Vinyl Building Materials US Recycling Update

Vinyl Building Materials
U.S. Recycling Update
By Richard Krock, Technical Director,
The Vinyl Institute
Presented at Fifth Andean PVC Conference
September 25, 2012
VI Presentation Outline
 Who is VI
 Mission, Members
 Building Certifications that reward recycling
 IGCC, Green Globes, GBI, LEED®
 Examples of successful rigid vinyl recycling
 Pipe - Electrical Conduit
 Siding – Certainteed
 Fence - Christos Gates, Nicos, Plastival
 Examples of successful flexible vinyl recycling
 Wallcoverings – LSI, RJF
 Roofing – Sika
 Flooring – Tarkett, Mannington, Interface, C&A
 Factors to consider for developing vinyl recycling
Vinyl Institute Legal Disclaimer
 The companies, materials, certifications and practices
mentioned in the following presentation should not be
in any way interpreted as an endorsement by the VI.
 The use of any mention in this presentation as an
endorsement is prohibited.
VI Background and Mission
The Vinyl Institute, founded in 1982, is a U.S. trade association
representing the leading manufacturers of vinyl chloride
monomer, PVC resin, vinyl additives and modifiers.
VI Mission
To advocate the responsible:
– manufacture of PVC resins and compounds
– life cycle management of vinyl products
– promotion of the value of vinyl materials to society
Vinyl is Widely Used
in Building and Construction:
Additional Organizations Involved with
Vinyl Product and Additive Manufacturers
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American Architectural Manufacturers Association
Vinyl Siding Institute
Fence, Deck and Rail Association
Moulding & Millwork Producers Association
Plastic Pipe & Fittings Association
Uni-Bell PVC Pipe Association
Chemical Fabric and Film Association
Wallcovering Association
Resilient Floor Covering Institute
Global Vinyl Council, ECVM, VCC, JVC, VCA, & Others
American Chemistry Council – Plastics Division,
Chlorine Chemistry Division
Building Certification Programs that
Include Recovery and Recycling
Standard Category
Green
Globes
Pollution
(emissions, solid
waste, effluents)
Green
Globes
Material/Product
Inputs
GBI™
Pollution
Draft
ANS 01- (emissions, solid
2008P
waste, effluents)
LEED®
LEED®
LEED®
LEED®
Material and
Resources (MR)
Material and
Resources (MR)
Material and
Resources (MR)
Material and
Resources (MR)
Sub Category
E.5 Reduction, Reuse,
and Recycling of
Demolition Waste
E.2 Minimal
Consumption of
Resources
Requirement
Award
Implement a construction,
demolition, and renovation
solid waste management
plan
5 points
Specify materials with
recycle content
10.5 Reduction, Reuse,
and Recycling of
25% or more of C&D was
Demolition Waste
diverted from Landfill
2.1 Construction Waste
Management
Divert 50% from Landfill
2.2 Construction Waste
Management
Divert 75% from Landfill
10% Post-consumer + 1/2
Pre-consumer
4.1 Recycled Content
20% Post-consumer + 1/2
Pre-consumer
4.2 Recycled Content
3 points
2 to 6
points
1 point
2 points
1 point
2 points
Proposed Building Codes that
Include Recovery and Recycling
Standard Category
Material and
IGCC Waste Recovery
Material and
IGCC Waste Recovery
Material
IGCC Properties
IGCC
Material
Properties
Sub Category
Requirement
Award
502.1 Construction Recycle or Salvage 35% of NonMaterial and Waste Hazardous Waste
N.E.
Divert 50% of Waste Materials from
502.3 Demolition
Landfill or Incineration
N.E.
503.2.2 Recycled
>25% Post-Consumer and PreBuilding Materials Consumer Recovered Material
N.E.
Material that contains recycle content
503.2.3 Recyclable must be able to be recovered and
Building Materials recycled at >30%
N.E.
Estimated Recycle PVC Amounts
• VI Estimated Pre-Consumer Recycling @ > 1 Billion
pounds per year
• VI Estimated Post-Consumer Recycling @ > 100
Million pounds per year and growing
Rigid PVC Recycling Routes
(Post Consumer)
Category
Installation Drops
Reclaimed
Material
Listed Pipe
Vinyl Siding
Siding
Windows, Doors
Tearoff Recovery
Electrical Conduit
Pipe
Recycle Application
Listed Pipe
Siding Substrate
Substrate for siding,
Substrate for fence, deck
Electrical Conduit,
Non-listed Pipe
Non-listed Pipe
 Example Rigid PVC Reprocessors: RPG (OH), Fryman
(MI), Lastique (KY), Certainteed (PA), Nicos (PA),
Charlotte Pipe (NC) (See VI Disclaimer)
Accumulated Plastic Pipe Not Yet Sorted
Sorted PVC Pipe Ready for Baling
Separate Out Small Diameter Pipe
CPVC Needs to be Sorted from PVC
Sorted Vinyl Siding Ready for Baling
Sorted Baled Vinyl Siding
Photo Courtesy of RPG
Shredding Before Sorting Makes It
Impractical to Separate Non-vinyl plastics
Vinyl Siding and Soffit by Certainteed
New Cedarboard contains 60% recycle vinyl content
Collected Windows – Glass needs
to be separated from vinyl profiles
Baled Vinyl Window Profiles
Photo Courtesy of RPG
Christos Gates NYC Recycling Project
750,000 lbs Size Reduced at Nicos Polymers
Nicos Polymers Size-Reduced
750,000 lbs. of Christos Gates
Plastival Fence Post
Using Christos Gates as Substrate
Plastival Fence System
Using Christos Gates as Substrate
Flexible PVC Recycling Routes
Category
Installation Drops
Tearoff Recovery
Material
Wallcovering
Roofing
Flooring
Recycle Application
Wallcovering substrate
Roofing substrate
Flooring substrate
Wallcovering
Wallcovering substrate
Substrate for resilient
flooring, tiles, or carpet
backing
Roofing substrate
Wallcovering
Flooring
Roofing
 Example Flex PVC Reprocessors: Sika Sarnafill (MA), LSI (KY), RJF
(OH), Interface (GA), Mannington (NJ), Tarkett (TX) (See VI
Disclaimer)
 NSF332 Sustainable Assessment Std for Resilient Flooring
 awards points for recycle content
Sika Sarnafil 152,000 Sq.Ft. PVC Roof
Membrane Recovery and Replacement At
Target Silver Spring, MD Store May, 2007
Sika Sarnafil PVC Roof Membrane
Tear Off and Takeback
Recovered PVC Roof Membrane
Boxed for Sika Sarnafil Takeback
Boxed Up PVC Roof Membrane
Taken Back by Sika Sarnafil
Sika Sarnafil Roofing Recycling
Calendar Operation >1.5 MM lbs./Yr.
LSI Wallcovering Recycling Procedure
LSI Wallcovering Recycles >1.5 MM lbs./YR.
Carpet with Post Consumer Recycle
Content Vinyl Backing
Vi
Suggested Guidelines To Consider
for Reclamation of Vinyl Plastics
 Understand your purchaser’s requirements – Know what
materials are contaminants and what their capabilities are to
handle contaminants. Photos and samples are helpful.
 Sort and Separate – Purity is key to recycler. One thermoplastic
while recycleable by itself is typically considered a contaminant if
mixed in with another thermoplastic. Finer separation allows greater
ability to successfully recycle the material, <0.5% non-melts
 Keep the material Clean – Fewer contaminants (rocks, dirt, trash,
wire, paper, glass, bottles) are always preferable, <0.5% non-melts
 Bale the Separated Materials – Densify material for trucking
longer distances, allows for final sort before processing steps
 Create Full Truckload Quantities of a Separated Material –
Partial loads increase shipping expense
Where to Begin: The Low Hanging Fruit
Installation Drops and Cutoffs from
construction or renovation
 Typically less contaminated e.g. no caulking or fasteners
 Less comingled plastics
 More identifiable plastics
 Manufacturer take back programs often available
Set up designated roll-offs at job sites to begin
sort process as scrap is generated
Sortation Can Begin On the Job Site
with Designated and Identified Bins
(Courtesy: Wisconsin Waste Cap Project)
The Next Frontier:
Deinstallation/Demolition Materials
Tough to Recycle Due to:
 Difficult contaminants e.g. caulking and nonmetallic fasteners
 Frequent comingled plastics
 Plastics identification can be challenging
 Manufacturer take back programs often for just their product
 Fewer reprocessors due to limited clean up capabilities
 Full truckload quantities are required for economical shipping
Reprocessing Reclaimed Vinyl Materials
Understand needs of market:
Amount of contaminants
allowed, form required, restricted materials, colors, resin
compositions, etc.
Dry Processing:
Typically involves debaling, hand sort,
shredding, metal removal, granulating, dedusting, but decision to
pulverize depends on customer’s ability to handle powders
Wet Processing:
May be necessary to remove dirt, but
drying product to <0.5% moisture content adds cost
Melt Filtering:
Produces high quality product, but practical
incoming contaminant level is <0.5%
Blending:
Minimizes variability across a truckload
Clean Rigid PVC Recyclate Product
Photo Courtesy of RPG
Regrind for Single
Screw Extrusion
Blended Powder for
Twin Screw Extrusion
Where to Find Vinyl Recyclers
• Vinyl Institute Recycling Page: The Vinyl Institute maintains a directory
on its web site at:
www.vinylinfo.org/Recycling.aspx
• Vinyl Recyclers Directory lists over 70 companies involved in vinyl
recycling services spread out geographically across the U.S. and
Canada
• Directory for Manufacturers lists over 80 manufacturers who make
products using recycled vinyl spread out geographically across the
U.S. and Canada.
 Achieve Green Website lists building products that meet certain
certifications: www.achievegreen.net
Thank you for your attention
Questions / comments