Proud of sustainable legacy

Veka plans to use recycled material beyond its existing Infinity system.

Veka Recycling first opened its doors in the UK in 2007, and last year invested £150K in six new silos to increase the storage capacity at its Wellingborough recycling plant, which the company said is the most advanced of its kind in Europe.

Veka launched its Infinity profile in 2010, a dedicated system that contains up to 80% recycled material.

However, the coming months will see Veka start to roll out recycled material across a number of its mainline profiles starting with sills and followed by frame extensions. There is a potential to expand further throughout the course of the year, the company said.

Recycling has become a crucial part of Veka’s strategy and over the last five years more than 24,000 tonnes of PVCU has been diverted from landfill.

Dawn Stockell, marketing director of Veka, said: “Our investment into future-proofing our products has seen us increase our co-extrusion capability, replacing ageing tools with co-extrusion tools allowing for greater use of recycled PVCU. Committed to driving increased usage of recycled compound, our partnership with growing sister company Veka Recycling will ensure that together we continue to make best-in-class PVCU window systems that care about the environment and can continue to be recycled for years to come.”

Simon Scholes, managing director of Veka Recycling, said his products are as close to virgin polymer as is possible.

“To get recycled PVCU of this quality takes some work and ultimately does not result in a more cost-effective material,” he said. “In fact, using recycled PVCU is cost neutral but carries an important ethical message.

“In the past, recycled products have often been seen as second best. However, with today’s PVCU, along with our technology and skills, we can ensure that the recycled product is a better product, one that is suited to being reused time and time again.

“We can now put in a frame that will last another 40 years with just one window or door frame offering up to 350 years of usage. In fact, the recycled products that are going in now will only need to be recycled by my successor’s successor. Now that is a sustainable legacy to be proud of.”