10 minute read
Sustainability
77% OF UK HOMEOWNERS CARE ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY, BUT NOT ENOUGH TO PAY MORE
Research shows that although UK homeowners care about sustainable windows and doors, they don’t care enough to pay more – or even have the conversation with their installer.
The findings of the 2022 OnePoll survey, commissioned by VEKA plc, found that when it comes to home improvements, consumers feel that sustainability should be a given. This marks a dramatic shift in attitude when compared to research carried out by VEKA in 2018.
Just 4 years ago, homeowners didn’t feel passionately about the eco-credentials of their new windows, but what has remained consistent is that 77% of respondents want to see their old windows recycled, not end up in landfill. VEKA carries out regular surveys, 2022 being its 7th consecutive year, on behalf of customers to capture homeowners’ attitudes around key areas and identify opportunities. This latest study asked 2,000 UK homeowners for their views on recycling and sustainability. The results show that while more than three quarters (77%) of respondents found the issue of sustainability to be an important one; only 31% would be willing to pay more for recycled windows and doors, and the majority would only pay an extra 10%. Over half of the people surveyed had had their windows changed in the past 5 years. Interestingly, from this group, 71% stated that they never even discussed sustainability with their installer. This was backed up by the fact that price, quality, and looks, were all considered to be of higher importance than a product’s environmental credentials.
In fact, 59% of respondents admitted they wouldn’t be put off carrying out their planned home improvements through fears of them not being ‘eco-friendly’. The research suggests that this muddled mindset all comes down to conscience and provides a huge opportunity when it comes to installers differentiating themselves from the competition. When asked why sustainability was important to homeowners, the answers that ranked highest were: “Because everyone has to do their bit”, “It could have a big impact on the environment”, and “I like to care for the planet”. And yet only 12% would currently consider their property “very sustainable”, again suggesting that if presented today with two similar products, similarly priced, they would opt for the eco-friendlier option. Today, there is a definite expectation from homeowners that products should be manufactured in an ethical, sustainable way. And while many do understand the difference between ‘bad’ plastics and ‘good’ plastics, which is evidenced by the PVCu window industry never being more buoyant, VEKA is calling for more to be done, across the whole industry, to help support installers in delivering this message. Neil Evans, Managing Director of VEKA plc, said: “Homeowners put a great deal of trust in their installers, that they are promoting and installing products which are ethically sourced and will dispose of their old doors and windows in a responsible way. Installers who simply have the sustainability conversation with the homeowner could win the job over those who don’t.
“VEKA acknowledges its duty to support customers and positively engage in the conversation. We join other systems companies who have acknowledged that we need to bring the ‘good plastics’ story to the homeowner, for the good of the PVCu industry, and the environment. “Our research shows that homeowners believe that sustainability should be ‘built in’, which is why they are reluctant to pay a premium for the privilege. At VEKA we don’t believe in eco-ranges, because we believe every product we produce should be manufactured in as sustainable and ethical a manner as possible. “Analysing this type of data is crucial in understanding homeowner attitudes, but it’s the steps we take next that matter most. This year, VEKA has committed to creating a new suite of homeowner literature, in which the sustainability message will feature prominently. “We also encourage installers to use VEKA Recycling. Europe’s most advanced Recycling Centre is right here in Britain and avoids landfill. The partnership we had during the pandemic meant that we could continue to be a reliable source of supply, despite raw material shortages, and helped us win Best Sustainability Initiative at last year’s G21 Awards. “What this innovative process does is close the loop on PVCu recycling, meaning old windows and doors can be recycled, reprocessed and the material used to manufacture new ones, that boast the exact same high quality as before. “We can only do that though if our installers put these old windows and doors back into the supply chain, in essence, securing their own supply while also strengthening their own offer to their customers.”
VEKA RECYCLING INVESTS £200K IN PVC-U SHREDDER TO INCREASE CAPACITY
VEKA Recycling has invested more than £200K in an industrial PVC-U shredder from German-based specialist manufacturer, ARJES.
Purchased to increase PVC-U recycling capacity at its state-of-the-art plant in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, the new shredder was installed and operational in February 2022. According to VEKA Recycling’s Managing Director, Simon Scholes, this latest investment reinforces the organisation’s role in maximising the sustainability of PVC-U construction products through responsible recycling. Simon said: “Landfill should be a thing of the past for post-consumer PVC-U fenestration, as well as offcuts and defective items generated during the manufacturing process. The addition of the Arjes shredder will help to increase throughput at our recycling facility, which has benefited from a £15m investment programme making it the most advanced of its kind in Europe. “Our closed-loop system ensures that PVC-U is treated as the valuable resource it is, enabling up to 350 years’ worth of usage from a single window or door, while decreasing the amount of new PVC-U products that are manufactured using virgin material. This all helps to minimise the fenestration industry’s carbon footprint.” VEKA Recycling both collects and processes waste materials at its own site, guaranteeing that recycling standards and legal guidelines have been upheld at every stage. This means window fabricators and installers who use VEKA Recycling’s services can demonstrate their commitment to responsible recycling to their customers – and irradicate any fear of prosecution due to incorrect or illegal waste disposal. Simon added: “If recycled responsibly, PVC-U can meet its full potential as the ultimate eco-friendly fenestration material and our latest machinery investment will help us achieve this.” https://veka-recycling.co.uk
VEKA RECYCLING’S NEW MEGASITE OFFICIALLY OPENED BY GROUP CHAIRMAN
VEKA Group CEO Andreas Hartleif has officially opened VEKA Recycling Ltd’s new £15 million recycling plant at Wellingborough – 15 months after the facility came fully on-stream. Despite being completed against the backdrop of ever-changing COVID-19 restrictions, continuing travel and other restrictions caused by the pandemic meant that the German-based Global head of the VEKA Group, the world leader in PVC-U extrusion, could not travel to the UK to carry out the formal opening.
With the rules finally dropped for travel to the United Kingdom, Herr Hartleif made the trip to inspect the Northamptonshire site, the third to be built by VEKA since 1993 and Europe’s most advanced. He was accompanied by Norburt Bruns, VEKA Recycling Group Chairman and Managing Director of VEKA Umwelttechnik GmbH, the specialist division of which VEKA Recycling Ltd is a part, UK Managing Director Simon Scholes, and Operations Director Edward Lipinski-Barltrop. Restating VEKA Group’s commitment to a holistic approach towards PVC-U, Herr Hartleif told staff that the UK remained one of the company’s most significant markets: “As one of the World’s largest users of PVC-U the UK remains a key market for VEKA Group. As such it is important for UK to be as self-sufficient as possible, and now served by a recycling facility that allows the full processing of PVC-U without the need for transport overseas. The completion of this site has been a remarkable achievement, against the toughest conditions created by the global pandemic, and also for advancing the quality of material now achievable through recycling end-of-life frames.” The Wellingborough plant can process over 35,000 tonnes of PVC-U into highquality recycled PVC-U pellet, increasing volumes of which are now used in brand new window and door profiles, in addition to established high volume users including products for the electrical and HVAC industries.
GGF DELEGATION VISITS EUROPE’S MOST ADVANCED
RECYCLING PLANT
An informal delegation of executives and a board director of the Glass & Glazing Federation (GGF) visited the Wellingborough, Northamptonshire site of VEKA Recycling Ltd recently, as guests of the firm.
GGF Board Director and Vice President Natalie Little, Anda Gregory, GGF Chief Development Officer and Diana Blair, GGF Regional Membership Manager, toured the facility, which is hailed as the most advanced of its type in Europe. The trio, accompanied by Chris Dummer, who with Natalie runs Gloucestershire retail installer truhouse.™ learned how whole end-of-life frames, irrespective of original system supplier, are collected from across the UK and then craned onto conveyors for processing. With only glass removed beforehand, a series of crushers, air jets, sieves and other techniques converts the frames back to their core materials, including high grade PVC-U pellet. “We are a VEKA installer and having visited our supplying fabricator recently I learned that VEKA Recycling collects their old frames and virgin offcuts for reprocessing,” explained Natalie Little. “An increasing number of our retail customers are expressing an interest in what happens to the frames that we remove from their homes and I was therefore intrigued to witness the process for myself. Having now witnessed this incredible technology and learned about the passion that VEKA has for preventing PVC-U from being wasted, we will now promote this with confidence to our customers,” said Natalie. “I also intend to champion recycling in my roles with the GGF; it is incredibly important that we act together as an industry to promote the sustainability of PVC-U as a frame material.”
Anda Gregory was instrumental in introducing a frame recycling service for FENSA and GGF members. Under the scheme, frames are collected free of charge from members, then delivered to recyclers including VEKA Recycling, for processing: “Having overseen the introduction of this increasingly popular member service, I was keen to see for myself what happens to the frames,” said Anda. “Whilst FENSA Recycling is a service for Approved Installers, as the representative organisation for the broader glass and glazing industries, it is the responsibility of the GGF to promote sustainability. And frame recycling, including PVC-U and aluminium, is high on our agenda currently. Seeing this fascinating process for myself has motivated me to work even harder to drive our initiatives forward.”
VEKA Recycling’s Simon Scholes, who has overseen the location and development of the site, says he and his team were excited to show off their flagship: “We have lived and breathed the Wellingborough site for four years now so of course, we are delighted to have visitors and especially those that share our passion for promoting PVC-U as a ‘good’ plastic.” VEKA Recycling’s Wellingborough plant was built by VEKA engineers who have been honing the process of recycling end of life PVC-U frames since the company’s first plant was established in Germany in 1993. The UK facility was completed at the end of 2020 and the result of a commitment by the parent company to provide a recycling operation that was self-contained within the UK. It is capable of supplying 35,000 tonnes of the highest quality recycled PVC-U for remanufacture into a range of new products, increasingly including window profiles. The processes by which old windows and virgin offcut profiles are returned for remanufacture at the VEKA Recycling plant, can be seen in a two minute video on the company’s website: https://veka-recycling.co.uk
