I would like to share with all of you the success European PVC industry has achieved, specifically, about Recycled uPVC and the benefits that recycled uPVC windows can offer for both the consumer/buyer and the planet.

Eco-conscious consumers in the United Kingdom have a new environmentally friendly option for replacing the windows in their home. Recycled uPVC (or unplasticized PVC) is durable, energy efficient and recyclable, making it an environmentally responsible choice of material for anyone who needs new windows.

Environmental Benefits

Choosing uPVC windows that have been made from recycled materials helps the environment by reducing the amount of energy needed to make the windows. The carbon footprint of recycled uPVC windows is therefore lower than those made from raw materials. Recycling also helps to preserve the natural resources used to make PVC and other plastics.

Traditionally, plastics such as PVC have been thought of as environmentally unfriendly because they do not break down in landfill sites. However, the recent development of methods for recycling plastics means that this characteristic of plastic-based materials is no longer the drawback it once was. Recycled uPVC windows are made from products that would otherwise have gone to landfill, including old PVC windows removed from buildings, off-cuts from the PVC window manufacturing process, and other PVC waste. As long as plastics are re-used and recycled rather than being tossed aside, their inability to degrade naturally does not pose an environmental problem.

Affordability

The average UK homeowner would like to help the environment, but with household budgets already stretched, price is often a bigger factor than environmental credentials when it comes to home improvement decisions. The problem is that too many green products are more expensive than their traditional polluting counterparts. Fortunately, recycled uPVC is the exception to the rule: not only is the purchase price highly affordable compared to other window options, but maintenance costs for recycled uPVC windows are also very low.

Energy Efficiency

Homeowners investing in recycled uPVC windows will also enjoy big savings on their home heating bills as Recycled uPVC windows are extremely good at providing insulation, effectively keeping warm air in and cold air out, so the home can be kept at a comfortable temperature without running up enormous heating bills. As an added bonus, the double-paned glass and airtight fittings prevent the transfer of sound as well as heat, so the home will be shielded from outside noise.

Durability

Recycled uPVC is extremely durable it is not affected by warp, rot, or rust. Unlike wood, uPVC does not need to be painted or varnished. If you replace your existing wood-framed windows with recycled uPVC, you can expect them to last for many years without needing to be replaced or repaired.

Recycled uPVC windows are themselves recyclable. The study confirms that "...PVC-U form can be successfully recycled (100%) several times without significant loss in physical properties."

Process: VinylPlus and Recovinyl

The primary aim of recycling is to elicit a net environmental benefit through reducing the use of primary resources and/or diverting resources from landfill. The European PVC industry has most definitely achieved real successes in this regard, using the RecoVinyl scheme to co-ordinate the collection and recycling of post-consumer PVC building products. It has long been common practice to recover and recycle factory wastes and/or off-cuts after the window has been fabricated. These materials are then incorporated with virgin polymer to produce further long life products including window profiles.

The RecoVinyl Scheme is a European wide initiative to collect and recycle post- consumer PVC building products to support VinylPlus, The European PVC industry's ten-year Voluntary Commitment to sustainable development. Consistently, since inception of the scheme the UK has led the way in the volume of PVC collected and recycled in Europe.The scheme, which is independently audited, produces regular Progress Reports on all of the measureable schemes.

The UK leads the field under Recovinyl, in Europe. Latest audited figures show that end-of-life windows and profiles comprised 25,480 tonnes (52%) of the total 48,544 tonnes of waste PVC recycled in 2011. Other materials collected and recycled through the Recovinyl programme included pipes and fittings, cables, flexible PVC and rigid PVC films.
In 2012, from a total of 76,492 tonnes of PVC recovered in the UK, 42,469 tonnes were windows and profiles only.

The following video shows the journey of a UPVC window in the recycling process to be transformed into a newly recycled product and fitted into a family home.

https://youtu.be/WZ2QoJLhksk

You could also watch the below video which shows Eurocell's 360⁰   approach to PVC-U  or Eurocell Closed Loop Recycling

http://www.eurocell.co.uk/videos/eurocell-closed-loop-recycling

 

 

 

Sources:

Cleantech Solutions

Eurocell

http://www.bpf.co.uk/Windows/UPVC_Windows_and_the_Environment.aspx