The numbers continue to grow as the volume of PVC recycled in Europe reached another milestone in 2013 with 444,468 t achieved, according to the annual data released by the European PVC industry sustainable development programme, VinylPlus (www.vinylplus.eu). Leaders of the programme, a ten-year voluntary commitment to sustainable development, reiterated what they said the previous year – they remain on track to meet the 2020 target of recycling 800,000 t/y.

Speaking at the "2014 Vinyl Sustainability Forum" held in early May in Rome / Italy, where the latest figures were officially presented, the group’s chairman, Michael Träger stated, “At the heart of our commitment’s progress is the strong cooperation among PVC industry sector groups, companies, national associations and the factual contribution of our stakeholders.” Other good news was recorded by the programme on several key fronts. Progress has been made on phasing out lead-based stabilisers completely by the end of 2015, with a decline of now reaching 81% in the EU-27 compared to 2007 levels. The group also noted the replacement of low molecular-weight phthalates with high molecular-weight ones and other plasticisers also continues.

In terms of raising sustainability awareness, joint communication projects supported by VinylPlus were implemented by European industry sector federations and national PVC associations in the last year. Selected as a "Flagship Initiative" by the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC) based on its leading-edge work, the programme was presented at the “21st Inogen WorldView Conference”, (www.inogenet.com) which took place in Vienna / Austria. In April 2013, the first “VinylPlus Sustainability Forum” was held in Istanbul / Turkey, with an aim of engaging a wider range of industry and external stakeholders – see Plasteurope.com of 07.05.2013. Rounding out the year was the membership in November to the Green Industry Platform (GIP), a joint initiative of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Gains were also made on the renewables front as the Renewable Materials Task Force continued to investigate renewable alternatives to raw materials and confirmed that technical solutions do exist for producing some raw materials from renewable resources or waste.

The group also addressed challenges faced in PVC recycling with EU regulations’ potential impact on recycling due to the presence of "legacy additives" in PVC waste chief among them as a serious hurdle for the industry as it has the potential to reduce the amount of PVC which can be recycled. The concern is not only valid for PVC recycling, but for many other recycled materials as well.

VinylPlus also plans to tackle organochlorine emissions with a pledge to ensure that persistent organic compounds do not accumulate in nature and that other emissions are reduced.

e-Service:
VinylPlus Progress Report 2014 as a PDF file