REGULATION | PVC


Right: Recycling of PVC windows at Askren Manor, near Schweinfurt, Germany


How likely is PVC to come under renewed attack


from legislators due to the current alarm about waste plastics, particularly in the marine environment? Dero said to Plastics Recycling World: “Waste plastics in the marine litter (and land) environment is a chal- lenge for all plastics, and not specifically for PVC. As PVC is essentially used in long life applications such as building and construction, the issue is rather less acute for PVC than for plastics whose main market is packaging. PVC producers are however taking the matter seriously, among others by signing up to the ‘Operation Clean Sweep’ [initiative to prevent polymer pellet, flake and powder loss].” The VinylPlus Progress Report presents a detailed


picture of achievements in 2017. A breakdown of the 639,648 tonnes recycling total shows the contribu- tions from schemes run by EuPC sector groups and sectoral associations, and by the industry-wide Recovinyl scheme, which target recycling of vinyls from window profiles, pipes and fittings, cables, rigid and flexible films, flooring and coated fabrics. “The amounts of recycled PVC continue to grow


year after year, which shows that both the about 150 PVC recyclers and the many converters using recycled PVC, especially in the pipes and profiles sector, are making good progress. We have already recycled 4.2 million tonnes of PVC since 2000, and our recycling has risen steadily over the years,” said Dero.


But the commitment of VinylPlus goes further than the headline recycling figures. She said: “We encourage investment in the recycling sector and collection systems, so we can do more to close the loop. We promote pioneering innovation in the use, production and re-use of PVC, including RecoMed, an award-winning scheme to recycle selected PVC medical devices, and a project on the re-use of PVC building products in urban agriculture in Denmark.”


RecoMed is a UK project run by the British Plastics Federation and Axion Consulting to collect and recycle uncontaminated PVC medical products from hospitals. From its launch in 2014 to 2017, RecoMed collected and recycled 5,556 kg of PVC waste (including 3,000 kg just in 2017), equal to 177,910 sets of oxygen masks and tubing. PVC medical products are a relatively new target


area for recycling, but even in an established area like window profiles the potential for recycling continues to expand. The Hybrid Project, launched by EPPA (European PVC Window Profile and Related Building Products Association) in 2016, aims to classify the recyclability of PVC hybrid profiles. “It assessed that while post-industrial hybrid waste is easily recognised, it is often quite complex to identify hybrid materials in post-con- sumer waste. The project will continue in 2018 with a focus on post-consumer waste, to determine how to facilitate the identification and design of hybrid PVC profiles,” said VinylPlus in its Progress Report. Germany’s Rewindo scheme for collecting and


PVC recycled within the Vinyl 2010 and VinylPlus frameworks Source: VinylPlus


12 PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD | November/December 2018


recycling used PVC windows and doors is responsi- ble for some large-scale projects in the country. One of the largest recent projects has been at Askren Manor, west of Schweinfurt, where a former US army settlement is being demolished in order for the site to be redeveloped. At the 28-hectare site, there are 34 three-storey residential blocks and 13 semi-detached houses, which yield approxi- mately 2,500 PVC windows for collection. These used windows are being recycled by Dekura at its plant in Höxter and the recycled PVC is used again in window manufacture. A major issue for PVC recycling is legacy additives: the presence in PVC recyclate of addi- tives such as stabilisers based on heavy metals. VinylPlus co-ordinated programmes in which the PVC industry phased out cadmium and lead stabilisers, but they remain in the waste PVC that enters the recycling stream. This has led to a clash


www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com


PHOTO: REWINDO


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