FREQUENTLY
ASKED
QUESTIONS
What are the boards made of?
The boards are made from composite packaging such as milk cartons, ingredients bags, coffee cups and soft plastics. We use the same materials you trust to keep your food and drinks safe and hygienic are the same materials we make our boards from. Nothing added, just everyday packaging waste under pressure, heat and time to make our saveBOARD products. See our Material Safety Datasheet for more details.
What is the structural strengths of this board and can I use saveBOARD for bracing?
We have already completed P21 bracing tests in NZ on our board products. The great news is that they perform better than most traditional building products.
Our compliance documentation including P21 wind & seismic test data for applicable products is available on our website. saveBOARD is also recognised as 1 of 5 product substitutions for plasterboard in New Zealand. Check out the following link for further information MBIE Approved Plasterboard Substitute Guidance
How do you ensure consistent product
We ensure a consistent quality product, by using a consistent feedstock from our key suppliers and using the same 'recipe' for manufacture each time removing any variables from our manufacturing process.
How do you cut the boards? Can you use a sharp blade to cut like Gypsum board?
Cut saveBOARD with any commercial or common woodworking tools. Keep blades sharp for best results and always wear safety goggles and other forms of personal protective equipment.
Do the boards cost more than traditional products?
Yes & No. We are more expensive than 'Standard products'. The reason for this is that it takes up to 5mins to make a saveBOARD product, compared to plasterboard that takes less than 10secs. It costs more to sort through waste than buy virgin materials. However, if you compare our products against similar products there is little difference. Paperfaced vs Bracing plasterboard, Exposed vs aesthetic grade plywood.
Do the boards smell being made out of recycled materials?
The boards smell like wood fibre, however any remaining contamination in the packaging is evaporated as the boards are heated up to 250 degC during the manufacturing process.
What thicknesses do the boards come in?
The boards can be made in any thicknesses from 5mm through 18mm depending on the product segment and market application. Typical thicknesses are 8, 10 & 12mm.
Where can I buy the boards once saveBOARD is in New Zealand and Australia?
Our boards are available right now and can be ordered through ITM and Bunnings around NZ as a 'Special Order'. Our Australian plant in Sydney is now open for business - For NZ customer's email: enquiries@saveboard.nz
Do saveBOARD products generate microplastics?
Microplastics can be generated by any plastic component during wear or breakdown. Most micro plastics in the world are generated by car tyres, synthetic clothes, city dust and road markings.
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Like any material containing plastic (including saveBOARD), they should be replaced at signs of wear. As with our boards, if they are showing signs of wear they should be removed and returned to us for reprocessing into new boards. When cutting our products, the saw dust should be collected and disposed responsibly.
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Did you know that plywood, OSB, Chipboard contains up to 25% glue (plastic-based adhesives like urea formaldehyde) by weight to bond together the different layers of wood, strands or wood chips. This is similar to saveBOARD at 25-30% soft plastics (our glue) and also generate microplastics when cut. All wood-based products containing glues or resins should collect their saw dust and dispose responsibly.
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What is the embodied or upfront carbon emissions of the boards?
Our board products have a very low embodied carbon as we are turning composite packaging waste, back into products that re-enter the local supply chain eliminating future waste. saveBOARD has < 90% CO2 compared to either Plasterboard & Fibre Cement Board and < 80% CO2 compared to Plywood.
Most traditional building materials cannot fundamentally change their embodied carbon as its inherent in how it is made and is unlikely to be greatly reduced. saveBOARD is a low carbon building material and has a significant climate change benefit, when used instead of traditional building products. Embodied energy report can be downloaded here.
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Fire rating & what happens when saveBOARD products burn?
Our products are a Material Group 3 product, same as plywood, MDF, particle board unless they have had fire retardants added during manufacture. As per our Declare label, our boards contain approx. 70% wood fibre, 20% is Polyethylene and up to 4-5% aluminium. https://declare.living-future.org/products/saveboard
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When Polyethylene is burnt by itself, it produces 76% carbon dioxide, 13% carbon monoxide, remaining 11% are small quantities of ethylene, propylene, butane. Based on research these other components can provide throat irritation. When wood is burnt carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur oxides (SOx), and nitrogen oxides (NOx) are released. Carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are the ones that will kill you in both cases.
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For comparison, Plywood, MDF, OSB, Chipboard all contain resins /epoxy's / formaldehydes that are far more toxic when burnt than Polyethylene.​
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Where is your waste (feedstock) sourced from?
We source our waste streams from a mix of post-consumer packaging through to industrial clients. We collect food and beverage cartons from our 56x community drop off points, factory waste from Fonterra, Goodman Fielder, Frucor and others. We also use soft plastics from the NZ soft plastics recycling scheme (found in supermarkets) and mixed fibre from other commercial clients like NZ lottery (instant kiwi tickets), playing cards etc...
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How much can you supply and why isn't it available everywhere?
We are a small company and can only produce up to 500x boards each day. This sounds like a lot but this only equates to 1-2 % of the market. We would love to help everyone with material shortages however we don't have the scale to do this now. Please be understanding, we have a total of 10 staff including operators and will only be stocked in some Bunnings and ITM stores around New Zealand.
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Can I use saveBOARD on a Green Star Project?
The New Zealand Green Building council (NZGBC) has determined that SaveBOARD products are in line with the Sustainable Products credit under the tool Green Star - Design & As Built NZv1.0. While the credit encourages sustainability and transparency in the product specification of new builds saveBOARD meets the sustainability initiative of 21B recycled content with a 0.99 Sustainability factor (SF).
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What sizes do the boards come in?
The boards are nominally 1200mm wide and come in a range of common lengths including: 2.4m, 2.7m & 3.0m.
I would like a bulk order but custom length, can this be done to save wastage?
Yes, we are prepared to cut to a custom length, however we need a minimum order of 20m3 - Equivalent to 694 x 10mm x 2.4m boards (or about 3 average house lots). Please make contact with us via our CONTACT page for a pricing enquiry.
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What levels of VOC outgassing do your boards give off once installed?
We've had our products tested in Australia to ASTM D5116-2017 and by definition they are not applicable. The tests show that the VOC's detected over the 7-day emissions test is less than 5% of the Green Star Interiors standard which is <0.500 mg/m2/hr.
Does it take longer to install than say Gypsum board?
Yes, it does take approx 50% longer to install than Gypsum board as you have to use mechanical tools to cut - similar to plywood. However, this additional duration is offset by the fact you do not need to block out between studs for cabinets, toilet roll holders, basins, cupboards, towel rail etc..
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Our Exposed internal lining is our most expensive product, however because it is pre-finished it is 5x quicker to install and finish than a plasterboard wall. Once a piece of Gypsum board is installed, it still needs plastering + painting. Not only does this take several weeks to complete, but the overall cost is more expensive per m2 once you add together the 3x sub-trades.
How do you create the different colours for the Exposed interior wall board?
The colours are from the original consumer products; all we do is segregate the feed stock into the colour groups on arrival. There is natural variance and available colours will depend on what is being processed at the time of manufacture.
