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What are sorbents?

Sorbents are commonly used for oil and chemical spill clean-up and come in a variety of forms; powders, pads, pillows, booms, etc.  Sorbents can also be used to improve customer and worker safety by absorbing spills that could create slip and fall hazards.

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It is estimated that approximately 706 million gallons of oil enter the ocean every year.  This usually occurs due to accidental spills, leaks, careless disposal or storage of oils, atmospheric deposition, and stormwater runoff from cities and farms.

 

The kinds of sorbents used to clean up these spills, such as rolls, powders and pads, depend on the characteristics of the oil and the type of environment involved. For spills in water, synthetic sorbents are preferred over natural sorbents, because they float and can absorb more hydrocarbons relative to their own weight.

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However, most synthetic sorbents used to address these spills are manufactured from virgin petroleum based materials, whose production only causes more harm to the environment.

 

Why are Earthwise sorbents different?

Earthwise Sorbents offers an array of highly effective sorbent products, made from recycled and repurposed foam and fabric materials. Earthwise Sorbents repurposes polyurethane wastes into high performance absorbent pillows and recycles plastic and polypropylene wastes from other large vendors into melt-blown pads, sweeps, and booms. This reduces the carbon footprint of manufacturing their products and gives foam and fabric wastes a second life as environmental clean-up products.