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Many homeowners and journalists are convinced PVC-U is 'bad'
for the environment.
Sam Kennedy, Managing Director of Spectus Window Systems, says
it's up to the
industry to change this perception.
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Sustainable products are being specified
and demanded but PVC-U isn't getting as
much action as it should. Many assume
timber is the greenest choice, while
some believe PVC-U is actively bad for
the environment. It's nonsense, but this
urban myth is being reinforced by regular
blasts from property 'experts' in some
of the consumer press.
When PVC-U was introduced salespeople
had to raise awareness and make the
case for the material and its benefits.
The message that PVC-U is versatile,
durable, low-maintenance and recyclable,
was repeated and reinforced by large
numbers of active believers.
As a consequence, its market grew and
most modern windows are now made
from PVC-U.
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Managing Director, Sam Kennedy |
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Spectus launched its first
environmental brochure in 2007 |
But times have changed.
Timber, once
the butt of the PVC-U industry's jokes,
is fighting back with a communications
investment of £18 million in the last six
years to get the 'wood for good'
message across. Now much of the
consumer media, some specifiers and
many homeowners view timber
positively and PVC-U negatively.
Although the British Plastics Federation
(see www.bpf.co.uk) is fighting the case
for the industry, few systems companies,
fabricators or installers consistently
promote the argument for PVC-U.
They assume the material and people's
experience of it will speak for itself.
It won't. But it's an amazing material:
low carbon, wholly recyclable
and sustainable.
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| PVC-U - the facts
The facts spell it out: carbon emissions
are almost 10 times lower for the
remaking of recycled PVC-U than for
using virgin timber - 250kg per tonne as
opposed to 2,000kg per tonne. PVC-U
can be constantly melted and reformed
up to 4 times, giving one piece of plastic
a lifespan of 140 years, or more.
These messages need to be shouted
because those that could be buying
PVC-U - homeowners and specifiers -
have swallowed the misinformation
that timber will save the world.
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There's more to PVC-U than white |
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We have to be able to
convince customers with facts and figures to support the
'PVC-U is sustainable' message. PVC-U is completely recyclable and
the Recovinyl
scheme means almost 100% of UK PVC-U off-cuts and fabricating waste
is reused
(see www.recovinyl.com). That's more than can be said for wood.
Timber windows
can also be recycled but how many in practice are stripped of preservatives
& paint?
How many tradesmen and builders go to the trouble of returning the
hardware
before adding them to the skip or landfill? |
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PVC-U windows are completely recyclable |
So far, only a small amount of PVC-U
windows have been recycled because
most are still in use.
The Green Guide to Specification
(www.bre.co.uk/greenguide),
gives
PVC-U windows a 35-year lifespan with
little or no maintenance. It gives timber
windows a 25-year lifespan - and that's
for a well-maintained, good quality timber
window - and how many of these exist?
PVC-U has much less of an
environmental impact than many other
materials. It's unlike any other plastic;
43% ethylene (a by-product of oil) and
57% chlorine (derived from natural salt,
sodium chloride). In the future, ethylene
will come from ethanol, produced by
organic sources such as sugar
or vegetable oil.
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We need to rediscover
our passion for PVC-U. With major names falling by the
wayside almost every month (if not every week) everyone in our industry
should
be making the case for PVC-U, all the way down the chain. |
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