As well as the obvious environmental benefits, the scheme will also help participating businesses save money following the increase in Landfill Tax rates introduced in April
John Barton, Renew
The scheme, orginally developed by the Waste & Resources Action Programme in partnership with UK flooring manufacturing brands, is aimed at providing a clear route for the recovery of vinyl flooring waste generated during refurbishments, new build projects and replacements.
It is also designed to help businesses save money, create jobs and bolster the region's environmental credentials.
Renew was established in September 2008 and provides support to help organisations in the North East to capitalise on low carbon and environmental technologies.
John Barton, director at Renew, said: “We are currently working in partnership with local authorities, waste management companies, flooring contractors and manufacturers to establish this new collection and recycling network.”
Under the new scheme, participating companies will be issued with plastic sacks, bulk bags and wheeled bins to collect off cuts and old ‘up lifted' vinyl flooring to enable manufacturers to collect and reuse the material. Businesses will then receive a certificate of commitment to enhance their environmental credentials.
Cleveland-based flooring manufacturring company Armstrong Flooring is among those to have already expressed an interest in joining and acting as a recycler for the collected material.
By separating the material for collection, Renew is hopeful that off-cuts could be manufacturered into new flooring, while old ‘up lifted' material could go into alternative uses such as speed bumps, road cones and fence blocks.
Currently at the initial stakeholders' stage, Renew is looking to roll-out the recycling service to business in the North East in the “relatively near future”.
Participation
Mr Barton said: “As well as the obvious environmental benefits, the scheme will also help participating businesses save money following the increase in Landfill Tax rates introduced in April. The shared knowledge and collaborations fostered by this network will also have a beneficial impact on the regional economy, helping to create and safeguard jobs.”
The scheme is linked to a wider plastics recycling feasibility study being carried out by Renew, which is assessing the potential for businesses in the North East involved in the field of plastics recycling through identifying barriers, areas of success and mapping existing recycling activity.
The Renew project is part financed by the European Union's ERDF Competitivesness Programme 2007-13, securing £700,000 in ERDF investment through regional development agency One North East. The ERDF programme is bringing over £250 million into the North East to support innovation, enterprise and business support across the region.
Axion
In a bid to help establish the vinyl flooring recycling scheme, Renew has enlisted the assistance of Axion Consulting – which is a division of Salford-based plastics recycling company Axion Recycling.
A spokesman for Renew told letsrecycle.com: “Axion Consulting administers the scheme on behalf of the participating manufacturers and is the first point of contact for companies interested in starting to collect post use vinyl flooring. The company was also involved in the recruitment of the collection sites and coordinating the collections with the participating manufacturers.”
Axion Consulting currently runs the Recovinyl PVC campaign in the UK, which is part of a wider European initiative, and also run the UK-wide Vinyl Floor Recycling Scheme (VFRS), which currently operates 100 collection sites and 18 drop-off points (see letsrecycle.com story).
Material collected under the VFRS is currently processed at three recycling centres run by flooring manufacturers Polyflor in Manchester, Tarkett in Kent and Altro in Letchworth.
A spokesperson for Axion said: “The response we have had from flooring contractors in the North East so far is very encouraging. They are keen to take part in the scheme and divert this recyclable material from landfill.”
Register for free to comment