74
SPOTL IGHT
Recycling for a
sustainable future
Richard Hardsta, general manager at Rehau’s subsidiary recycling company PVCR,
discusses how the window industry needs to supply more energy-ecient products to pave
www.ggpmag.com January 2020
Since their inception in the
1980s, PVC-U windows
have become a highly
popular option in the
window market. Where it was
previously their aesthetic appeal
and functionality that made PVC-U
products stand out, innovative
recycling and product development
means they are now widely
recognised for their sustainability
too. Indeed, PVC’s thermoplastic
nature allows for sustainable and
energy-efficient window solutions,
as the material can be recycled
multiple times before recording any
significant loss in performance.
With sustainability dominating
the agenda in the windows sector
and the wider world, Rehau has
developed its PVC Recycling
business (PVCR) in response. The
company has recently invested in
new facilities for PVCR in Runcorn,
which has enabled the reuse of
polymer window profiles that may
have otherwise been placed into
landfill. By using PVCR to recycle
old PVC-U windows and doors,
the way for a sustainable future.
businesses are now able to manage
their waste effectively, all while
minimising disposal costs and
feeding recycled material back into
the supply chain.
Sustainable recycling
Designed to offer a pathway towards
greater sustainability within the
windows industry, PVCR ensures
fabricators and installers have
access to a convenient and socially
responsible way to manage waste,
protect the environment and re-use
recycled materials in the supply
chain, with minimised disposal
costs and reduced landfill. It is a
major part of Rehau’s companywide
response to some of the biggest
economic, ecological, and social
challenges of our time.
One of the key barriers to
recycling has always been the
inconvenience or additional costs
in comparison to traditional waste
disposal. With this in mind, PVCR’s
defining goal is to make it as easy
as possible to effectively manage
this waste. Rather than paying a
third-party recycling specialist to
handle any wasted PVC, PVCR as a
subsidiary of Rehau UK, has forged
closer links between PVCR and its
manufacturing processes. Once old
PVC windows and doors have been
sorted, cleaned, and shredded, the
product is then fed directly into
Rehau’s own co-extrusion process
to produce new, recycled windows
and doors.
Since Rehau’s acquisition of PVC
Recycling in 2014, the company’s
sustainability efforts have grown
exponentially. Indeed, Rehau’s
management and recycling
machinery now process over 13,200
tonnes of post-consumer windows
and doors per year, driving down the
amount of new materials required
in the supply chain. Further to this,
extensive investment has been put
into the relocation of a bespoke
modern manufacturing facility
based in Runcorn, which will be
operational as of 2020.
The co-extrusion process
Previously, window profiles were
primarily made via the monoextrusion
method and exclusively
used only new PVC. Co-extrusion
– or multi-layer extrusion as it is
otherwise known – is an innovative
and sustainable method processes
recycled materials on the core of
the profile and the outer skin, while
also reusing valuable secondary
raw materials for maximum
sustainability benefits. The
advantages of the return concept
are clear – by keeping valuable raw
materials in the production cycle
and re-using these materials in
similar product applications even
after their initial product life-cycle,
overall environmental impact is
reduced.
Rehau-manufactured products
use these co-extrusion methods to
not only fulfil all the demands met
by conventional window profiles,
but also to enable customers and
their end consumers to play a role in
protecting the environment, without
paying more.
Total70C
Rehau’s Total70C system is available
with a co-extruded profile made
up of 75% post-consumer waste.
Manufactured at Rehau’s North
Wales extrusion plant using recyclate
from the PVCR subsidiary, the
window profile offers equivalent
performance and aesthetic appeal
to mono-extrusion counterparts. As
a result, the reconstituted Total70
enjoys identical levels of quality
assurance.
Ambitious plans
In a bid for a more environmentally
secure industry, Rehau has laid out
a roadmap towards sector-leading
levels of sustainability. As part of
its strategic sustainability plan, the
company is markedly increasing
its investment towards recycling
output. A key part of this strategy is
Rehau’s goal of supplying 100% of
the recycled PVC required to support
co-extrusion production at its
UK-based window production plant.
PVCR is one of the standout
initiatives geared towards
maximising resource conservation
and goes hand-in-hand with the
brand’s partnership with VinylPlus
– the voluntary sustainability
commitment of the European
PVC industry. To encourage others
to follow suit, the company has
pledged to promptly pay a fair price
for all material that is returned to its
main recycling centre via its network
of waste management and logistics
partners.
As Rehau’s own sustainability
strategy states, ‘we look ahead
and act sustainably’, this
statement rings true with resource
conservation remaining top of
the business’s agenda for the
future. This combination of
initiatives, partnerships and
innovative products demonstrate
Rehau’s determination to develop
pioneering, energy-efficient
technology and ensure sustainable
growth is an enduring priority for
the PVCR industry.
/www.ggpmag.com
