SUSTAINABILITY




Effective ECOSlide® PVC-U sash window recycling

Our South Wales factory is also home to our state-of-the-art recycling facility. The capacity to recycle and reuse old PVC-U window frames helps to reduce the environmental impact of window manufacturing, lowering the waste disposed of at landfill sites and improving sustainability. All the recycled PVC-U that we process is used to manufacture our ECOSlide® sash windows This helps to create a closed-loop process that boosts green credentials and helps to develop a more sustainable future for the glazing industry


Why Does Recycling Matter?

PVC-U  is a versatile material commonly used in windows and doors. Responsible recycling of PVC-U is crucial for several reasons:

           Resource Conservation: By recycling PVC-U, we reduce the demand for virgin raw materials. Each recycled window contributes to preserving our planet’s precious resources.

           Energy Efficiency: The recycling process consumes significantly less energy compared to producing new PVC-u. Energy savings benefit both the environment and our economy.





How do we do it?

We meet the challenges of the 21st century head on in our very own in-house, purpose-built recycling facility at our Head Office and manufacturing base in Ammanford, West Wales.

ECOSlide® lead the way in recycling both our own waste PVC-U, and that of our commercial partners. “Responsible PVC-U Recycling” and a “Sustainable Approach” are not just buzz words in our business, they are the lifeblood of our products and our future.

Waste Reduction:

Responsible recycling diverts PVC-U away from landfills, preventing harmful leaching and minimizing environmental impact. The WWF have conducted case studies that have concluded that an estimated 83% of waste PVC-U ends up in landfill.

 Processed correctly: PVC-U can be recycled up to 10 times equating to a 350-year lifespan.

 With PVC-U dominating the window market share, 85% of old windows are being replaced by PVC-U as opposed to timber, steel or aluminium.




Process overview


We strictly segregate white offcuts from our PVC-U extrusion line. These offcuts are inspected prior to being fed into our state of the art granulator, which grinds the PVC-U into 2-5mm granules. Following this the granules go through a dust extractor and pass by a high power permanent magnet to ensure the finished product contains no metallic particles.

In addition to our own extrusion offcuts, we recycle our partners windows. This involves ensuring all material types are segregated to prevent contamination. We remove any old furniture, hardware, reinforcing and glass, from the pre used windows. Once the product has been granulated it is then used for the thermal reinforcing for our sash windows.