While some absorbent materials can be used only once before they must be discarded, the greener — and more budget-friendly — option for many is to use absorbents they can clean and reuse multiple times. Market predictions show these reusable absorbents are growing in popularity, and will continue to do so over the next decade.

To stay at the leading edge of spill cleanup and preparedness, understanding and selecting the right reusable absorbents for your facility over the coming years will be key.

The 10-year market outlook

Industry experts’ predictions for the next 10 years indicate reusable absorbents will grow significantly in popularity due to a few growth drivers.

• Industrialization — One such driver is growing industrialization. Here in the United States, we are in the initial stages of what some are calling the Fourth Industrial Revolution — a technological transformation with the power to disrupt nearly every industry. The increasing fusion of physical and digital worlds is coming together in a complex landscape of emerging technologies that will be capable of changing nearly every facet of modern life. One of the places these changes will likely have a broad impact is in manufacturing, where processes are changing and worker safety and preparedness training is a top priority.
• Demand — Of course, with growing industrialization comes a growing likelihood of oil spills and pipeline ruptures. High demand for crude oil, which is transported through land and underwater pipelines, makes up another major driver for growth in the market for these materials. The rise in spills means more cleanup operations utilizing reusable oil absorbents, and the increased risk of having to deal with a spill or leak like this means more and more leaders preparing their companies for accidents by stocking up on the necessary absorbents for the job.
• Safety — As a further side effect of the growing rate of spills and leaks, more and more organization decision-makers are putting pressure on preparedness program leaders to ensure workers are equipped to handle spills quickly and effectively when they take place. Regulatory bodies like OSHA are introducing increasingly stringent training and equipment requirements for those who may potentially have to deal with emergency spills.

What does all this mean for those working in industries in which they use absorbent materials? In short, the need for these materials is only going to grow. Choosing the right reusable absorbents and related materials will be essential to keeping up with the next decade’s expanding spill-cleanup needs.

Choosing the right equipment

AbsorbentsOnline offers a wide selection of reusable oil absorbent materials, from pads and rolls designed for quick oil absorption to booms designed for oil spill containment and cleanup in bodies of water. But the reusable oil absorbents themselves aren’t the only investment absorbents users will need to make to experience the convenience and efficiency they provide. To reuse oil absorbents, cleaning equipment designed for use with those absorbents is necessary.

The standard model wringer is the perfect choice for many. This heavy-duty hand wringer can remove fluids from absorbent pads, towels, wipes, rugs, carpets, and flat booms. One EPA report indicated that the standard model wringer enables annual savings of anywhere from 56 to 79%, paying itself off in under five weeks. The chemically resistant rollers are driven by dual gears and can extract sorbents into a collection sink, which funnels into a closed-head 55-gallon drum. A built-in anti-spill valve prevents further spills or leaks during cleanup.

Between the reusable oil absorbent materials and wringers, cleaning up oil spills and leaks can be easy and cost-effective. Additionally, users reduce the economic footprint of cleanup materials by recycling them over multiple uses.

To learn more about reusable oil absorbents and order the products you need, contact Angie Meza at angie@absorbentsonline.com or (800) 869-9633.