Recovinyl sees sharp increase in vinyl recycling in UK

The U.K.-based plastics recycling company Recovinyl, a Brussels-based initiative of the European PVC industry, has reported that in 2014 it processed slightly more than 474,000 metric tons of scrap PVC (polyvinyl chloride) plastics from its 16 European member countries, including slightly more than 20 percent—95,525 metric tons—from U.K. sources.

The Recovinyl network, which consists of 160 companies, is an operational arm of VinylPlus, the ten-year Voluntary Commitment of the European PVC industry, which is tackling the sustainability challenges for PVC and delivery of current recycling targets to 2020.

“PVC recycling continues to grow, as revealed by these latest figures, and the U.K.’s achievement is testament to both ongoing commitment from the sector and sustained investment in recycling infrastructure across the country,” says Project Manager Jane Gardner of Axion Consulting, Recovinyl’s UK agents.

“Good quality recycled material can be reused sustainably in so many diverse new products, from construction products such as windows, to flooring and electrical components. Demand from manufacturers is continuing to grow.”

Having already established significant volumes of PVC recycling with Vinyl 2010, Recovinyl’s strategy continues with consolidating and increasing the steady supply of PVC waste recycled in Europe by creating demand—a "pull" market for recycled PVC—from the converting industry.

Potential new recycling opportunities for PVC include noninfectious medical PVC waste from hospitals, such as IV fluid and oxygen bags. This type of waste is the focus of a VinylPlus-funded research project, RecoMed, undertaken jointly by Axion Consulting and the British Plastics Federation’s (BPF) Vinyls Group.

Gardner adds, “RecoMed is a newly launched initiative collecting and recycling PVC from nonpharmacologically active waste from hospitals. We welcome enquiries from organizations looking to explore these recycling options, such as medical and care organizations, as we expand this scheme.”

One of the objectives of the VinylPlus Voluntary Commitment is to recycle 800,000 metric tons of PVC waste per year by 2020, including 100,000 metric tons of difficult-to-recycle PVC through innovative recycling technologies.