MINDSET CHANGE Branded discard bags encourage vinyl flooring contractors to collect and recycle discard
Since launching its own recycling initiative at the end of 2016, vinyl floor and protection solutions company Polyflor South Africa (SA) has recycled more than 4 t of vinyl floor offcuts.
Based on the Southern African Vinyls Association’s (Sava’s) Product Stewardship Commitment, Polyflor SA’s recycling initiative has enabled the company to advance the sustainability goals of the domestic polyvinyl chloride (PVC) industry.
Polyflor SA’s initiative to recycle offcuts generated during the installation of vinyl floors has been widely welcomed and well supported by installers, according to CEO Tandy Coleman.
He says that it is of “great environmental significance” to divert these offcuts from landfill and send them to recyclers, who convert them to be used in the manufacture of rigid and flexible products such as pipes, cables, shoe soles and car mats. “Good-quality, clean materials that are void of any glues or substances can now be used to create new products with a useful service life, instead of ending up in landfill or polluting the atmosphere,” says Coleman.
PVC manufacturers and consumers are increasingly aiming for the sustainable use of their product through all stages of its life cycle, notes Sava CEO Delanie Bezuidenhout.
She adds that the promulgation of the Department of Environmental Affairs’ National Environmental Management Waste Act has led to great emphasis being focused on recycling and the reduction of materials to landfill. “To this end, Sava and its members endeavour to create and participate in many community, industry and government programmes . . . designed to ensure appropriate management of PVC products at their end-of-life.”