PVC RECYCLING | MATERIALS
The PVC industry in Europe and North America is acting to address regulatory concerns as well as aiming to increase post-consumer recycling of PVC. Jennifer Markarian reports
IMAGE: RETURN POLYMERS
PVC makes progress despite challenges
Although recycling of post-industrial PVC is well established, post-consumer recycling (PCR) has been on a smaller scale until more recently. The industry has recognised the need for broader recycling of post-consumer materials and is working to solve challenges, such as collection and sorting, to widen the scope. Durable PVC goods, such as vinyl siding, roofing, piping, flooring and other long-lasting products eventually reach end of life. There is also a drive to recycle single-use PVC parts, such as those in healthcare. The European PVC industry (including the
EU-27, the UK, Norway and Switzerland) has a long-term commitment to sustainability called VinylPlus. This group has been active for more than 20 years in reducing the environmental impact of PVC, and members are currently working towards the VinylPlus 2030 commitment. A big piece of this commitment is to move the European PVC value chain towards circularity by increasing the volume of PVC that is recycled into new products to 1m tonnes per year by 2030.
www.pipeandprofile.com
European decline According to VinylPlus, recycling rates of PVC in Europe fell by more than 9% in 2023 – the latest for which full-year figures are available. For the year as a whole, it reported that nearly 738,000 tonnes of PVC waste were recycled in the EU-27, plus Norway, Switzerland and the UK – a fall of 9.3%. This represents around 24% of all PVC waste generated in Europe. Of the total, 62% was pre-consumer waste –
where factories reprocess their own waste inter- nally – and 38% was post-consumer waste (where PVC is collected after use). In 2023, pre-consumer recycling fell 10%, while post-consumer recycling fell by around 7%. Comparisons are hard to make because product types were reclassified between 2022 and 2023. Recycling of ‘flexibles’ – including ‘coated fabrics’ and ‘flooring’ – appeared to decline by around 14% in 2023. Recycling of ‘rigid film’ was stable at around 20,000 tonnes. VinylPlus said reasons for the decrease were:
Autumn 2024 | PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION 27
Main image: Scrap PVC collected by Return Polymers from its customers
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
