Australian Vinyls Corporation, along with Peteron Plastics and ACI Plastics, participates in the ‘Vinyl Cycle’ program which involves the kerbside collection of PVC bottles and their recycling into long life products such as stormwater pipe fittings and industrial floor tiles. The program aims to achieve a 25 per cent recovery rate of PVC bottles made in Australia and so help stop around 20 million PVC bottles going unnecessarily to landfill.
Around 4,500 tonnes of PVC bottles are used every year in Australia. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes – from sewing machine oil and hair shampoo to peanut paste and automotive bottles – but by far the largest volume and most recognisable are cordial bottles. PVC bottles can be identified by the number ‘3’ plastics identification code.
The used bottles are processed in Victoria into a clean white powder using special cryogenic technology. With the addition of pigments and performance additives, the recyclate is marketed to existing PVC resin customers for use in pipe fittings and floor tiles. Recycled PVC replaces virgin PVC resin on approximately a one to one basis.
Issues with the sorting of PVC bottles from the mixed plastic kerbside collections have resulted in the recycling rate of post consumer PVC bottles falling from five per cent in 1999 to two per cent currently. This is despite consumers placing about 30 per cent of their post consumer PVC bottles out for recycling in metropolitan recycling schemes. This means that only one in 15 bottles put out is being sorted and delivered for recycling, with the balance likely to end up in landfill.
Today, there is a strong demand for PVC recyclate for flooring and pipe fittings and new applications which have been developed to use it. Australian Vinyls and the Vinyl Cycle participants are working to improve the volume of PVC bottles available for recycling by collaborating with local Councils and the waste services industry.
If you can help improve the supply of post consumer PVC bottles collected at kerbside and returned for recycling, or need more information on the Vinyl Cycle program, please contact Australian Vinyls Corporation on (03) 9368 6200, email info@av.com.au or visit www.vinyl.org.au.
* Copy supplied by Australian Vinyls Corporation
