| More than 50,000 tonnes of PVC looks set to be recycled by the end of 2008, a forecast by Recovinyl - the PVC industry’s recycling scheme has revealed.
This is a huge leap from the 42,162 tonnes recorded in 2007, according to Recovinyl’s UK agent Axion Recycling.
It added that the rise reflects the increased awareness of the need to recycle waste rigid plastic and the growth of the recycling infrastructure in England.
A rise in the volumes of post-consumer windows being recycled and investment in new plant and equipment by many of Recovinyl’s 30 recyclers throughout the UK are among the contributory factors, the firm said.
In addition, success has also been helped by industry-wide campaigns such as PVCaware.org and Fighting Back With Facts.
According to Axion’s commercial director Roger Morton, manufacturing a new building product from recycled PVC-U saves 94% of carbon dioxide emissions compared to production using virgin PVC polymer.
He said: “Judging by the level of enquiries we have received from businesses wanting to recycle their waste PVC, we expect recycling rates to break new records again by the end of the year.”
Axion calculated that more than 40,000 tonnes of end of life PVC were recycled through the Recovinyl scheme last year. This will have saved more than 71,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
This is due to the fact that the majority of this material will have been used on applications that directly substitute virgin polymer such as cladding and cavity closers.
Recovinyl was launched in the UK in 2005 within the framework of the industry body’s Vinyl 2010 programme with the aim of supporting and developing PVC waste collection and recycling schemes.
Morton added: “We welcome the increasing use of 100% recycled PVC-U in new building products that clearly demonstrates the material’s sustainability and ability to be recycled many times without loss of performance.” |
