news
Teppfa: Europe could double pipe recycling
European plastic pipe manufacturers say they could double their current recycling targets, if European and national legislation were amended. Members of The European
Plastic Pipes and Fittings Association (Teppfa) say they could recycle 250,000 tonnes/ year by 2020 – more than twice the targeted 120,000 tonnes/ year -- but are being held back by existing regulations. Two pieces of legislation – Reach, and the Waste Framework Directive (WFD) – classify certain additives in plastic pipe as hazardous, meaning that the pipe must be incinerated or landfilled. However, Teppfa says that recent research shows that
– under specified conditions – there is no health, safety or environmental risk associated with recycling products that contain these “legacy sub- stances”. Tony Calton, Teppfa general manager, said: “The problem posed under Reach and WFD is that, without amendments being made, more plastic waste will be incinerated and sent to landfill – when it can safely be recycled without risk to human health or the environment.” He said that research
showed that none of the potentially harmful additives are released during recycling or pipe manufacture, or during the use phase of the products because they are locked into the matrix of the material.
Teppfa is now lobbying the
EU for a special status for the recyclable material containing additives which may now – or in the future – be covered under Reach and WFD. This, it says, would divert plastic pipe away from incineration and landfill – which are the second and third choices under the European Commission’s Circular Economy Package. “In order to achieve the
highest levels of recycling, we need policymakers at both EU and member state level to partner with industry to resolve this issue,” said Calton. Teppfa’s recycling target
incorporates pipes made from PVC, polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). ❙
www.teppfa.eu
Pipes look better on the outside
Two US-based architecture students have won a prestig- ious international design competition with a project that puts water pipes on the outside of buildings. Sophie Nahrmann and
Sinan Goral’s ‘Ecoschool’ project was named ‘most innovative’ in the Flux Emerging Architects design competition. According to their entry, the
Ecoschool “reverse engineers how waste water and energy are processed within a building by exposing such systems”. The design, by the two Carnegie Mellon students, aims to challenge the common
www.pipeandprofile.com Ecoschool puts water pipes in full view, rather than hiding them
practice of burying pipework underground.
“Though visually unconven- tional in their exposure, these clustered pipes are function-
ally nothing new, addressing heating and cooling needs at the local and urban scales,” they said. ❙
www.soa.cmu.edu
news in brief
❙ Trex, the US-based manufacturer of WPC-based decking and railing, reported a 9% increase in sales (to $132m) in the first quarter of the year. In the same period, pre-tax profits rose by one-third to exceed $36m. CEO James Cline said that several factors – including increased volume sales and savings in manufacturing costs – made the first quarter particularly strong. The company expects second quarter earnings to rise 8% on the corresponding period in 2015 – though this does not take account of likely sales from its new recycled PE business.
www.trex.com
❙ Uponor says it has made “steady progress” in Europe, in addition to seeing contin- ued strong growth in North America. Sales for the first quarter of the year reached €246.9m, up by just over 4%. Operating profit for the period reached €11.9m, up by 5%. The company expects full-year sales and profits to improve compared to its 2015 results. Building Solutions in Europe saw top-line growth (of around 9%), though profits plunged by 19%. In North America, sales growth of 24% produced a profits growth of nearly 37%. Uponor recently inaugurated its new US PEX pipe plant, in Apple Valley, Minnesota. It is the ninth expansion since Uponor began production in the US in 1970, and adds 8,000 sq m of manufacturing and office space.
www.uponor.com
June 2016 | PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION 5
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