Reimagining Dust Covers: Apollo’s Sustainable Shift from PVC to rPET

As part of Apollo’s renewed sustainability strategy – centred on People, Planet and Product – the business has embarked on a series of transformative initiatives to reduce environmental impact across its operations. One such initiative is the redesign of our dust covers, a small but essential component used to protect fire detectors during installation and commissioning.

Historically manufactured from virgin PVC, these covers posed recycling challenges and contributed to plastic waste. PVC is difficult to recycle, often ends up in landfill, and contributes to toxic emissions when incinerated. Recognising this, we initiated a comprehensive redesign project aimed at aligning with both internal sustainability goals and evolving customer expectations and environmental standards. We are transitioning to using 97% recycled PET (rPET) – the same material commonly found in water bottles. This change not only makes the covers fully recyclable but also reduces the use of virgin plastic by 97%, contributing to a significant reduction in annual plastic waste.

The switch to rPET was the result of a cross-functional team effort , bringing together expertise from across Apollo’s supply chain, engineering, and sustainability teams. Rigorous testing including heat resistance confirmed that rPET performs on par with PVC in protecting detectors under expected operating temperatures and real-world conditions.

This proactive move also supports compliance with environmental regulations such as the UK Plastic Packaging Tax, which incentivises the use of recycled content. By adopting rPET, Apollo is not only meeting these requirements but exceeding them – demonstrating leadership in sustainable product design

Alternative materials were explored, including paper pulp and biodegradable plastics. However, these options failed to meet Apollo’s performance standards. Paper-based covers warped under humidity and temperature changes, while biodegradable plastics required industrial composting and posed contamination risks

The dust cover redesign is just one example of the broader sustainability work underway at Apollo. Other projects include transitioning to recycled cardboard packaging, exploring recycled polycarbonate alternatives for detectors, and implementing lifecycle assessments to guide future product development

Together, these efforts reflect Apollo’s commitment to embedding sustainability into every aspect of its operations – ensuring that even the smallest components contribute to a safer, greener future.