The industry funded Recofloor program, managed by Axion Consulting will increase the recycling of waste vinyl flooring in the UK. Through the program, safety flooring offcuts and smooth vinyl offcuts from the installation process will be recycled back into new flooring. Uplifted or end-of-life material, will be used in the manufacture of traffic calming products, such as traffic cones and road barrier bases.
Axion Consulting is the agent for the Recofloor scheme, which has developed from a WRAP-funded (Waste & Resources Action Program) trial to increase the collection and recycling of vinyl flooring.
As a free-standing industry scheme, the target now is to create a sustainable, cost-effective and efficient collection system. Waste flooring is accepted from all types of sources, from individual contractors to large construction projects. Axion's role involves coordinating and managing Recofloor collection systems.
Registered Recofloor participants will be provided with bulk bags which can be collected from site when filled with vinyl flooring, or they can drop off waste at one of the 19 designated sites across the UK. Recofloor is keen to increase the number of drop-off sites across the UK and to recruit distributors to provide a drop-off point for vinyl flooring waste.
Recofloor Project Manager, Jane Gardner of Axion Consulting, said both manufacturers invested a lot of time and cost into developing internal recycling processes for vinyl flooring and they feel the time is right to set up an industry collection scheme.
"We are very pleased that Altro and Polyflor, as founding members of Recofloor, have made this huge commitment to the sustainability of vinyl flooring. It is a major achievement and an important step for the industry," Jane says.
"Increasingly customers are keen to see their end-of-life flooring recycled. Recofloor participants benefit from compliance with Site Waste Management legislation and receive a 'certificate of commitment' to recycling. Providing their 'green' credentials can help them gain new contracts," adds Jane.
Richard Kahn, Chief Executive of Altro, comments: "At Altro responsibility is at the heart of everything we do. We constantly look at ways to reduce our environmental impact in both production processes and how the organization is run. Thanks to the installation of the world's first in-house safety flooring recycling system, we have not sent any waste PVC to landfill since mid 2007, and now recycle 100% of our factory waste PVC.
"The Recofloor scheme is the latest breakthrough in our recycling program. Not only will this allow us to increase the amount of recycled content in our safety flooring products, it will also reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill, lower operating costs, and offer contractors a tangible competitive advantage when tendering for projects."
About Axion Consulting
Axion Consulting develops and operates innovative processing solutions for recycling waste materials. The division, part of Axion Recycling, was created in response to increased demand from a wide range of clients within the recycling and process industries for practical development of new processing and collection methods. For more information visit
www.axionconsulting.co.uk
About WRAP
WRAP-funded (Waste & Resources Action Program) helps individuals, businesses, and local authorities to reduce waste and recycle more, making better use of resources and helping to tackle climate change. For more information visit
www.wrap.org.uk
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