Bonn-based Rewindo GmbH reports a slight increase in the recycling of PVC window waste in 2022, with growth of just under four percent.

 

As part of the voluntary commitment "VinylPlus," the initiative organizes the recycling of profile sections and PVC waste windows, doors and shutters in Germany. In 2022, more PVC window waste and related products have been recycled again, despite a weak construction sector, according to Rewindo's data. Compared to 2021, when the amount recycled was 42,500 tons, Rewindo recorded an increase of nearly four percent to 44,200 tons in 2022. The figures were calculated by market research company Conversio on the basis of Recovinyl's RecoTrace data collection system, in which Rewindo is also involved. The collectable, available volume was about 50,200 tons, is said, resulting in a recycling rate of 88 percent. "With a certain delay, this can also be seen as a harbinger for the development of recycling volumes," explains Rewindo managing director Michael Vetter. It cannot be ruled out that the figures will decline in the next one to two years, says Vetter. Or there will temporarily be no significant growth in old window recycling, he adds. Rewindo cites the significant slump in the construction industry due to interest rate hikes and increased construction costs, as well as a general decline in the window market, as the main reasons. Nevertheless, profile manufacturers were trying to further increase the proportion of recyclates in their new products, or at least maintain it at the level of 2022, when about 80 percent of recyclates went into the production of new window, door and secondary profiles. Twenty percent of recyclates went into the pipe industry, is said.
 
Sources:

• Pressrelease Rewindo (Oct. 4, 2023)
• Photo: © Rewindo