The study of signboards’ supports as an attempt to meet the goals of decree 1668/2013 on sustainable development

Abstract

Based on the Municipal Decree 1668/2013, which takes into account sustainable development issues for purchases made through public bids in Curitiba/PR, and the guidelines that it points out, authors compared the costs for initial production and efficient use of water and electric power in the production of supports for vertical road signs manufactured from recycled polymers and galvanized steel. Steel industry is especially known for its high consumption of energy and raw materials in their production processes. Thus, the recycled polymer takes an early lead, precisely because it is entirely made of recycled material. In addition to steel production, the hot-dip galvanizing procedure done on steel to ensure a longer life to the support was also analyzed. While it is true that steel also incorporates a percentage of recycled material in its production process, less than half of the world’s production is done using this method. Recycled polymeric supports are entirely made of recycled plastic and recycled tires.  When comparing these recycled materials usage data, along with the production costs and environmental impacts, authors found that recycled polymeric supports better suit the Decree guidelines prioritized in this study.