at the facts,” Citizen Sustainable, 11-Jun-2020. [Online]. Available: https://citizensustainable.com/quartz-sustainable/.