The environmental downsides of rubber flooring no longer be ignored. Liquid Bio Rubber delivers the solution.
Synthetic rubber was invented at the turn of last century as a substitute for natural latex rubber. It bears little resemblance to its organic predecessor other than the name. Its production begins with a hydrocarbon mixture, usually from oil or coal, and a number of high-energy processes are employed including polymerisation and vulcanisation to produce the final product.
Rubber. flooring is predominantly made from petroleum-based materials, such as styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) and ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM). This results in a number of significant environmental downsides. There's more information about the issues here.
Bio Rubber is built with sustainability at its core. It's ready to redefine the category.
Renewable & Recycled
It's one of a new generation of biopolymers - made from vegetable oil, not crude oil and naturally occurring ingredients - with post-consumer recycled rubber content.
One glance at the ingredients list tells you all you need to know about the simplicity of the formulation. And, it's Red List Free so is clear of any chemicals that are identified as potentially hazardous to health.
In contrast, you'd need to be a scientist to understand the potential issues with the list of chemicals in synthetic rubber [here].
Low carbon
The underlying architecture of Bio Rubber - renewable, biogenic raw materials and recycled content - gives the product a naturally low carbon footprint at the factory gate. And, the carbon impacts through the lifecycle - installation, maintenance, disposal - are also very limited.
The result is a Cradle to Grave (whole life) carbon footprint which is under 2 kg CO2e / m2. This more than 90% below equivalent synthetic rubber flooring products.
Seamless
Synthetic rubber flooring is generally manufactured, transported and installed in rolls which are cumbersome to handle and heavy to transport. And, when they're installed, the joints are a weak point - most rubber floor failures happen there - which becomes a source of potential infection.
Bio Rubber is delivered in tins, mixed on-site and applied as a liquid which cures quickly to a seamless finish that retains its flexibility. So large floor areas can be achieved without joins, other than any structural building joints.
This makes for a clean-looking design and maintains the highest standards of hygiene.
Super durable
Bio Rubber is one the hardest-wearing flooring materials, rated as suitable for the very busiest of commercial environments with a life expectancy of 30 years and, if any areas do get damaged, they can be restored to their original finish through a simple repair.
Design
There are more than 50 organic colours in the palette - from cool neutrals to vibrant statement colours - and, subject to a minimum order, custom colours can be made to a target reference.
Tried & Tested
Bio Rubber is widely used throughout Europe and the USA in a diverse range of high-traffic commercial environments in hospitality, retail, education, healthcare, workplace and public spaces and now it's available in the UK too.
The Pathway to Zero Carbon
Everyone's talking about "low carbon" and how committed they are to achieving it but what is low carbon? First Planit, the leading provider of building material sustainability data has calculated that:
For most Building materials, it should be less than 7 kg CO2/m2
And the targets tighten every year as we approach 2030 - a key milestone in the drive for Net Zero Construction.
Achieving these targets requires a transition to lower carbon finishes. There's around 1 million m2 of rubber flooring used in commercial projects annually in the UK. So, the substitution of high-carbon synthetic rubber for Bio Rubber will reduce construction carbon by 000,000s tonnes every year.
There's no compromise in product performance or design. What's not to like?
Click here for more about Bio Rubber
Click here to see the Bio Rubber in a project
