Sustainable Pipe Rehabilitation: Eco-Friendly CIPP Solutions for a Greener Future

Pipe replacement is a big project; one which requires a great deal of equipment and machinery, time and cost. With closed roads and diversions, localised flooding caused by the damaged pipe, and of course the need for a replacement pipe to be produced and transported to the site, the environmental impact of a replacement project is huge.

In contrast, pipe rehabilitation is considered both a more sustainable and a more efficient solution – reviving damaged pipes and giving them a new lease of life, without causing detrimental damage to the local landscape and infrastructure.

Why are CIPP Solutions Considered Sustainable?

There are several ways that we can answer this question, by considering:

1.     The process of pipe rehabilitation and its core goals
2.     The materials used to create CIPP liners
3.     The installation technique that minimises environmental disruption

How Pipe Rehabilitation Supports a Greener Future

Pipe rehabilitation is an eco-friendly alternative to pipe replacement.

The process of pipe replacement not only requires engineers to break ground but also creates a need for a replacement pipe to be manufactured, transported to the site, and then installed.

Pipe rehabilitation, on the other hand, does not generate the same amount of work – nor does it require a replacement pipe to be built, or the ground to be disturbed. Instead, it works with the existing structure, repairing and restoring it using a unique CIPP felt liner embedded with high-strength resin.

The Materials Used and How They Support Eco-Friendly Pipe Repair

Insituform’s leading collection of cured-in-place pipe liners is made using 75% recycled material, contributing towards the company’s sustainable approach and eco-driven goals.

Because the liners are made from a recycled felt embedded with resin, they are low impact but have an incredibly powerful effect on the strength of the pipe – creating a new inside layer which streamlines the movement of water/waste and holds that liquid in while keeping debris and roots out.

You need only look at our publications on the lifespan of Insituform CIPP liners to recognise the long-standing impact of liners that are installed correctly and used to bring damaged pipes back to life.

Installation and How Pipe Rehabilitation Minimises Environmental Impact

Finally, something that we’ve touched on earlier. Pipe replacement, as the environmentally draining traditional approach, creates the need for a new pipe to be installed in place of the damaged pipe.

This requires ground to be broken, and habitats disturbed, as engineers work to find the location of the damage and then excavate the pipe enough to remove and replace it. Not only does this cause huge local disruption as roads are closed and diverted to make way for the work, creating high levels of traffic, but it also destroys habitats that were on the ground above the damaged pipeline.

Rehabilitation enables engineers to employ the solution without touching those habitats and the ground above the pipe. CIPP liners can be fed into the damaged pipe, activated remotely and with ease, and then allowed to set before the pipe is reopened.

The Switch to Rehabilitation

Rehabilitating and repairing a damaged pipe doesn’t just save time; it saves money too. This solution, which uses special felt embedded with resin to create a new, durable layer on the inside lining of the pipe, increases the lifespan of a single pipe by several decades (if previous case studies and projects are anything to go by). All that, without causing anywhere near the environmental damage that traditional replacement generates.

For more information on the sustainability of CIPP liners, and to discuss the products with a member of the Insituform team, get in touch directly.