Europe's PVC Recycling rate jumps in 2014

BRUSSELS (Scrap Monster):  The most recent statistics released by Recovinyl indicates that PVC recycling rates has registered significant year-on-year growth in 2014. The PVC recycling across 16 European countries totaled 474,411 tonnes during the entire year 2014. Out of this, UK accounted for 95,525 tonnes, equivalent to nearly one-fifth of the total volume of PVC recycled across the region.

According to Recovinyl, the increased PVC recycling rate by the UK is a result of sustained investment in recycling infrastructure and committed efforts from recycling facilities. Among most recycled items, waste PVC-U profiles accounted for more than 50% of the total recycled quantity. The other items that topped the list include pipes, rigid and flexible PVC films and cables.

There has been a sudden rise in demand for good quality recycled products. They can be reused to make variety of products including construction materials, electrical fittings and flooring components. The scope of PVC recycling has expanded during recent times. The ‘RecoMed’ research project conducted by Axion Consulting in partnership with BPF Vinyls Group explores the possibilities of collection and recycling of non-infectious PVC waste such as IV fluid and oxygen bags from hospitals. Medical and care organizations have shown interest in the project, Recovinyl noted.

The voluntary VinylPlus initiative aims to recycle 800,000 tonnes of PVC waste by year 2020. The initiative also aims to design innovative recycling technologies to achieve recycling of 100,000 tonnes of difficult-to-recycle PVC material. Recovinyl is the operational arm of VinylPlus initiative.