VinylPlus, a European sustainability initiative set up with the aim of recycling 800,000 tonnes of PVC per year by 2020, is on track to achieve its goal after 257,084 tonnes were recycled in 2011.
The initiative is on track despite continuing adverse market conditions and the decrease in volumes of PVC waste in construction, says the group.
“The industry remains fully committed to the targets we have set and we are encouraged by progress made in the first year of the new programme in a very difficult economic climate,” general manager Stefan Eingaertner said in a statement. “However, the need for cooperation is more important than ever in these times of austerity.”
At the initiative's general meeting, members identified several trends concerning the use of PVC in certain key sectors such as sustainable building, food packaging and innovative recycled applications.
The group also said that it has made moves towards sustainable use of additives. By 2011, the consumption of lead stabilisers decreased by 71.4% in the EU-27 compared to 2007 and remains on track for complete substitution by 2015, it said.
VinylPlastic was set up in 2011 following the success of Vinyl 2010 - an initiative which led to the industry collecting and recycling over 250,000 tonnes of PVC every year. It is monitored by an independent committee with representatives of the European Parliament, European Commission, trade unions, retailers and consumer organisations.
Participants include the European Council of Vinyl Manufacturers, the European Plastics Converters, the European Stabiliser Producers Association and the European Council for Plasticisers and Intermediates.