Recofloor wins prestigious environmental award

Recofloor has won a prestigious Business Commitment to Environment Award for its innovative and sustainable approach to the collection and recycling of waste vinyl flooring. The award win coincides with the scheme having recycled its 1,000th tonne – an important milestone in its three-year history.

Jane Gardner, Recofloor’s Project Manager, collected the Process Premier Award trophy from Sir John Armitt, chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority, at the 2012 BCE Environmental Leadership Awards in London.

Founded by Sir Peter Parker in 1975, the BCE Awards scheme is one of the world’s longest- running environmental competitions.

Recofloor is the UK’s first joint industry-led vinyl flooring recycling scheme, which was founded in 2009 by UK flooring manufacturers Altro and Polyflor. This unique example of two major competitors working collaboratively to promote sustainability of their products is a major achievement – and an important step for the flooring sector as a whole.

Commenting on the win, Jane, of Axion Consulting which manages the scheme, said: "Recofloor’s success has been very much a team effort involving Axion, Altro, Polyflor and indeed the entire flooring sector supply chain.

"We are absolutely delighted to win this award, which recognises our tremendous achievements in diverting ever-increasing quantities of flooring waste from landfill and puts this material to good new uses. To date, we have recycled some 1,000 tonnes – of which 190 tonnes are in this year alone, and this figure is rising by one tonne per day."

Vinyl flooring waste can be recycled back into new flooring products as well as traffic management equipment, such as cones and sign bases.