The Material Advantage

The material used to construct these solid HDPE toilet partitions systems is also unique and delivers a myriad of benefits, from impressive durability to features that support the tenets of sustainable design and green building.

Introducing HDPE

Today’s innovative toilet compartment doors and partitions are made from HDPE, which is one of the most commonly used plastics in the United States.

Technically speaking, when polymer resins are compounded under high pressure and form a single thickness panel, the result is referred to as solid HDPE. The solid HDPE used to fabricate these innovative restroom doors and partitions is also used to create lockers, shower stalls, and playground equipment.

Using HDPE in a Restroom Setting

Commercial restrooms can be harsh and high-traffic environments that are often damp, making the materials used in these environments susceptible to mold, mildew, and rust. Vandalism and graffiti are also common occurrences in these public yet private spaces. HDPE is naturally resistant to all of these potential threats, making it a material that is uniquely suited to overcome the typical challenges faced in the restroom application.

HDPE restroom compartments can be specified in colors and textures that resemble popular building materials, such as stainless steel, without the risk of rust or incurring the sizable maintenance costs often associated with these finishes.

Hinge and post bathroom enclosures made from HDPE are uniquely suited to face the typical challenges of the bathroom environment because they do not support the growth of mold or mildew, resist marks made by pens, pencils, and markers, and have a greater resistance to dents than traditional metal materials.

Combat Mold, Mildew, and Bacteria

HDPE panels are waterproof and nonabsorbent. The solid plastic’s nonporous and impermeable surface does not support the growth of mold, mildew, or rust. In addition, these plastic partitions are naturally resistant to common bacteria, including methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), an infection caused by a type of staph bacteria that’s become resistant to many of the antibiotics used to treat ordinary staph infections, and a.baumannii, which can cause Pneumonia. Testing has shown that after 24 hours, 98.4 percent of MRSA bacteria placed on the surface of an HDPE panel died without the use of cleaning solutions or antimicrobial additives.

HDPE partitions showed a significant decrease in Influenza, Human rhinovirus, and Human Coronavirus viral activity within 24 hours of exposure, under ISO 21702 Testing. .

Combat Graffiti

These solid plastic partitions are resistant to marks by pens, pencils, markers, and other writing instruments. Graffiti can be easily wiped away from the surface of an HDPE panel with a common, nonabrasive cleaner.

Resist Impact

HDPE panels have a greater resistance to impacts and dents than traditional metal materials.

Never Need to be Repainted

Solid HDPE material is a solid piece of plastic that is uniformly colored throughout with a pigment that is blended during the extrusion process. The color is physically integrated into the material, not added on top of it at a later stage as a coating or laminate. This means that an HDPE hinge and post restroom panel will never delaminate or require painting to maintain the appearance of the system.

The Sustainable Design Features of HDPE

HDPE toilet compartments also support the goals of sustainable design in many ways. These systems are designed to reduce the environmental impact of a project and offer initial and long-term improvements to the indoor air quality of the commercial restroom space. HDPE toilet compartments are recognized as low-emitting products that protect the quality of the interior environment throughout the life of the restroom system, both in terms of reducing harmful emissions and also in eliminating hazards such as bacteria, an increasingly important health issue, particularly in a restroom setting. HDPE partitions are also fully recyclable, can contain a significant amount of recycled content.

The HDPE toilet compartment is fully recyclable, can contain a significant amount of recycled content, and is recognized as a low-emitting product.

Reduces Air Pollutants

A major aspect of HDPE material that supports sustainable design objectives is its zero-VOC emissions rating. HDPE materials are not a source for off-gassing of hazardous VOCs such as those identified under the LEED IV IEQ credits. This low emission quality is due, in large part, to the fact that the HDPE partitions are manufactured from a solid plastic material that physically integrates the desired pigment throughout the material during the fabrication process. These HDPE toilet compartment panels do not employ paints, coatings, adhesives, or sealants of any kind. The solid HDPE partitions do not emit or off-gas any VOCs over the course of their usable life. In addition, HDPE does not require harmful chemical cleaners. A simple damp cloth and mild detergent replaces years and gallons of chemical cleaners.

Resists Biological Pollutants

As noted above, the plastic partitions in high-privacy toilet compartments are naturally resistant to common bacteria, including methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). But another often overlooked and potentially harmful threat to health and to air quality is exposure to mold, mildew and fungus. Veneer exterior, particle board and honeycomb cardboard cores are at high risk for moisture penetration. This risk increases dramatically when these materials are placed in damp and wet environments such as shower rooms and restrooms. Laminated or hollow core materials cannot be installed without penetrating the veneer exterior, exposing the interior to moisture and potentially water. This can create a harmful condition whereby the core of the partition becomes exposed to moisture while the thin veneer remains seemingly intact. As the core begins to mold and deteriorate, the integrity of both the air quality and partition structure are compromised. This could result in an unforeseen hazardous and costly mold problem. This is particularly true in rooms with increased humidity such as showers, restrooms and locker rooms. The solid, non-porous properties of solid surfacing materials such as HDPE resist the growth of mold and mildew.

GreenGuard Certification

The GREENGUARD Certification program was developed to cut through the clutter of environmental claims and self-declarations by credibly communicating commitment to healthy buildings, customer well-being and sustainability UL Environment's GREENGUARD Certification program helps manufacturers create – and helps buyers identify and trust – interior products and materials that have low chemical emissions, improving the quality of the air in which the products are used. All certified products must meet stringent emissions standards based on established chemical exposure criteria.

UL Environment, a business unit of UL (Underwriters Laboratories), acquired GREENGUARD in 2011, further advancing its mission of promoting global sustainability, environmental health, and safety. GREENGUARD Certification is broadly recognized and accepted by sustainable building programs and building codes around the world. Additionally, the GREENGUARD Product Guide serves as a free online tool for finding certified low-emitting products for offices, hospitals, schools, homes, and more.

Fully Recyclable

A recyclable product can be remanufactured back into the original product or something else rather than heading for a landfill after its first useful life has ended. HDPE is easily recyclable and can be used again and again. Moreover, recycled HDPE creates no harmful emissions during its production or throughout the duration of its subsequent useful lives.

Recycled-Content Product

Beyond being fully recyclable, an HDPE enclosed high privacy toilet compartment can contain material from products that were recycled. This means that the HDPE restroom enclosure contains items that have been diverted from the traditional waste stream, allowing used items to be reused as part of an HDPE restroom solution instead of taking up space in a landfill. The amount of recycled material in a product is typically stated as a percentage. A higher percentage indicates that more of the total product was created from recycled content.

New trends in green building and sustainable design programs are placing a growing emphasis on identifying the stage of use at which the product was sent to become recycled content. Most commonly, recycled content is categorized as either post-consumer recycled content or post-industrial recycled content.

Post-Consumer Recycled Content is defined as waste material that has been used by a consumer, disposed of, and diverted from landfills. It does not include waste generated during the manufacture and fabrication of a product.

Restroom partitions made from HDPE can be specified and manufactured to contain up to 100 percent post-consumer recycled material. This is significantly higher than the average recycled content found in traditional restroom partition products. Post-Industrial/Pre-Consumer Recycled Content: These two terms, often used interchangeably, refer to material that is being recycled from waste produced during the manufacturing process. In either case, it refers to a material that essentially became waste during the manufacturing process of another product and, as such, was never used in an end-user capacity.

Post-Industrial/Pre-Consumer Recycled Content: These two terms, often used interchangeably, refer to material that is being recycled from waste produced during the manufacturing process. In either case, it refers to a material that essentially became waste during the manufacturing process of another product and, as such, was never used in an end-user capacity.

HDPE restroom doors and divider panels typically contain between 25 percent and 75 percent of post-industrial recycled content. This is, again, significantly higher than the post-industrial recycled content found in the metal partitions often used in the pilaster-based restroom systems.