Asset International has become the first manufacturer of HDPE structured wall systems to achieve a coveted HAPAS accreditation for pipe structures larger than 900mm.

The water management specialist has received a Highway Authorities’ Product Approval Scheme (HAPAS) accreditation from British Board of Agrément (BBA) for its Weholite pipes, fittings and systems for sizes from 1000mm to 3500mm.

The accreditation makes them the first, and currently only, products of their kind to hold this approval.  

Plastic pipes with an internal diameter greater than 900 mm are classed as ‘structures’ and do not yet have an official technical standard for use in highways.

In the past, this might have excluded plastic pipes over 900mm being utilised in highways projects, regardless of the advantages they can offer for applications such as attenuation, surface water drainage and culverts.

The HAPAS certificate should now help to remove such barriers and allow the acceptance of these products to be a far less onerous affair.

Simon Thomas, Managing Director at Asset said: “Our experience has shown that larger diameter plastic pipes and systems can provide better performance, but also offer a range of added benefits. Made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE) resin, Weholite pipes and structures are extremely tough, flexible, and chemically resistant, with a design life in excess of 120 years. Their superior loading capacity means they are ideally placed for use in highways and are more than capable of withstanding the extreme loading conditions placed upon them in these applications.”

The certification applies specifically to 1000mm to 3500mm diameter Weholite pipes, fittings and systems.