Eco-Coil Recycled Binding Spiral Coil FAQs

What are Eco-Coil spines made out of? How are they made?

MyBinding Eco-Coil spines are made from 100% post-consumer waste. The plastic used to form the coils was once consumer packaging such as the clear plastic packaging used in store display shelves. The plastic is gathered from a recycler and is washed and then ground down into small particles. Those particles are then extruded and pelletized into small consistent sized pellets. Finally, the pellets are melted down colored and extruded into filament. The final step is to use a coil forming machine to shape the filament into the correct diameter of spiral. The forming machine cuts the ends of the coil at an angle to make it easier for you to insert the coils onto your book. All of this is done right here in the United States by American workers.

You say the coils are not only recycled but also recyclable. How do you recycle them?

The plastic used in these Eco-Coil spines can easily be recycled as part of your company's recycling program. Depending on the recycling program that your company uses, you may or may not have to remove the coil from the edge of your book for recycling purposes. If you do need to remove the coil, the easiest way is to simply cut one of the crimped ends of the spiral and use your coil inserter to quickly spin the coil off the book. The coil can be recycled with other plastic products such as milk jugs, plastic water bottles and clear packaging.

Are Eco-Coil's more expensive than standard coils?

You might think that recycling would actually reduce the cost of producing binding coil. However, the labor involved in gathering and reprocessing the once used plastic actually makes these coils approximately 15% more expensive to produce than coils used with non-recycled materials. The price difference is less than a dollar per box on the smaller sizes of coil and just a few dollars on larger sizes. Although nobody likes to pay more, the price difference is small and the environmental impact can be huge.

Can you tell the difference between Eco-Coil and the standard binding coils that MyBinding carries?

If you were to place a standard coil next to an Eco-Coil, in most cases you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. The diameter and quality of the plastic is exactly the same. These coils are extruded and formed on the same equipment as our standard coils. However, there are sometimes slight differences in the coloration of Eco-Coil. The recycled materials that are used are sometimes not as clear as virgin PVC. This can make the clear coil not quite as clear and the white coil not quite as bright. For the darker colors there is not noticeable color shift. In order to minimize color shift, we use the best quality and clearest recycled materials for that filament. Still there is a small possibility of variation in tint between different batches of Eco-Coil.

Can you tell the difference in the quality of this coil vs. other non US made brands?

In order to cut costs several major coil suppliers have resorted to importing coil from China. Although this coil costs less to produce, the difference in quality is notable. Most imported Chinese spiral binding coils are made with thinner filament in order to save money. This makes their coil less rigid and more difficult to insert. Coil that is made in China is often not cut with the correct angle at each end. Again, this makes inserting the spirals on the edge of your book far more difficult. Imported coil is also not always true to color, Black can often look dark gray and white can look like light gray. Plus most imported coil is not CPSIA and ROHS certified (see below for more information on this).

What does CPSIA stand for? How about ROHS? Why does it matter?

CPSIA stands for the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act and is a US law. RoHS stands for Restriction of Hazardous Substances and is an EU law. Both of these laws restrict the amount of lead and other harmful elements in the production of consumer goods. In order to ensure that our coils are compliant to these standards each truck load of recycled plastic that we buy is tested at an independent lab for the presence of both phthalates and lead. This means that each of our batches of Eco-Coil is certified to be both CPSIA and RoHS compliant and is both lead and Phthalate free. Copies of the certification and testing are available upon request. However, it is important to note that these products are not intended for use as a "children's toy" or "child care article" (CPSIA section 108) and are thus are not subject to the most stringent rules on the presence of phthalates. As with all recycled materials, it is possible that small traces of items may slip through testing procedures. If you intend to use Eco-Coil in the production of children's toys or child care articles (items that will be chewed on or sucked upon by a child under the age of 3) further testing may be required to ensure full compliance.

How many colors and sizes are available in Eco-Coil?

Eco-Coil is currently available in approximately 50 colors (we carry 47 on our site) and in 27 different diameters for 4:1 pitch. However, Eco-Coil can be made in virtually any length or pitch that you require. Common lengths include 9" for half size books, 12" for letter size books, 15" for legal sized documents, 18" for seventeen inch binding and 36" for custom cutting and for use with certain high volume coil inserters. Eco-Coil is also available in a number of different pitches including 4:1 (or 6mm), 5:1 (or 5mm), 3.12:1, 2.5:1 and 3:1 pitch. Currently we don't have all of these pitches listed on our site but if you give us a call one of our customer service representatives would be glad to take your order.