Tips on Recycling PVC

When it comes to recycling PVC, the hardest part of the process can actually be finding a company that can take your post-consumer waste vinyl. Earth911’s recycling locator can help.

Here are some tips and examples of what different kinds of services vinyl manufacturers and recyclers are supplying:

Vinyl Flooring

In the escalating push to divert material from landfills, vinyl flooring manufacturers are collecting installation waste from construction sites and even experimenting with reclaiming old used vinyl flooring. This can save thousands of dollars in landfill fees.

Tarkett Inc., out of Houston, began its collection program in 2002—the first in North America—and over the past two years, the company has recycled over 100,000 pounds of vinyl flooring. The company supplies the collection supplies for clean sheet and tile installation waste. It is then shipped back to the facility and added directly to the mix. Nothing is landfilled. Any material that is not of required quality is sent to a company that incorporates it into roadbeds.

Vinyl Billboards

Tons of vinyl billboard advertising is tossed into landfills every month. Los Angeles Eco-Logical Art gallery focuses on a green solution to this waste by creating functional art from recovered vinyl billboards.

The vinyl sheets used in billboard advertising are stretched so that the material can be used as canvases. The vinyl canvases are almost impervious to the elements with little signs of fading, flaking or wear.

As a result, “eco-logical” artwork appears on billboards around Los Angeles. A national “renewable imagery” billboard art tour is planned with the goal of getting the material into public schools and providing free mural walls to inner city youths.

Vinyl-Backed Carpet

Georgia based C&A Floor coverings announced it has recycled more than 100 million pounds of reclaimed vinyl and vinyl-backed carpet since it started a recycling imitative 12 years ago.

Their program recycles any post-consumer vinyl-backed carpet, regardless of original manufacturer, into 100 percent recycled content backing for new floorcoverings. Containing a minimum of 25 percent post-consumer materials, the remaining 75 percent of the backing consists of postindustrial waste generated during carpet manufacturing and industrial waste from the automotive industry.

C&A offers a “buy-back” program which gives customers financial incentives to return and recycle their old vinyl-backed carpet. All carpet returned is recycled in its entirety under a sustainable warranty provided by the company. C&A has had virtually no manufacturing waste since 1994.

Vinyl Medical Supplies

Massachusetts-based Conigliaro Industries is a full-service recycler in the healthcare, medical and bio-tech industries. The company sets up vinyl recycling programs at hospitals for collection of IV and saline bags, sterile packaging, employee ID cards and other PVC medical plastics. In the past, they have recycled PVC into checkbook covers and plastic binders.

The company also recycles PVC roofing membrane, vinyl siding and post-industrial molding scrap. Over the last six years, they have increased vinyl recycling efforts from 5,000 to 500,000 pounds per year.