With its voluntary initiative “Vinyl 2010”, the European PVC industry says it has achieved its voluntary commitment to recycle 25% of the collectable, available PVC waste from profiles, roofing membranes, pipes and fittings. Particulars of the commitments are outlined in the (fourth annual) “progress report 2004” published by the initiatve (www.vinyl2010.org) of the PVC industry, which takes in producers of polymers and additives and plasticisers, along with converters. The industry now sees itself as on track to meeting the interim targets set down for itself in a 10-year plan – running until 2005 – to illustrate sustainability througout their product´s life cycle.

Among the highlights of the past year, Vinyl 2010 lists the “final preparations” for a feedstock recycling plant for PVC wastes located at Danish company Stigsnaes (DK-4230 Skaelskoer). According to the progress report, some 4,817 t of used windows were recycled, exceeding the 3,407 self-imposed target. Additionally, 6,150 of pipes and fittings (target: 5,068 t), along with 2,200 t of cables, 544 t of roofing membranes – using the facilities of the working group of European roofing membranes producers, AfDR (D-53839 Troisdorf) – and 545 t of floor coverings were returned to the production cycle.

For economic reasons and due to capacity bottlenecks, AfDR´s stakeholders have decided to phase out activities at Troisdorf at the end of 2004 and to recycle used roofing membranes in future at the company´s other facilities at Ferarra / Italy, and at Signaes, according to information from the European federation of industry associations ESWA (B-1000 Brussels; www.eswa.be).

Vinyl 2010´s recycling projects are overseen by a monitoring committee comprised of representatives of the European Parliament and the European Commission, along with members of industry unions and companies. Representatives of the new EU member states already have begun participating in the initiative.

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Progress report 2004 of Vinyl 2010 as PDF document (1,910 KB)