Why do we keep using plastic in plumbing?

I have worked in the bathroom/plumbing industry for quite some time and for quite some time I’ve had this nagging question about plastic and water plumbing.

On the Bathroom Industry

The bathroom industry truly is a weird one. They’re quite obsessed with being sustainable and good on the environment. I do believe this comes from a quite easy win from working with water and water being the most natural of all naturals. It’s easy to portray oneself or ones company as ‘good’ in all kinds of ways, doing some symbolic things to better oneself, while on the other hand having no problem with switching out water ways built with copper for plastic.

I have many examples of people and companies doing all kinds of mental loops, laps, and flips, just to be able to call themselves sustainable.

It’s not all hypocrisy, though. There are numerous examples of the reverse as well, of people who simply does what is good for nature despite breaking all kinds of ‘sustainability’ rules and certifications.

The Plastic PEX Pipes

One thing is those plastic PEX pipes that everyone uses, though.

Why switch out the well-proven copper pipes for plastics? Copper has known antibacterial properties, doesn’t rust, and copper is also an important part of us humans. Plastic, on the other hand, is extremely dangerous to us humans, especially the small micro- and nanoplastic pieces that even get into our blood stream.

Furthermore, plastic is horrible on nature, while copper is part of nature…

I have yet to see anyone in the industry answer the simple question:

How long does it take until the PEX pipe starts to release micro- and nano plastics and other harmful components into our drinking water?

This is odd behaviour for an industry pricing itself on bringing clean water to households all over the world. An industry who is set on a mission to reduce heavy metals in their products, only to switch it out for… You guessed it, plastic!

Is it really only about the money, after all?