PVCu Recycling Market

The residual effect of an expanding 2nd and 3rd generation replacement window market is the creation of a potentially huge PVCu recycling sector.


Companies like Veka and Ecoplas have put some real effort into getting set up to cope with the influx of this increasing market. And it's good for the industry too. Us installers get to drone on about our green credentials to customers. Manufacturing costs should in theory become lower as profilers don't have to buy in brand new materials. Companies like Veka and Ecoplas can also stand to make money out of it as chopped up PVCu can be used for many other purposes.


The problem is the amount companies pay for old PVCu windows. I know that Ecoplas only pay £60 per tonne for people to bring in their old windows and doors. If there is 3 tonnes that's £180. But by the time you've taken petrol/diesel money off and labour for loading the frames onto transport and getting it to the plant, it hardly seems worth it. For people to send in their old PVCu they need to be paying about £100 per tonne for it to seem worth it.


Barring the cost issue, there is plenty of scope in this new industry for companies to make decent money out of recycling.