VinylPlus, the European PVC industry’s voluntary sustainable development programme, has announced a commitment to recycle 900,000 tonnes of PVC per year by 2025.
Voluntary commitments to VinylPlus have contributed to the recycling of more than four million tonnes of PVC since 2000, and the organisation has now announced plans to recycle 900,000 tonnes of PVC per year into new plastic products by 2025, and a minimum of one million tonnes per year by 2030.
As PVC is one of the most widely used plastics in the world, efforts to recycle it are vital to tackling the problem of plastic waste, in Europe and around the world. EU authorities have already announced a comprehensive plan to limit plastic waste, and announced their objective to recycle 10 million tonnes of plastics into new products by 2025, which VinylPlus has backed.
What actions will VinylPlus take to help meet its target?
VinylPlus will verify the volumes of recycled plastics reported by its members with an independent auditor, and the results will be presented to the VinylPlus Monitoring Committee, the membership of which includes representatives of the European Commission, European Parliament, consumer organisations, trade unions, academia and industry.
The organisation will also operate transparently in the pursuit of its aims, and undertake rigorous scientific research to develop new technologies and sustainability principles which will facilitate the recycling of 900,000 tonnes of PVC annually by 2025.
What has VinylPlus said about the new commitment to recycling PVC?
Brigitte Dero, general manager of VinylPlus, said that voluntary commitments are vital to achieving the European Commission’s long term plastic-recycling aims. Dero said: “For nearly 20 years, VinylPlus has led the way to a circular economy by improving the sustainability performance of PVC. Because our programme brings together the entire value chain – PVC manufacturers, additives producers, converters and recyclers – we responded immediately to the Commission’s call for voluntary pledges from the plastics industry. We welcome this initiative, which highlights the foresight shown by VinylPlus in establishing its first voluntary commitment.”
