From the perspective of overall environmental performance, rubber usually has more environmental advantages than plastic, especially in terms of material sources, service life, recyclability, and terminal disposal. However, it needs to be comprehensively judged based on specific types and application scenarios. The following is a specific analysis:

The environmental advantages of rubber

Raw material source:

Natural rubber comes from rubber trees, and if environmentally friendly planting methods are used (such as reducing pesticide use), their environmental impact is relatively small.

Although synthetic rubber involves high energy consumption, the production process continues to improve and the environmental impact gradually decreases.

Service life and performance:

Rubber flooring materials (such as EPDM rubber) have a long service life, excellent compression resistance, friction resistance, and shock absorption performance, and a small long-term environmental burden.

For example, EPDM rubber does not release harmful substances during production and use, has strong weather resistance, and is suitable for outdoor use.

Recyclability:

Rubber can be recycled and reused through physical methods, and some can be converted into recycled rubber with a high recycling rate.

The recycling technology of natural rubber and synthetic rubber is relatively mature, and the environmental friendliness has been further improved.

Terminal disposal:

Rubber degrades rapidly in natural environments and has a relatively small impact on the environment after disposal.

The environmental disadvantages of plastics

Raw materials and production:

Plastics (such as PVC) rely heavily on petroleum and require a large amount of chemical additives (such as plasticizers and stabilizers) for production. Emissions and residues may have a negative impact on the environment.

The plastic production process has high energy consumption and significant carbon emissions.

Service life and recycling:

Plastic has a shorter lifespan and a greater long-term environmental burden.

Low recycling rate (such as complex PVC recycling and unstable quality), slow degradation rate after disposal, and easy to cause long-term pollution.

Environmental impact:

Plastic is difficult to degrade in the natural environment, and if not handled properly, it may become the main source of "white pollution".

Special circumstances and comprehensive considerations

EPDM rubber: As a type of rubber, EPDM rubber fully meets environmental standards, is non-toxic and harmless, and has no harm to the environment and human body. It is a representative of excellent environmental performance.

New environmentally friendly plastics, such as TPE (thermoplastic elastomer), can be processed through injection molding, extrusion, and other methods, are easy to recycle, and avoid the use of heavy metals and toxic plasticizers in production, meeting environmental standards.

Actual selection: It needs to be comprehensively evaluated based on specific product types, production processes, usage scenarios, and recycling systems. For example, certain high-performance plastics may be more environmentally friendly than traditional rubber in specific fields.