UK Recycling held back by
shortage of P-C frames
6th November 2018

PVC recycling in the UK is being seriously held back by a shortage of post-consumer windows for processing, despite other countries contributing to a Europe-wide record high, according to Recovinyl, the industry’s recycling scheme.

As reported earlier this year (read story) a total of nearly 640,000 tonnes of recycled PVC waste was produced across Europe in 2017, representing a 13% increase from 2016 with increased volumes recorded in France and Italy.

Simon Scholes, Commercial Director at Veka Recycling, one of the first Recovinyl recyclers in the UK, said: “It’s good that there are several large recyclers hungry for feedstock as we are all after a finite amount of waste PVC. A number of factors are influencing supply, such as Brexit uncertainty, the market flattening and companies working smarter and producing less waste. But there’s no simple answer.

“While the market may have stabilised, demand for PVC recyclate continues to rise and the construction industry has much to gain economically and environmentally by sending waste PVC for recycling.”

He continued: “There is greater awareness in the window industry that PVC can be recycled and we welcome the fact that profile manufacturers recognise this and are responding by recycling more. Investment is making the PVC recycling industry more professional and is helping to bring sustainability to the industry as a whole.”

Richard McKinlay, Head of Circular Economy at Axion, Recovinyl’s Regional Representative for the UK, said: “Recovinyl continues to deliver impressive sustainable achievements in recycling a valuable material that was once consigned to landfill. On-going investment in recycling infrastructure, strong commitment from the construction sector and growing demand from manufacturers for good recycled material are all key factors.”

For fabricators and installers, recycling PVC makes ‘complete sense’ says Richard: “With a recycling network across the UK, it’s a convenient way to save you money on landfill disposal, it protects the environment and it’s the right thing to do.
“Whether you are a fabricator or an installer, you could save money by recycling your waste PVC and Recovinyl can help you to do this. Look on the Recovinyl website to find your local recycler.”

Recovinyl’s target is to stimulate and certify the recycling of 800,000 tonnes of PVC waste by 2020 as one of the challenges set in the VinylPlus Voluntary Commitment. VinylPlus has also recently committed to recycle and certify the use of at least 900,000 tonnes of PVC per year into new products by 2025, securing PVC’s place at the heart of the Circular Economy.

Cumulatively, 4.2 million tonnes of PVC have been recycled through the VinylPlus framework across Europe since 2000. Building on this, Recovinyl’s strategy continues with consolidating and increasing the steady supply of PVC waste being recycled in Europe by creating demand – a ‘pull-market’ for recycled PVC material - from the converting industry.

https://recovinyl.com/all-recyclers