MARKETS | PVC
stakeholders to increase the amount of post-con- sumer recycling in the area. Goals include creating a solution that works directly with dealers, contrac- tors and mill shops to collect, return and recycle scrap PVC from fabrication shops, construction sites and remodelling projects. Last October, David Foell, President & CEO at
Return Polymers, a coalition member, said the Coalition had recycled over 18 tonnes of vinyl siding since they started organising in mid-August. “Return Polymers has been doing recycling for 30 years,” Foell said. “Thanks to the latest product innovations and improved technologies, recyclers like us can now use post-consumer materials to make top-quality products.”
Above:
Bausano says its MD Plus and MD Nextmover twin-screw extrusion lines are suitable for recycling processes
Bausano high- lights twin-screw extruders for PVC
Extrusion equipment maker Bausano says there are benefits to using its twin-screw extruders to produce granules from rigid and flexible PVC process scrap. “The recycling of post-industrial PVC residues reaps a double benefit,” comments Alessandro Ruotolo, Extrusion Test Manager at Bausano.
“On the one hand, environmental protection,
reducing both the consumption of the energy required to produce the same amount of new PVC and greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand, granulation reduces company expenses owing to the disposal of PVC waste to a minimum, creating a closed loop process that converts a management cost into a profit.” The extrusion process of residues or waste, to
be treated with additives, fillers and fibres, requires high performance, especially in the mixing and degassing stages, Ruotolo says, as he highlights the Bausano extruders.. “This is why the use of twin-screw machines for re-extrusion into granules offers concrete advantages, in terms of greater flexibility in the formulation to reach the required result. Furthermore, the presence of contaminants, which represents one of the primary difficulties in the regeneration of the PVC, can be stopped by a specifically designed filter change system.” He says Bausano’s MD Plus and MD Nextmover
twin-screw extrusion lines are suitable for recy- cling processes as they are able to process and remove impurities of plastic materials from scraps or post-consumer waste.
28 PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD | January/February 2022
Medical pressure Last June, NGO Health Care Without Harm (HCWH Europe) issued a paper on the complexity of health and environmental issues associated with the entire life cycle of PVC. HCWH Europe said: “All current evidence supports the simple proposition that PVC is problematic and that it presents significant, often avoidable health issues.” The NGO is calling on policymakers to develop a strategy for a PVC phase-out in Europe. Members of the PVC medical industry, via
PVCMed Alliance, have responded, saying the position adopted in the paper can hamper circular plastic initiatives in hospitals. PVCMed Alliance is The European Council of Vinyl Manufacturers’ value chain platform to raise awareness and promote informed decisions about the use of PVC in healthcare. Ole Grøndahl Hansen, PVCMed Alliance Project
Manager, says: “The paper contains so many errors that we must urge European policymakers and hospitals to disregard it. Many hospitals around Europe are currently investigating how to imple- ment circular initiatives for their plastic waste. Paradoxically, if they decide to follow the recom- mendations from NGOs, hospitals will do more harm than good for the environment.” He says: “The NGO paper claims PVC is unrecy-
clable, can easily be substituted and contains chemical substances that are detrimental to health and environment. These and several other un- founded allegations are all thoroughly disproved in [our] critical review.” Currently, more than 300 hospitals around the world collect PVC-based medical devices for recycling. To accelerate the green transition of European
healthcare, VinylPlus Med last October launched a pilot scheme in Belgium that it says will later be
www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com
IMAGE: BAUSANO
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