Veka Recycling Ltd, has announced it is investing £8 million in the construction of a new plant dedicated to recycling PVC-U window and door profiles. Located at Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, the facility will accept and convert UK virgin and end-of-life windows into re-usable polymer.
Since establishing its recycling activities in 1993, the German Veka AG Group, a global manufacturer of PVC-U profiles used for windows and doors, has led the way in the collection and recycling of discarded windows, doors, shutters and profile offcuts.
The first recycling plant was opened by Veka Umwelttechnik GmbH, the specialist recycling subsidiary of the Group in Behringen, which was later followed by a further facility in France in 2006.
Veka Recycling UK, a wholly owned division of Veka Umwelttechnik GmbH which opened in 2007 in Kent, “offers an attractive alternative to landfill which is simple and convenient”, explained Managing Director, Tony Cattini. “We provide you with a bin into which any type of PVC-U can be thrown; old or new, complete with gaskets, handles and reinforcements but less the glass, then we simply collect it from your premises when it is full.”
While the industry first appeared to be hesitant about the use of recycled material in the production of new windows, acceptance is growing, leading to the decision to build what the company says will be the most advanced plant in Europe dedicated to recycling PVC-U window and door profiles in Wellingborough.
“This is a real-world commitment by the VEKA Group towards the UK and recognition of the continued importance of the market post-Brexit,” commented Cattini in a press release.
At the new plant, PVC-U profiles will be returned, processed and re-manufactured into new products, including window profiles, cills and trims and also a range of products as diverse as cable management and construction products.
Rubber, metals and other impurities will all be separated from the PVC-U to enable re-manufacture as part of the most sophisticated process of its type installed anywhere in Europe. The combined capacity of the three plants will exceed 100,000 tonnes of PVC-U windows a year.
According to commercial director Simon Scholes, the Wellingborough plant will be built from scratch to take advantage of the latest recycling technologies. “We will have the ability to promote and deliver PVC-U windows as truly sustainable at a time when plastic generally is under close scrutiny and to make the most of what is a tremendous resource,” he added.