The Vinyl Institute has become the newest institution to join consortium-based plastic feedstock management company Cyclyx.
The trade organisation was founded in 1982 and represents the leading manufacturers in the vinyl industry in the United States, where the vinyl industry accounts for almost 3,000 manufacturing facilities, upwards of 350,000 employees, and a $54 billion economic valuation.
“The Vinyl Institute is proud to partner with Cyclyx to work towards our common goal of increasing post-consumer PVC recycling,” said Ned Monroe, president and CEO of the Vinyl Institute. “Tapping into the Cyclyx Consortium’s 10to90 network will allow more post-consumer PVC to be recycled. We look forward to collaborating on new ways to innovate recycling.”
PVC applications can have useful life spans that go well beyond what is usual in plastic products before entering into the waste chain. Because of the long life of so many of the products made from PVC, a major issue in PVC recycling are legacy additives: substances that are no longer used in new PVC products but that can be present in recycled PVC, such as lead and cadmium stabilisers, and certain phthalate plasticisers. However, as they are in the material flow, these substances need to be managed in the best way possible. At the same time, further entry of such substances must be restricted in new products.
The Vinyl Institute reports that 1.1 billion pounds of PVC are recycled annually in the US and Canada. The trade organisation focusses on improving the recycling of installation scrap, post-use waste, and end-of-life materials, specifically in the healthcare and construction sectors. As a member of the Cyclyx consortium, it looks to help the industry achieve its goal of recycling 160 million pounds of post-consumer PVC by 2025.
Last December, Cyclyx announced it will build its first Cyclyx Circularity Centre (CCC) in Houston, US. The facility will have a capacity to produce around 136,000 tonnes (300 million pounds) of plastic feedstock for chemical and mechanical recycling, with ExxonMobil and LyondellBasell holding offtake rights.