PVC recyclers to exhibit alongside industry sustainability event

Recovinyl-accredited PVC recyclers will be exhibiting at a British Plastics Federation one-day seminar on October 3rd, in support of the UK forum’s emphasis on sustainability within the UK PVC industry.

Innovative applications for recycled PVC, including its use in new windows, flooring and building products, will be presented by VEKA Recycling Ltd, part of the VEKA UK Group, PVC Recycling Ltd, Polyflor and Recofloor, the UK’s vinyl flooring recycling scheme, at the event in the Etihad Stadium, Manchester.

Recovinyl’s achievements and the contribution of PVC products to the success of the 2012 London Olympics will be among a broad range of subjects covering how the PVC industry can enhance and promote its cost, energy and resource-saving potential.

Entitled ‘PVC Products: Promoting Social Responsibility in Procurement Decision Making’, the day will reportedly offer scope for specifiers, PVC converters, PVC product sales and marketing professionals to learn about the future opportunities and challenges facing the industry.

Following a keynote address on current regulations by Sajjad Karim MEP, the European Parliament representative on the VinylPlus Monitoring Committee, discussion topics will range from PVC recycling to sustainable procurement. Among them will be a presentation on ‘PVC Flooring – An Olympic case study’ by Tracy Perry, Sustainability and Environmental Advisor at Altro Floors.

Jane Gardner, Senior Consultant at Axion Consulting and the UK agent for Recovinyl, said: “The success of the Recovinyl scheme and its PVC recyclers is testament to the on-going industry commitment to more sustainable practices, as well as meeting growing demand for greater recycled content in new PVC products.”

Philip Law, Public and Industrial Affairs Director of the British Plastics Federation, commented: “Recovinyl and its team of recyclers are a crucial part of the sustainability story for PVC and are playing an important role in helping the industry fulfil the social responsibility requirements of major end users. The exhibition adjoining the seminar will provide a first class opportunity for users of PVC recyclate to meet the suppliers.”

Recovinyl remains at the heart of the PVC industry’s drive for greater sustainability and to encourage more companies to recycle, rather than landfill, their PVC waste with associated economic and environmental benefits.

As the PVC industry’s recycling scheme, Recovinyl is also an initiative of VinylPlus, the ten-year Voluntary Commitment of the European PVC industry, which is tackling the sustainability challenges for PVC and delivery of fresh recycling targets to 2020.

These targets include 800,000 tonnes to be re-used in all European countries by 2020 - 700,000 tonnes by mechanical recycling with the balance submitted for recycling by new and developing technologies.