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Press Room
Vinyl Recycling Increases by 70 Million Pounds Over Three Years
May 12, 2021
WASHINGTON, DC – The Vinyl Institute (VI), the U.S. trade association representing manufacturers of vinyl, vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), additives, and modifiers, is pleased to announce that vinyl recycling in the U.S. and Canada increased by 70 million pounds over 2016 levels, recycling more than 1.1 billion pounds in total.
The survey, conducted by Tarnell Company in 2020 for calendar 2019, found that of all the vinyl material that was recycled, 958 million pounds was pre-consumer and 142 million pounds was post-consumer. PVC represents only 2.6% of all plastic that is landfilled, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2018 Municipal Solid Waste Report.
“We’re pleased to see our industry recycling growing,” said Ned Monroe, VI President and CEO. “This growth shows that PVC is both recyclable and is recycled. The majority of PVC goes into durable products, like PVC pipe, which is in service for decades. For this reason, there’s often less material readily available to be recycled, and less that goes to landfill. And it’s great news that so much PVC is being kept in use or recycled.”
The Vinyl Sustainability Council (VSC), a self-funded business council advancing sustainability in the vinyl industry, has an industry goal of increasing post-consumer recycling by 10% over 2016 numbers by 2025. This would require recycling approximately 160 million pounds of post-consumer and $20 to $30 million in capital investments, according to Richard Krock, Sr. Vice President and Staff Liaison for the VSC V-Cycle Task Force.
“Committing to a goal is an important step in bringing attention to the need to invest in the recycling infrastructure,” said Jay Thomas, VSC Executive Director. “While challenging, we’re confident it is achievable through collaboration across the industry. We are working closely with the Vinyl Siding Institute and the Roofing Division of the Chemical Fabrics and Film Association to implement pilot recycling projects in their respective markets. Initiatives like these will put us on the right track to achieve our goal.”
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About the Vinyl Institute
The Vinyl Institute (VI), founded in 1982, is a U.S. trade association representing the leading manufacturers of vinyl, vinyl chloride monomer, vinyl additives, and modifiers. The VI works on behalf of its members to promote the benefits of the world’s most versatile plastic, used to make everything from PVC piping to flooring, roofing and vinyl siding. The vinyl industry in the United States employs over 350,000 highly skilled employees at nearly 3,000 facilities and generates an economic value of $54 billion. For more information, visit vinylinfo.org.
About the Vinyl Sustainability Council
The Vinyl Sustainability Council (VSC), founded in 2016 in partnership with the Vinyl Institute, is a council created to advance the vinyl industry’s efforts in addressing sustainability. The VSC is a collaborative platform for companies, organizations and other industry stakeholders to come together to create a sustainable development path for the industry. For more information, please visit https://vantagevinyl.com/vinyl-sustainability-council/.