The UK’s record-breaking Recovinyl performance contributed 21% - or 107,593 tonnes – to the total recycled through the PVC industry’s recycling scheme in 2015.
It’s an increase of 13% compared to the previous year (2014: 95,525) and represents the equivalent of nearly 4.3 million PVC-U windows or 426,662 houses (assuming each house has 10 windows). That’s enough to glaze all the homes in Birmingham .
A total of 508,154 tonnes of waste PVC was recycled through Recovinyl last year across its 16 European member countries. The Recovinyl network currently comprises 163 companies.
Recovinyl is an operational arm of VinylPlus, the European PVC industry sustainable development programme, which is tackling the sustainability challenges for PVC and delivery of current recycling targets to 2020.
Waste PVC-U profiles (61,866 tonnes) comprised more than half of the UK’s recycling achievement in 2015, with pipes, rigid and flexible PVC films and cables making up the rest.
The recycling of PVC continues to grow in line with continued investment in recycling infrastructure throughout the country and robust commitment from the sector. It’s a remarkable achievement that demonstrates the sustainability of this readily-recyclable.