R ECYCL I N G
Post lockdown, don’t ride with the
waste cowboys
Before the lockdown, there was optimism that PVC-U recycling was at last
enjoying true respectability, with rogue disposal contractors on the retreat. Veka
Recycling’s Simon Scholes fears their return as businesses look to save a few
pence in a post Covid business environment.
For the past couple of years, several of
the big systems brands familiar to the
British PVC-U window industry have
been promoting recycling, either that they
have the capability or that they have a confirmed
recycling and sustainability commitment that also
includes the inclusion of recycled polymer in their
new profiles. These brands – including Rehau
and Eurocell especially but also Deceuninck,
Profine and our own company Veka, had decided
generally, that in the interests of the future of PVCU,
this incredibly versatile material should be fully
appreciated and also, that it was far too valuable
a resource to simply be thrown away. It was also a
good time and overdue, to separate rigid plastics
from the disposable single use material with which
our world has become awash.
The active involvement by these companies
in the promotion of the recycling of the material
that is core to their existence, led to dramatic
improvements in the supply chain with their
customers, who were encouraged not only
to recycle their material thoughtfully and
professionally, but also in the creation of collection
facilities. For Veka Recycling, together with a
handful of other PVC-U recycling specialists,
this is our reason to exist and together, we have
been circling the wagons, against the hordes of
the waste cowboys, who promise the earth but
ultimately, only serve to pollute it.
Collectively, we have been removing and
recycling ever larger amounts of virgin and
post-consumer window frames, using audited
collection and recycling trails that are, after all, a
legal requirement of every business. In doing so,
we are denying this material to the cowboys and in
turn, therefore, we stopping it from being dumped
without any conscience or concern.
I am delighted, of course, that we are seeing a
return to work. Veka Recycling is dependent upon
installers thriving, replacing old windows with new
and with our vehicles collecting and returning
the old material to our new Wellingborough
facility. I am sure this will continue but I worry that
amongst the fringes of our industry there may
be companies whom, for even marginal financial
reasons or pressures of business, may decide that
uncertified, unscrupulous contractors might be
worth taking a chance on, undermining the terrific
work that has been done in recent years.
We must be on our collective guard against
what may be laziness or profiteering amongst a few
installers, who threaten the growing acceptance
that plastics may be sustainable and beneficial,
when used thoughtfully and then reused over and
over. Whatever difficulties may beset a window or
door installer, I urge them to think deeply about
taking short cuts in the disposal of all waste, let
alone old or unused frames.
Disposing of any sort of waste, let alone
material as important a resource as PVC-U,
without fully understanding its journey, is illegal,
immoral and, actually may have a huge backlash
on the installer’s reputation when tracked back to
source. Frankly, with so many options now, it just
isn’t worth riding with the waste cowboys.
July www.ggpmag.com
“think deeply about
taking short cuts in the
disposal of all waste,
let alone old or unused
frames”
/www.ggpmag.com
