85% OF OUR WATER IS PIPED THROUGH POLYETHYLENE

PE: DELIVERING THE FULL PACKAGE

Polyethylene (PE) pipes have been around for more than 60 years. The first generation pipelines were modest performers. Fast forward to 2025 and PE now dominates the utilities space, accounting for around 85 per cent of water services infrastructure in Australian cities. You’ll also find it everywhere from telecommunications and irrigation to gas transmission and industrial systems.

A properly designed and installed polyethylene (PE) pipeline is expected to last 50 to 100 years in service. In many cases, its working life can exceed this when the system is operated within its design limits.

Long service life and leak-free performance depend on a few key factors: using the correct pipe grade and pressure class, following Australian Standards, and ensuring high-quality joints through correct butt fusion or electrofusion welding. Good pipe preparation, correct welding parameters and allowing full cooling times are key to joint integrity.

Cost-Effective

Just as important are sound design and installation practices and pressure testing before commissioning. When PE pipelines are installed and maintained correctly, they deliver durable and corrosion-resistant performance with minimal leakage over decades of service.

Tough, corrosion-resistant and cost-effective, PE ticks a lot of boxes for asset owners. And unlike the single-use plastics that tend to steal the headlines, modern PE pipes are purpose-built for the long haul – designed to last up to 100 years, and recyclable at the end of their working life.

Flexible

PE is light-weight and physically flexible which allows for easier installation in difficult locations. It is a material that also delivers when it comes to reuse, repair and recyclability – which are all cornerstones of a circular economy.

The plastic used to make pipes can be reprocessed and reused, making PE pipelines 100 per cent recyclable. Better still, they’re valuable materials, so manufacturers are keen to recover as much as possible – whether that’s through efficient production, reusing manufacturing scrap, or recycling old pipes. The result? Less waste to landfill and smarter use of finite resources.

Quality

Of course, quality still comes first. When recycled material is used in PE pipe manufacturing, strict quality assurance and testing requirements apply to ensure pipes meet Australia’s safety, performance and longevity expectations.

At present, recycled material is approved for use in non-pressure pipes such as drainage and irrigation systems.

Ironically, the long life of PE pipes has created a new challenge – there isn’t a huge volume of material coming back through the system just yet.

Long-life

Factors influencing their lifespan include:

• Material Quality: High-grade materials like PE100 offer superior long-term strength and crack resistance.

• Operating Conditions: This includes temperature, pressure, and the specific fluid or gas being transported. For instance, chlorine in drinking water can affect the long-term performance of earlier generation pipes.

• Installation: Proper installation and the use of correct fusion welding techniques for leak-free joints are critical.

• Environment: Burial conditions, such as soil type (corrosive vs non-corrosive) and external loading, can affect longevity

Lernna is a specialist Registered Training Organisation focused solely on electrofusion and butt welding across Australia. Our goal is simple: lift standards, lock in best practice, and make sure the people building and maintaining critical pipeline infrastructure are trained to do the job properly – every time.

We work closely with industry to deliver training that’s practical, compliant and aligned with Australian Standards, current technology and real-world conditions. With experienced trainers, straight-talk instruction and a strong safety focus, we help tradespeople build skills they can trust on site and assets that last long term.

Curious?  Take a look at the courses we offer.

• 25 views
• 0 Comment