Canada’s construction industry has experienced strong growth for several years, a trend that has accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic. This growth is driven by high levels of immigration and increasing demand for housing, as well as the urgent need to replace aging infrastructure. To meet these challenges, there is growing demand for cost-effective, durable materials that outperform conventional options such as concrete and steel. In this context, polymer-based materials offer solutions that are often better suited to today’s requirements for efficiency, durability, and sustainability.
A Growing Role for Polymers in the Construction Industry
Across North America, much of the existing infrastructure was built during the twentieth century. As of 2022, the average age of bridges in the United States was 44 years, while highways averaged more than 50 years old (Sources: American Society of Civil Engineers [ASCE] and Federal Highway Administration [FHWA]). At the same time, renewing this aging infrastructure is becoming increasingly challenging due to resource constraints.
Concrete and steel remain the dominant construction materials. But what about plastics and composites? The construction industry continues to question their long-term performance, and the durability of polymer-based materials is still viewed with skepticism by some stakeholders. After all, concrete, cement, and stone have proven their value since antiquity, while steel became a cornerstone of civil engineering throughout the twentieth century.
But what if plastics and composites became the materials of choice for twenty-first-century construction?
These materials offer properties that complement conventional building materials, including greater design flexibility, excellent chemical resistance, and outstanding durability. In the building sector, polymer-based materials are already widely used in roofing membranes, air barriers, and vapor barriers. In civil infrastructure, plastic pipes have largely replaced steel and concrete in water distribution and sewer systems because they are more chemically inert, corrosion-resistant, and better suited to protecting water quality. In geotechnical engineering, polymeric geosynthetics are increasingly replacing gravel and concrete in applications involving drainage, waterproofing, and soil reinforcement.
A 100-Year Service Life
With infrastructure replacement rates for transportation assets remaining below 2% per year, infrastructure owners face a dual challenge: replacing or rehabilitating aging structures quickly while ensuring they remain in service for decades to come. Over the years, a number of catastrophic failures—including bridge and overpass collapses, underground pipeline failures, and dam and tailings containment breaches—have underscored the importance of long-term infrastructure reliability.
Although advances in engineering and construction practices have significantly reduced these risks, increasingly stringent requirements are being adopted to ensure the use of more reliable, longer-lasting materials. Since the 1990s, several organizations in both the United States (NBIP, ISTEA, FHWA, NCHRP, AASHTO) and Canada (CSA, BNQ, MTQ) have promoted a shift toward enhanced infrastructure durability.
For manufacturers of polymer-based products—such as pipes, geotextiles, and sheet materials—the challenge is to demonstrate performance that matches or exceeds that of conventional materials. However, polymeric materials degrade through mechanisms that differ significantly from those affecting steel and concrete, requiring evaluation methods tailored to their specific modes of deterioration. For example, polymers may be susceptible to stress cracking and creep but are inherently resistant to corrosion.
Consequently, demonstrating a 100-year service life requires a comprehensive assessment of the material’s long-term behavior under realistic service conditions. This is typically achieved through rigorous laboratory testing, accelerated aging protocols, and, where appropriate, validation in pilot or field installations.
The Proven Track Record of Plastics in Construction
Plastics have established a strong track record in the construction industry, particularly in the manufacture of pipes. PVC has become the material of choice for many drinking water and municipal water distribution systems because of its durability and corrosion resistance. Polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), which are lighter and more flexible, are also widely used in drainage applications—including highway drainage—as well as in a variety of industrial systems.
Beyond their superior chemical resistance, polymer-based materials can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of construction projects compared with conventional materials such as steel and concrete. In geotechnical engineering, geosynthetics have emerged as a cost-effective and environmentally advantageous alternative, offering lower installation costs, faster construction, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
For example, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembranes have replaced clay liners and other traditional containment materials in many applications, reducing the associated carbon footprint by approximately 70% while delivering equivalent performance. Similarly, geotextiles reduce the amount of gravel required in drainage projects, lowering the carbon footprint by at least 30% (International Geosynthetics Society).
Thanks to their filtration and drainage capabilities, geotextiles also improve water management beneath pavements and foundations. By reducing water accumulation and limiting freeze–thaw damage, they help extend the service life of roads and other civil infrastructure.
The Importance of Certification Programs and Ecodesign
To encourage the adoption of polymer-based materials in construction while meeting increasingly stringent environmental and regulatory requirements, certification programs such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and Envision play a critical role. These frameworks establish measurable sustainability criteria, including the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, efficient water management, and the incorporation of recycled materials into construction projects.
For example, the LEED rating system allocates approximately 10% of its available points to material selection, placing particular emphasis on recycled, recyclable, and durable materials. This approach encourages designers and builders to consider not only a material’s performance during service but also its environmental impact throughout its entire life cycle.
In support of this objective, RECYC-QUÉBEC has developed a recovery program for construction, renovation, and demolition (CRD) materials aimed at strengthening the circular economy within Quebec’s construction sector. As a result, designers are increasingly expected to consider the end-of-life management of building materials during the design phase, including how and where they can be recovered, recycled, or reused.
This ecodesign approach has become a key driver of innovation in the construction industry. While most plastic products are technically recyclable, the actual recycling rate in the construction sector remains below 10%, largely because of insufficient collection, sorting, and recycling infrastructure. Improving these outcomes will require stronger collaboration among manufacturers, recyclers, municipalities, and other stakeholders across Quebec and Canada.
There is little doubt that polymers—recognized for their cost-effectiveness, high performance, and durability compared with conventional materials—are becoming essential components of the transition toward a more sustainable, resilient, and environmentally responsible construction industry.
By David Beaumier, Special collaboration
David Beaumier, P.Eng., M.Eng., is Director of Sustainable Development at the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE), Quebec Section (dbeaumier@gcttg.com).
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