COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL HEMP
Fibreglass
Alternative
Hemp products also could be used as a replacement for fibreglass. So-called “hempmat” has
been touted as a safer and more desirable alternative to fibreglass. Many concerns
have recently been raised about the health dangers of fibreglass, such as potential
airborne glass particles that may cause respiratory problems. In addition,
Hemcore of England reports that they have found hempmat to be cheaper than
fibreglass. Any offcuts created from moulds used to form the hempmat can be
recycled to produce additional hempmat, whereas fibreglass cannot.
Hemp fibre products in general, are also less hazardous to recycle than fibreglass,
for which there are concerns about worker health in recycling. Finally, hempmat
is very lightweight and gives a better surface finish than glass. Hemcore also
reports, however, that hempmat is not as strong as fibreglass for impact strength,
although new technologies are being developed to improve this impact strength
(Hobson, 1998).
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