PVC | MARKETS
infrastructure and limited end markets, Eslava notes. “For example, Recofloor relies on the efforts of individual contractors to help return the vinyl flooring for recycling. Without effective communi- cation and their willingness to participate, it would not be possible.” Richard McKinlay, Head of Consulting at
resource recovery specialist Axion, says installation waste “is where we really need to focus our efforts initially to get the material coming back. If you build up that system, then you start to build infrastructure which could then allow end-of-life material to enter it eventually.” In Italy, PVC Forum Italia and VinylPlus launched WREP (Waste REcycling Project) in 2016 to evaluate the potential for improving PVC recycling and promote the development of pilot schemes for the collection and recycling of PVC waste and increase the quantity and quality of PVC recycled from urban waste (construction and demolition). In 2018, the Veritas Group, the multi-utility of the Venice and Treviso area, and DAE, the regional representative of Recovinyl, were involved in the first pilot project. During the experimental phase, around 135 tonnes were collected in one year, of which 89% was transformed into recycled PVC. PVC Forum Italia trained the operators of the supply chain to recognise, select and manage PVC applications at the end of their life. In the meantime, the WREP project has been extended into other areas in Northwest Italy and also Tuscany. PVC Forum Italia says the total of the waste managed through the various initiatives of the WREP project is equal to about 42,000 tonnes. “Of these, 549 tonnes of PVC have been selected and separated, and made available to recyclers, who have produced 502 tonnes of quality recycled PVC, equivalent to 1,000 tonnes of CO2
emissions saved
compared to virgin PVC. Based on these prelimi- nary data, the availability of PVC waste can be estimated at more than 10,000 tons/year nation- wide. The initiative, adapting to different territorial needs, can be replicated everywhere.” Last year, Padua-based optical instrument and systems maker Phoenix was commissioned to design and build a simple handheld device for use by operators sorting PVC from other plastics. “Even if still at the prototype level, the sorting system proved to be robust, reliable and responsive to the proposed requirement,” says Carlo Ciotti, Chair- man of VinylPlus Italia and PVC Forum Italia. It is not just in Europe that industry bodies have been moving ahead with PVC recycling initiatives. For example, the Vinyl Council of Australia has been facilitating the growth in recycling PVC waste in Australia since 1998. Using 2020 modelling data on where the
greatest volumes of available PVC waste would likely be generated, VCA estimates about 157,000 tonnes of PVC waste may be generated annually across 10 key application areas. This equates to about 4.5% of total plastics consumption annually in Australia; the current recovery/recycling rate for PVC in Australia is only about 5%. The Australian industry’s voluntary PVC Steward-
ship Program (PSP), managed by VCA, has over 50 companies signed up from across the PVC value chain. In 2020, four out of five PSP signatories putting products on the market used recycled PVC. Over 1,400 tonnes of recycled PVC was used by signatory local converters in products including building profiles, flooring, and pipe. Research projects conducted by VCA, its members and collaborators into economically feasible infrastructure and technology for PVC recycling include the TexBack project, exploring reprocessing and recycling of composite materials such as PVC coated textiles and flooring. A pilot
www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com
Above: PVC pipe waste collected in Italy
Left: PVC recyclate from pool liners in Australia
January/February 2022 | PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD 25
IMAGE: VINYL COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA
IMAGE: VINYLPLUS ITALIA
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78
