Top 10 Signs You’re Telepathic

Posted by Ari Lakakis in Spirit Division Blog with 50 Comments   

Signs you’re telepathic can be obvious. If you’ve ever been able to transmit, know, or manipulate thoughts with only the use of your mind, then you may be telepathic. So, keep reading and see which signs relate to you.

Signs You're Telepathic

People think of telepathy as being an isolated skill or a difficult and rare ability which is unreachable by the average folk. This in not true. Telepathy is present in each one of us, at least to a certain degree.

For example, when you meet a new friend or partner, you first connect with this person at an energetic level. People enter your aura even before you meet them physically.If you pay more attention to your thoughts during the day and study your dreams after each night, then you’ll sense what your dreaming self has prepared for you to experience in your physical life.

Think of your life like a beautiful theatrical play. Firstly, this play kicks off in your dreams, as you decide to have certain experiences based on your beliefs and expectations. In your physical life, you’ll notice a delay between your initial thought and the time it takes to become a real event.

Secondly, you have free will. If you learn to observe yourself in your daily life, your “Play” becomes more apparent. You discover that your learning essential abilities and solving vital problems. All of these events are for your learning purposes, designed by your inner or dreaming self to guide and expand your metaphysical abilities.

Now, telepathy has a great role to play in all of this. People you meet in your future are first contacted telepathically by your inner self. To some degree you make friends with those who have many similarities with you .Those similarities are transmitted telepathically and energetically, first and foremost.

You know a little bit about the Law of Attraction, right?
No
Yes
What causes telepathy?

Telepathy is the ability to communicate information using your mind. Information is transmitted from one mind to another using means other than then your well-known perceptual senses. Telepathy ranges from the basic reading of minds to more intense power, such as implanting or disrupting thoughts in other people’s minds. There’s no one-size-fits-all reason as to why someone becomes a telepath.

But there are a few common ones. For example, there are those who are simply born with a sense of knowing. These people talk about seeing spirits and various other apparitions. But they tend to suppress their abilities as children and often lose it as adults. Alternatively, a life-changing event may open them up to being telepathic and exploring their gift even further.

Also, there are times when a near-death experience or serious accident can also open someone up and cause a telepathic awakening. And in a some cases, hypnosis or healing sessions can help a sixth sense to awaken. Such sessions help with getting energy flowing and causing a shift in awareness and consciousness.
These signs you’re telepathic might help you gain more clarity and control.

I know it can be a confusing and scary time if you’re experiencing a surge in you telepathic abilities. I want to help sooth your worries.

For that reason, I wrote 10 common signs to help you gain some clarity. I hope you find them useful on your amazing journey.

1. You experience tingling sensations.

You begin developing your third eye area—the space between your eyebrows in your Chakra system. This happens for one of two reasons: either your Chakras are opening up or you are picking up specific energy signals.
The tingling sensation can be highly evident during the developmental stages, but it’s harmless and eventually subsides.
2. You connection to spirit surges.
You feel a stronger connection to the spirit world. It’s becomes increasingly easier for you to sense a presence. Whether its your loved one’s or someone elses’ loved ones. Mediumship tends to be a natural progression for those following a telepathic awakening.
3. You want to avoid negativity.
You find you’re picking up on other people’s emotions and feeling really easily. This gift is referred to as being an Empath. It comes about when your sensitivity levels increase. Also, you’ll find that being surrounded by dramatic, negative people drains you. You should honor your feelings and stay away from toxic and negative people when you can.
4. You want healthy and nourishing foods.

If you’re suddenly pushing aside the double burger and reaching for a salad it could mean you’re becoming more intuitive and beginning to vibrate at a higher frequency. So even without realizing it, you may be reaching for higher vibrational foods like fruit and vegetables. These types of foods prevent you being weighed down and help to keep vibrations light.
5. You want to read and learn more about spirituality.

If you’re becoming telepathic, then you’ll likely develop an appetite to learn. As you begin opening up and shedding your old skins, you remember the light of your soul and find that you desire to read up spiritual  development surges, as you prepare to embark on you growth, transformation, and evolution.
6. You have frequent vivid dreams that give more signs you’re telepathic.

If your dreams become more frequent, and particularly vivid, then it’s another sign telepathic abilities are rising. When you sleep there is no resistance and your mind doesn’t interfere with what you intuitively receive. And as you open up, it becomes easier to reach higher levels of consciousness like a dream state. Start keeping a dream journal next to your bed. You’ll find it incredibly helpful.
7. You experience heightened sensitivity of your telepathic senses.

If you feel that your sense of hearing have heightened, or you see twinkles of light or a “something” just out of the corner of your eye, it means your telepathic senses are opening up and strengthening. This is a progressive and completely normal part of the telepathic process.
8. You receive intuitive hits.

Do you often sense something’s about to happen? Or you receive a type of third eye vision?

Some people find this type of intuition frightening and others find it exciting. If you feel afraid, set the intention that you won’t receive scary messages or visions or that you won’t receive intuitive hits, if there’s not much you can do about a situation.

Spirit guides honor such requests from us. Unfortunately, if you set your intention to this, you’ll be hindering your telepathic abilities. It is better to believe 100% in your psychic abilities and embrace them, only then can you improve your talents.

When you try to achieve any task, you must never doubt yourself. In telepathy this is particularly correct, since disbelievers are barely ever capable of uncovering their telepathic talents.
9. You get reoccurring headaches.

Although awful, the headaches are common and their cause is an influx of energy. If you want to try to combat the headaches, try soaking your feet in warm water. It will help you ground the energy and carries it away from your head.

Adding essential oils or Epsom salts to the water are a great way to relax further. If you feel you should, consult a doctor to ensure there aren’t any underlying causes.

10. You begin to lose old friends and make new ones.

If you’re on the path to a telepathic awakening, it’s an exciting one. Your soul is about to grow tremendously and with that you may find yourself outgrowing certain friends, and some things that you used to find important no longer are. Just go with it. The universe will put new people in your path. You just need to continue to trust.

Conclusion

When you first experience telepathy, the territory is likely to feel unfamiliar and strange. These feelings are entirely normal. You have nothing to fear. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The time is ripe for your growth and evolution. Your excitement should be elevated and your awareness amplified.

The truth is you can continue the development of your telepathic gifts by accepting them and allowing them to take their natural course. The points I mentioned above may resonate with you. If so, I suggest you continue nurturing your gift and see where it takes you as a telepath.

As always, thank you for reading. If you feel this post would be helpful and useful to your friends and family, then remember to share it with them too.
Have a story to tell?

If you experienced signs you’re telepathic, then why not share your comments, thoughts and stories with our little tribe, because you have the power to inspire or help someone who might need a little boost.

Top 10 Signs You’re Telepathic

Posted by Ari Lakakis in Spirit Division Blog with 50 Comments

Signs you’re telepathic can be obvious. If you’ve ever been able to transmit, know, or manipulate thoughts with only the use of your mind, then you may be telepathic. So, keep reading and see which signs relate to you.

People think of telepathy as being an isolated skill or a difficult and rare ability which is unreachable by the average folk. This in not true. Telepathy is present in each one of us, at least to a certain degree.
For example, when you meet a new friend or partner, you first connect with this person at an energetic level. People enter your aura even before you meet them physically.If you pay more attention to your thoughts during the day and study your dreams after each night, then you’ll sense what your dreaming self has prepared for you to experience in your physical life.
Think of your life like a beautiful theatrical play. Firstly, this play kicks off in your dreams, as you decide to have certain experiences based on your beliefs and expectations. In your physical life, you’ll notice a delay between your initial thought and the time it takes to become a real event.
Secondly, you have free will. If you learn to observe yourself in your daily life, your “Play” becomes more apparent. You discover that your learning essential abilities and solving vital problems. All of these events are for your learning purposes, designed by your inner or dreaming self to guide and expand your metaphysical abilities.
Now, telepathy has a great role to play in all of this. People you meet in your future are first contacted telepathically by your inner self. To some degree you make friends with those who have many similarities with you .Those similarities are transmitted telepathically and energetically, first and foremost.

You know a little bit about the Law of Attraction, right?

No

Yes

What causes telepathy?

Telepathy is the ability to communicate information using your mind. Information is transmitted from one mind to another using means other than then your well-known perceptual senses. Telepathy ranges from the basic reading of minds to more intense power, such as implanting or disrupting thoughts in other people’s minds. There’s no one-size-fits-all reason as to why someone becomes a telepath.
But there are a few common ones. For example, there are those who are simply born with a sense of knowing. These people talk about seeing spirits and various other apparitions. But they tend to suppress their abilities as children and often lose it as adults. Alternatively, a life-changing event may open them up to being telepathic and exploring their gift even further.
Also, there are times when a near-death experience or serious accident can also open someone up and cause a telepathic awakening. And in a some cases, hypnosis or healing sessions can help a sixth sense to awaken. Such sessions help with getting energy flowing and causing a shift in awareness and consciousness.

These signs you’re telepathic might help you gain more clarity and control.

I know it can be a confusing and scary time if you’re experiencing a surge in you telepathic abilities. I want to help sooth your worries.
For that reason, I wrote 10 common signs to help you gain some clarity. I hope you find them useful on your amazing journey.

1. You experience tingling sensations.

You begin developing your third eye area—the space between your eyebrows in your Chakra system. This happens for one of two reasons: either your Chakras are opening up or you are picking up specific energy signals.

The tingling sensation can be highly evident during the developmental stages, but it’s harmless and eventually subsides.

2. You connection to spirit surges.

You feel a stronger connection to the spirit world. It’s becomes increasingly easier for you to sense a presence. Whether its your loved one’s or someone elses’ loved ones. Mediumship tends to be a natural progression for those following a telepathic awakening.

3. You want to avoid negativity.

You find you’re picking up on other people’s emotions and feeling really easily. This gift is referred to as being an Empath. It comes about when your sensitivity levels increase. Also, you’ll find that being surrounded by dramatic, negative people drains you. You should honor your feelings and stay away from toxic and negative people when you can.

4. You want healthy and nourishing foods.

If you’re suddenly pushing aside the double burger and reaching for a salad it could mean you’re becoming more intuitive and beginning to vibrate at a higher frequency. So even without realizing it, you may be reaching for higher vibrational foods like fruit and vegetables. These types of foods prevent you being weighed down and help to keep vibrations light.

5. You want to read and learn more about spirituality.

If you’re becoming telepathic, then you’ll likely develop an appetite to learn. As you begin opening up and shedding your old skins, you remember the light of your soul and find that you desire to read up spiritual  development surges, as you prepare to embark on you growth, transformation, and evolution.

6. You have frequent vivid dreams that give more signs you’re telepathic.

If your dreams become more frequent, and particularly vivid, then it’s another sign telepathic abilities are rising. When you sleep there is no resistance and your mind doesn’t interfere with what you intuitively receive. And as you open up, it becomes easier to reach higher levels of consciousness like a dream state. Start keeping a dream journal next to your bed. You’ll find it incredibly helpful.

7. You experience heightened sensitivity of your telepathic senses.

If you feel that your sense of hearing have heightened, or you see twinkles of light or a “something” just out of the corner of your eye, it means your telepathic senses are opening up and strengthening. This is a progressive and completely normal part of the telepathic process.

8. You receive intuitive hits.

Do you often sense something’s about to happen? Or you receive a type of third eye vision?
Some people find this type of intuition frightening and others find it exciting. If you feel afraid, set the intention that you won’t receive scary messages or visions or that you won’t receive intuitive hits, if there’s not much you can do about a situation.
Spirit guides honor such requests from us. Unfortunately, if you set your intention to this, you’ll be hindering your telepathic abilities. It is better to believe 100% in your psychic abilities and embrace them, only then can you improve your talents.
When you try to achieve any task, you must never doubt yourself. In telepathy this is particularly correct, since disbelievers are barely ever capable of uncovering their telepathic talents.

9. You get reoccurring headaches.

Although awful, the headaches are common and their cause is an influx of energy. If you want to try to combat the headaches, try soaking your feet in warm water. It will help you ground the energy and carries it away from your head.
Adding essential oils or Epsom salts to the water are a great way to relax further. If you feel you should, consult a doctor to ensure there aren’t any underlying causes.

10. You begin to lose old friends and make new ones.

If you’re on the path to a telepathic awakening, it’s an exciting one. Your soul is about to grow tremendously and with that you may find yourself outgrowing certain friends, and some things that you used to find important no longer are. Just go with it. The universe will put new people in your path. You just need to continue to trust.

Conclusion

When you first experience telepathy, the territory is likely to feel unfamiliar and strange. These feelings are entirely normal. You have nothing to fear. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The time is ripe for your growth and evolution. Your excitement should be elevated and your awareness amplified.
The truth is you can continue the development of your telepathic gifts by accepting them and allowing them to take their natural course. The points I mentioned above may resonate with you. If so, I suggest you continue nurturing your gift and see where it takes you as a telepath.
As always, thank you for reading. If you feel this post would be helpful and useful to your friends and family, then remember to share it with them too.

Have a story to tell?

If you experienced signs you’re telepathic, then why not share your comments, thoughts and stories with our little tribe, because you have the power to inspire or help someone who might need a little boost.

Recycling glass fibre reinforced composites – history and progress (Part 1)

The difficulty of recycling GRP, such as these waste trims, is a stumbling block in industries where the pressure to recycle is high. (Picture © Filon Products.)Under floor vent from Hambleside Danelaw. Typically made from PP, but this one is 100% recycled with glass fibres from ground GRP recyclate and in-house PP waste, resulting in a stiffer, stronger product with no increase in cost. (Picture © Stella Job.)

The world is going through a low carbon revolution and the potential for composites to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is clear. But the difficulty of recycling glass fibre reinforced plastic (GRP) is a stumbling block particularly in construction and automotive where the pressure to recycle is high.

The European Composites Industry Association (EuCIA) states that GRP is “recyclable and compliant with EU legislation,” and it is (see EuCIA issues position paper on recycling of glass reinforced thermoset composites). But at present facilities exist only in Germany to recycle, which for companies in UK, for example, is prohibitively expensive and not environmentally friendly due to the effect of transport, leaving the option only to landfill.

To what extent is GRP economically recyclable, and therefore actually being recycled? How much would it affect markets for GRP if there were fully functioning, economically sustainable, geographically widespread recycling supply chains?

Several articles in Reinforced Plastics have advised us of the development of pyrolysis based carbon fibre recycling processes and these are now commercially available in several places since the launch of Milled Carbon (now ELG Carbon Fibre) in the West Midlands, UK. But the value of carbon fibre is around ten times that of glass, so while commercialising these processes has not been easy, it has been 'easier' than finding recycling routes for GRP, despite the much smaller volumes (76,000 tonnes carbon fibre reinforced plastic compared to about 1 million tonnes GRP parts produced in Europe in 2012, according to AVK's 2012 market report).

Cement kiln route – how does it work

Incineration of GRP is not practical since about 50-70% of the material is mineral and would be left as ash, which still needs to be landfilled. For co-processing in cement kilns, composite parts are size-reduced and mixed with other waste to feed into the kilns. GRP typically contains E-glass, which is usually alumino-borosilicate, along with an organic resin and often calcium carbonate filler. When fed into a cement kiln the organic resin burns providing energy (about 12 MJ/kg of waste) and the mineral constituents provide feedstock for the cement clinker. The clinker is ground to form cement. Any calcium carbonate calcines (releasing carbon dioxide) to calcium oxide, the primary component of Portland cement. Alumina and silica also have cementitious properties in an alkaline environment and are typically present in Portland cement at about 25%, and in much higher proportions in cement alternatives from fly-ash and slag. Boron, which is found in most E-glass, can cause a reduction in early strength during the setting of cement, but as long as proportions are kept low it is not considered a problem (ref: Pickering, Benson, Recovery of material and energy from thermosetting plastics, Proceedings, ECCM6 – Recycling concepts and procedures, 1993.

The recycling process supported by EuCIA, and available in Germany, involves the addition of GRP waste to cement kilns. This gains value from all parts of the composite and is commercially active in Germany through the route known as Compocycle, operated by Zajons and feeding Holcim’s cement kilns. However there is still a significant gate fee for the process. In Germany regulations leave no option to landfill so the volumes of GRP waste are sufficient to justify such a process. Composite manufacturers such as Fiberline in Denmark have supported that process, being close enough to take advantage of it. But this route reduces the value of the material to that of calcium carbonate and at present is not economic compared to landfill where landfill is an option.

Mechanical grinding

Recycling of GRP by mechanical grinding has been happening for several decades. Back in the 1970s the late Wolfgang Unger was developing his proprietary Seawolf technology in Florida, US, to grind fibreglass scrap and use it for replacing rotten boat transoms or incorporate it using spray-up equipment for making bathtubs and other products.

Unger’s company is now called Eco-Wolf and is managed by his daughter SabineCorinna Unger. Eco-Wolf has recently (2011) partnered with Global Fiberglass Solutions which is seeking to build and manage facilities to collect and recycle fibreglass across the US, having developed applications such as railroad ties (railway sleepers).

ERCOM Composite Recycling GmbH was established in Germany in 1990 to recycle automotive production and post-use waste by shredding and grinding graded parts into powder, to be used in new sheet moulding compound (SMC) in proportions up to 20% (ref: George Marsh, Facing up to the recycling challenge, Reinforced Plastics, Volume 45, Issue 6, June 2001, pages 22-26). ERCOM terminated in 2004. This approach of grinding GRP to fine powder for use as filler is well established in several industries, but as with the cement kiln route, it reduces the value of the material to that of calcium carbonate, which can be purchased at very low cost (around £200/tonne). In addition, it requires a significant amount of energy input to grind the material finely. Thus apart from some in-house recycling (see below), attempts to commercialise this as a recycling route have failed.

In the UK two roof light manufacturers now recycle some of their own waste by grinding. Filon Products has invested in machinery to grind their in-house GRP waste and incorporates it into a range of products including roofing sheet, valley gutters and flat sheet for signage. They are now investigating using the recyclate in moulding compounds.

Hambleside Danelaw (HD) is similarly grinding waste, and offers a take-back scheme for products at end of life. They have been involved in trials in numerous products over the last 10 years or so. Initially they worked with Dundee University using the recyclate in foamed concrete which had some advantages, but the reduction in slump (effectively increased viscosity) meant that it did not flow easily into moulds. In 2007-2008 in the UK several trials were undertaken through the BeAware project (Built Environment Action on Waste Awareness and Resource Efficiency) to incorporate GRP waste into precast concrete and rubber products. Improvements in properties were demonstrated, but again results were not commercialised.

However HD has found that there is more value in separating off the glass fibres from the resin powder to re-use as reinforcement. They have trialled this in new glass fibre mats for valley gutters and also in thermoplastic composites. In addition to glass fibre reinforced polyester products, they manufacture building products from injection moulded polypropylene (PP) and other polymers. Adding the short glass fibres to the PP increases strength and stiffness as well as reducing the PP content and therefore the cost of the injection moulded products. They are exploring ways to widen applications and so reach a place where they can take waste from other companies to process and sell back into new products.

As a responsible business we feel that we have to look at a circular economy and take responsibility for the products we manufacture. We can’t keep throwing things into holes in the ground, because a) there aren’t enough holes, and b) the cost of landfill is increasing.

Ray Khan, Director of Quality and Environmental Standards, Hambleside Danelaw

Ray Khan, Director of Quality and Environmental Standards at HD, says: “As a responsible business we feel that we have to look at a circular economy and take responsibility for the products we manufacture. We can’t keep throwing things into holes in the ground, because a) there aren’t enough holes, and b) the cost of landfill is increasing.”

Similar work has been done by Mixt Composites Recyclables (M-C-R) in France, a subsidiary of Plastic Omnium Auto Exterieur. M-C-R manufactures moulding compounds and takes back process waste from its clients which is ground and re-integrated into new compounds for automotive parts. The recyclate is finely ground to about 50 microns to replace filler.

Sébastien Masson, R&D Project Manager at M-C-R, explains that the added value is in the environmental aspect, or in respecting incentives to recycle/increase recycled content.

M-C-R also extracts longer fibres from less finely ground recyclate and sells this as a substitute for PP fibres in cement floor screeds, where the fibres limit cracking during the early setting of the cement. This has been validated in trials by CERIB (Centre d’Etudes et de Recherches de l’Industrie du Béton). They have also done some studies compounding the fibres in thermoplastics, though this is not yet commercially active.

In Belgium, Reprocover manufactures manhole covers, valve chambers and other construction products using ground thermoset industrial waste including GRP and clean waste fibres from nearby glass fibre reinforcement manufacturer, 3B-the fibreglass company. They have recently developed a bi-block railway sleeper with excellent vibration absorbing qualities which is currently undergoing detailed testing for approval to replace timber railway sleepers. Timber railway sleepers are likely to be phased out in Europe due to legislation which is expected to come into force in 2018 relating to the carcinogen effect of the creosote used to treat them, so railway companies are actively seeking alternatives. This could be a useful growth market application for waste GRP. ♦

Part 2 of this article will be published next month.

Further information

Stella Job is a Knowledge Exchange Expert for the Materials Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN). The Materials KTN is funded by UK Government’s Technology Strategy Board to support innovation and research in materials science. Contact stella.job@materialsktn.net. To keep in touch with Materials KTN activities in this area, join the Composite

Recycling glass fibre reinforced composites – history and progress (Part 1)

The difficulty of recycling GRP, such as these waste trims, is a stumbling block in industries where the pressure to recycle is high. (Picture © Filon Products.)Under floor vent from Hambleside Danelaw. Typically made from PP, but this one is 100% recycled with glass fibres from ground GRP recyclate and in-house PP waste, resulting in a stiffer, stronger product with no increase in cost. (Picture © Stella Job.)

The world is going through a low carbon revolution and the potential for composites to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is clear. But the difficulty of recycling glass fibre reinforced plastic (GRP) is a stumbling block particularly in construction and automotive where the pressure to recycle is high.

The European Composites Industry Association (EuCIA) states that GRP is “recyclable and compliant with EU legislation,” and it is (see EuCIA issues position paper on recycling of glass reinforced thermoset composites). But at present facilities exist only in Germany to recycle, which for companies in UK, for example, is prohibitively expensive and not environmentally friendly due to the effect of transport, leaving the option only to landfill.

To what extent is GRP economically recyclable, and therefore actually being recycled? How much would it affect markets for GRP if there were fully functioning, economically sustainable, geographically widespread recycling supply chains?

Several articles in Reinforced Plastics have advised us of the development of pyrolysis based carbon fibre recycling processes and these are now commercially available in several places since the launch of Milled Carbon (now ELG Carbon Fibre) in the West Midlands, UK. But the value of carbon fibre is around ten times that of glass, so while commercialising these processes has not been easy, it has been 'easier' than finding recycling routes for GRP, despite the much smaller volumes (76,000 tonnes carbon fibre reinforced plastic compared to about 1 million tonnes GRP parts produced in Europe in 2012, according to AVK's 2012 market report).

Cement kiln route – how does it work

Incineration of GRP is not practical since about 50-70% of the material is mineral and would be left as ash, which still needs to be landfilled. For co-processing in cement kilns, composite parts are size-reduced and mixed with other waste to feed into the kilns. GRP typically contains E-glass, which is usually alumino-borosilicate, along with an organic resin and often calcium carbonate filler. When fed into a cement kiln the organic resin burns providing energy (about 12 MJ/kg of waste) and the mineral constituents provide feedstock for the cement clinker. The clinker is ground to form cement. Any calcium carbonate calcines (releasing carbon dioxide) to calcium oxide, the primary component of Portland cement. Alumina and silica also have cementitious properties in an alkaline environment and are typically present in Portland cement at about 25%, and in much higher proportions in cement alternatives from fly-ash and slag. Boron, which is found in most E-glass, can cause a reduction in early strength during the setting of cement, but as long as proportions are kept low it is not considered a problem (ref: Pickering, Benson, Recovery of material and energy from thermosetting plastics, Proceedings, ECCM6 – Recycling concepts and procedures, 1993.

The recycling process supported by EuCIA, and available in Germany, involves the addition of GRP waste to cement kilns. This gains value from all parts of the composite and is commercially active in Germany through the route known as Compocycle, operated by Zajons and feeding Holcim’s cement kilns. However there is still a significant gate fee for the process. In Germany regulations leave no option to landfill so the volumes of GRP waste are sufficient to justify such a process. Composite manufacturers such as Fiberline in Denmark have supported that process, being close enough to take advantage of it. But this route reduces the value of the material to that of calcium carbonate and at present is not economic compared to landfill where landfill is an option.

Mechanical grinding

Recycling of GRP by mechanical grinding has been happening for several decades. Back in the 1970s the late Wolfgang Unger was developing his proprietary Seawolf technology in Florida, US, to grind fibreglass scrap and use it for replacing rotten boat transoms or incorporate it using spray-up equipment for making bathtubs and other products.

Unger’s company is now called Eco-Wolf and is managed by his daughter SabineCorinna Unger. Eco-Wolf has recently (2011) partnered with Global Fiberglass Solutions which is seeking to build and manage facilities to collect and recycle fibreglass across the US, having developed applications such as railroad ties (railway sleepers).

ERCOM Composite Recycling GmbH was established in Germany in 1990 to recycle automotive production and post-use waste by shredding and grinding graded parts into powder, to be used in new sheet moulding compound (SMC) in proportions up to 20% (ref: George Marsh, Facing up to the recycling challenge, Reinforced Plastics, Volume 45, Issue 6, June 2001, pages 22-26). ERCOM terminated in 2004. This approach of grinding GRP to fine powder for use as filler is well established in several industries, but as with the cement kiln route, it reduces the value of the material to that of calcium carbonate, which can be purchased at very low cost (around £200/tonne). In addition, it requires a significant amount of energy input to grind the material finely. Thus apart from some in-house recycling (see below), attempts to commercialise this as a recycling route have failed.

In the UK two roof light manufacturers now recycle some of their own waste by grinding. Filon Products has invested in machinery to grind their in-house GRP waste and incorporates it into a range of products including roofing sheet, valley gutters and flat sheet for signage. They are now investigating using the recyclate in moulding compounds.

Hambleside Danelaw (HD) is similarly grinding waste, and offers a take-back scheme for products at end of life. They have been involved in trials in numerous products over the last 10 years or so. Initially they worked with Dundee University using the recyclate in foamed concrete which had some advantages, but the reduction in slump (effectively increased viscosity) meant that it did not flow easily into moulds. In 2007-2008 in the UK several trials were undertaken through the BeAware project (Built Environment Action on Waste Awareness and Resource Efficiency) to incorporate GRP waste into precast concrete and rubber products. Improvements in properties were demonstrated, but again results were not commercialised.

However HD has found that there is more value in separating off the glass fibres from the resin powder to re-use as reinforcement. They have trialled this in new glass fibre mats for valley gutters and also in thermoplastic composites. In addition to glass fibre reinforced polyester products, they manufacture building products from injection moulded polypropylene (PP) and other polymers. Adding the short glass fibres to the PP increases strength and stiffness as well as reducing the PP content and therefore the cost of the injection moulded products. They are exploring ways to widen applications and so reach a place where they can take waste from other companies to process and sell back into new products.

As a responsible business we feel that we have to look at a circular economy and take responsibility for the products we manufacture. We can’t keep throwing things into holes in the ground, because a) there aren’t enough holes, and b) the cost of landfill is increasing.

Ray Khan, Director of Quality and Environmental Standards, Hambleside Danelaw

Ray Khan, Director of Quality and Environmental Standards at HD, says: “As a responsible business we feel that we have to look at a circular economy and take responsibility for the products we manufacture. We can’t keep throwing things into holes in the ground, because a) there aren’t enough holes, and b) the cost of landfill is increasing.”

Similar work has been done by Mixt Composites Recyclables (M-C-R) in France, a subsidiary of Plastic Omnium Auto Exterieur. M-C-R manufactures moulding compounds and takes back process waste from its clients which is ground and re-integrated into new compounds for automotive parts. The recyclate is finely ground to about 50 microns to replace filler.

Sébastien Masson, R&D Project Manager at M-C-R, explains that the added value is in the environmental aspect, or in respecting incentives to recycle/increase recycled content.

M-C-R also extracts longer fibres from less finely ground recyclate and sells this as a substitute for PP fibres in cement floor screeds, where the fibres limit cracking during the early setting of the cement. This has been validated in trials by CERIB (Centre d’Etudes et de Recherches de l’Industrie du Béton). They have also done some studies compounding the fibres in thermoplastics, though this is not yet commercially active.

In Belgium, Reprocover manufactures manhole covers, valve chambers and other construction products using ground thermoset industrial waste including GRP and clean waste fibres from nearby glass fibre reinforcement manufacturer, 3B-the fibreglass company. They have recently developed a bi-block railway sleeper with excellent vibration absorbing qualities which is currently undergoing detailed testing for approval to replace timber railway sleepers. Timber railway sleepers are likely to be phased out in Europe due to legislation which is expected to come into force in 2018 relating to the carcinogen effect of the creosote used to treat them, so railway companies are actively seeking alternatives. This could be a useful growth market application for waste GRP. ♦

Part 2 of this article will be published next month.

Further information

Stella Job is a Knowledge Exchange Expert for the Materials Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN). The Materials KTN is funded by UK Government’s Technology Strategy Board to support innovation and research in materials science. Contact stella.job@materialsktn.net. To keep in touch with Materials KTN activities in this area, join the Composite