A 99.9% failure rate over 15 years doesn't sound good — unless that 00.1% success is a huge leap forward. That's exactly the breakthrough Nigel Spicer and Keith Ferrell of Cactus Imaging just experienced while collaborating with the company's material maker, GALE Pacific. 

What the two companies developed was nothing short of game-changing. Over the past five years, they've worked on formulating a special substrate that can be used in large-format printing — one that can be printed and 100% recycled, over and over again. Cactus Imaging is based in Sydney, Australia; GALE Pacific has an office there along with several others worldwide.

 The substrate is truly circular. "It's amazing," said Keith in a recent interview with Dscoop. "We've already seen the material successfully go through the cycle of print/recycle and reprint five times with no loss in material, no loss in quality."

EcoBanner is 'exactly what we were hoping for'

The achievement comes at a time when brands are demanding more sustainable options for their marketing materials. Typically, billboards are printed on PVC-based material, which after use is discarded, ending up in landfills or burned — not great options for the environment. "We were determined there had to be a better way," Keith said.

Alongside scientists and product developers at GALE Pacific, Cactus Imaging invested countless hours testing and providing performance feedback on the various iterations of the product.

"The product is exactly what we were hoping for," Nigel and Keith said, "and our clients are thrilled."

The material is called EcoBanner, and is the only Australian-designed, PVC-free banner fabric capable of 100% closed-loop recycling. The material is currently offered in 3.2 meter rolls. "We're able to run 30% of our jobs on EcoBanner. We are currently developing and testing 3.5 meter rolls," Keith said. "Once that size is perfected, we'll be able to run 80% of our work on EcoBanner."

That change can't come fast enough for Cactus Imaging and their eco-conscious clientele, he said. "Customers are under great pressure to reduce their carbon footprint, and this will make a huge impact for them in helping meet their targets."

Now, once a billboard has reached the end of its life, GALE Pacific picks up all the material and recycles it using its proprietary process. End customers can track the product through the entire journey, ensuring accountability and assurance that the environmental impact is guaranteed.

'This breakthrough should be shared by everyone' 

Cactus Imaging had the opportunity to lock in exclusive rights to use and distribute EcoBanner, but chose to have it be available to the entire signage market. "Our goal was to lessen the environmental impact of the entire industry," Keith said. "It would have been disingenuous and counterproductive to keep it for ourselves. This breakthrough should be shared with everyone. Probably not our smartest business move, but it was the right one."

EcoBanner made industry news when oOh!media (the owner of Cactus Imaging) won the World Out of Home Organization (WOO) Sustainability Award for its collaboration with GALE Pacific to develop the sustainable material.

"At some point during all of the failures, you could start to think it was really stupid to keep at it," Keith said. "All those failures were worth the effort. It's so rewarding to see the positive impact you can make."