South Yorkshire home improvements company Yorkshire Windows is enhancing its green credentials as it demonstrates it commitment to a sustainable future.
More than 30 per cent of total UK landfill waste comes from the construction industry.
And of the 420 million tons of materials used in construction each year about 120 million ends up as waste that goes to landfill.
But Ian Chester, the managing director of Rotherham based Yorkshire Windows, points out that his is one industry where recycling should come as standard.
And he has joined forces with a major Yorkshire recycling company to ensure that Yorkshire Windows leads the way not only in providing energy efficient products but also providing a new use for old windows and doors.
“Within the fenestration industry there are seven million window frames that are replaced each year and 80 per cent of these are uPVC window frames,” he said.
“This is a material that is perceived as non-recyclable and due to this lack of understanding the vast majority of these window frames are discarded once removed and find their way to landfill, contributing to the overall amount of waste produced by the construction sector.”
In fact, the plastic used in uPVC windows is actually a construction material that can have its lifespan significantly extended to help reduce waste.
PVC actually gets stronger for the first four to five times it is recycled and that strength gives an opportunity for it to be used in the manufacture of other PVC-U products.
Every PVC-U product can be recycled up to 10 times and if a window frame has an average lifespan of 35 years this means that PVC-U lifespan can be extended from 35 to 350 years.
“Once we understood these figures it was clear that recycling old post consumer PVC-U frames was something that we simply had to do,” said Ian.
And it was at this point that Yorkshire Windows made contact with another Yorkshire company, Ecoplas, one of the leading PVC-u recycling operations in the UK.
“Ecoplas collect and reprocess old window frames that may otherwise go to landfill, converting them to reusable material which can be used as a raw material in the manufacture of new building products,” Ian explained.
“Ecoplas is a registered waste carrier and each supplier is provided with the correct legal documentation ensuring they are fully compliant with the Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulation 1991.
“We are delighted to have this new working relationship and know that our customers are happy too that their old windows and doors are really not ending up on the scrap heap.”
