Holt Heath — More than a quarter of a million tonnes of post-consumer PVC-U were recycled in Europe last year through Recovinyl, the PVC industry’s recycling initiative.
This comfortably exceeding the 240,000 tonnes target by the end of 2010. The UK was a star performer, contributing around 20 percent to the European total of 254,814 tonnes by recycling 49,343 tonnes of post-consumer PVC in 2010. Materials collected and recycled through the Recovinyl programme included window profiles, pipes, cables, flexible and rigid PVC.
Commenting on the scheme’s success, David Wiles and Jane Gardner, of Axion Consulting and Recovinyl’s UK agents, say the figures show that Recovinyl has achieved its original aims. That is to develop markets for post-consumer PVC recyclate in the UK and to promote collection, recycling and re-use of this sustainable material. “It’s a tremendous result and what has really helped us to deliver this target in the UK is the strong co-operation between everyone involved in the PVC industry here, along with the valuable co-ordinating role played by the BPF,” says David.
Recovinyl’s success has also spawned another industry initiative managed by Axion – Recofloor, the waste vinyl flooring recycling scheme founded by leading flooring manufacturers, Altro and Polyflor. “Both projects are of huge benefit to manufacturers who can demonstrate a sustainable approach to production of new goods made from genuinely-recyclable raw materials,” explains Jane.
Recovinyl was formed by the PVC industry body Vinyl 2010 to demonstrate commitment to sustainable development. Increasing use of recycled content in building products, such as reinforcement for PVC-U windows, has contributed to Recovinyl’s on-going success since the scheme’s 2005 launch here. The UK’s Europe-leading performance for PVC recycling has seen recycled rigid and flexible material being re-used in high grade applications, from new components to cills, cladding and roofline products.
“Recovinyl has been a tremendous boost for the PVC industry in promoting the sustainability of PVC-U, which can be recycled many times without losing performance. Encouraging more companies to recycle, rather than landfill, their PVC waste has great economic and environmental benefits,” continues Jane.
“Recovinyl has clearly succeeded in achieving what it set out to do – to promote the recycling and re-use of PVC in new products. Building products made from 100 percent recycled PVC-U are all examples of how the material can help the UK’s construction industry improve its commitment to sustainability,” she adds.
Recovinyl is established in 16 countries across Europe, including Romania, Poland and the Czech Republic. There are 30 accredited recyclers in the UK. Since its launch in April 2005, Recovinyl has exceeded all expectations by recycling more than 117,000 tonnes of post-consumer PVC waste in the UK alone.
Source : www.recyclingportal.eu
