UK's Largest PVC-U Recycling Facility Opened
09 December 2011 UK based window supplier, Eurocell has opened of a new £3 million PVC-U recycling plant in Ilkeston, Derbyshire to process up to 12,000 end-of-life window frames per week. According to the company, which is part of the Tessenderlo Group, the investment makes based Merritt Plastics (part of Eurocell) the largest post-consumer PVC-U recycling plant in the country. The company said that the closed-loop recycling process that it uses at the facility involves manufacturing new products from end-of-life PVC-U frames. This includes products such as cavity closers and PVC-U Thermal Inserts, both of which help improve the thermal performance of buildings, providing specifiers with a sustainable method of meeting increasingly building regulation requirements. These products are manufactured in the same area as the recycling process, which the company said minimises the carbon footprint. According to Defra's Windows Action Plan has called for the replacement and upgrading of 230 million windows that fail contemporary energy efficiency standards, 85% of which are PVC-U framed. Councillor George Wharmby, chairman of Derbyshire County Council, opened the new facility. Read More PVC Industry's Voluntary Commitment Raises Recycling Targets for 2020 The European Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) industry has launched VinylPlus, a voluntary commitment which it hopes will enhance the sustainable production and use of PVC by 2020. Self Regulation: Lessons from PVC Recycling Having reached a voluntary target to recycle an additional 200,000 tonnes of material by 2010, the European PVC industry has moved the goalposts with the launch of the VinylPlus commitment. Ben Messenger looks at what this means for self regulation across Europe. Recycled Materials Could Supply 90% of Europe's Construction Needs In Europe there is increasing concern over the waste generated by the construction industry. Currently only around 30% of the materials used in construction are recycled, a figure that could potentially rise to 90% according to Frost and Sullivan. Free Magazine Subscription Free Email Newsletter