One of the benefits of PVC-U as a material is that it is readily and economically recyclable. The primary aim of recycling is to elicit a net environmental benefit through reducing the use of primary resources and/or diverting resources from landfill. There are 3 types of waste we recycle into new windows:
Manufacturing
Our systems house run efficient manufacturing processes with scrap levels under 5% and ensure they recycle all of the manufacturing waste they produce back into environmentally sustainable products.
Fabricator off-cuts
Fabricator off-cuts are recycled back into new products.
Post-consumer windows
End of life PVC-U windows are given a new lease of life via recycling. All of these types of waste can be recycled into energy efficient new windows.
Recycled windows for sustainable home building
The Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) has been developed by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) and Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA) to introduce sustainable building practices for new homes. It is intended as a single national standard for the industry, to drive continuous improvement, greater innovation and exemplary achievement in sustainable home building. Homes are measured against design categories, rating the ‘whole home’ as a complete package. The CSH is intended to signal the future direction of Building Regulations in relation to carbon emissions from energy use in the home, providing greater regulatory certainty for the house building industry. The government’s goal is to not only build more homes, but also ensure they are better homes. All new homes from 2016 must be zero carbon (Code Level 6) with progressively tough standards being introduced over the coming years. As the public are becoming more environmentally conscious there is a growing requirement for more sustainable products and services.
The use of recycled windows allows you to tick many of the design category criteria boxes.
Design categories included are:-
Energy/CO 2
Water
Materials
Surface water run off
Waste
Pollution
Health & well-being
Management
Ecology