13th November 2018
Eurocell plc - the UK’s leading manufacturer, distributor and recycler of PVC-U window, door, conservatory and roofline systems - has announced it processed a record number of post-consumer units in Q3 2018/19, peaking at the equivalent of 28,000 post consumer frames a week during the period.
Having invested c£10m over the past decade in increasing its recycling facilities, the company passed a significant landmark during the quarter as its Midlands plant produced over 1,000 tonnes of products made from post-consumer recycled material for the first time in September. As a result of this achievement, Eurocell is currently on pace to top the one million end-of-life frames it stopped from entering landfill in 2017 this year.
In a move designed to help the company surpass this benchmark, Eurocell has also rebranded its Ilkeston-based recycling operation from Merritt Plastics to Eurocell Recycle. Eurocell acquired the Merritt Plastics 60,000 sq.ft. recycling plant, which employs 110 people, in 2009 and has since invested heavily in upgrading the facility, to make it the largest of its kind in the UK.
The facilities allow the entire lifespan of a window profile to become more sustainable. When windows reach end of their life, they are shredded, granulated and micronised. Using the granulated PVC-U, Eurocell then extrudes new profiles. This process can be repeated up to ten times using the same material, giving recycled PVC-U windows a lifespan of up to 350 years.
Commenting on the rebrand, Chris Coxon, Head of Marketing at Eurocell, said: "Over the past decade we have invested heavily to improve sustainability. As such we are delighted to have achieved record levels of processing inputs and recycled material product output as it highlights the fact that we are achieving key objectives we have set for ourselves.
“Undoubtedly our dedicated recycling plant has enabled us to make a real impact. We have owned the facility for almost a decade as Merritt Plastics but the time has now come to bring it under the Eurocell name. We envisage that the rebrand will allow us to expand further, whilst remaining consistent with our brand and messaging throughout. We look forward to our future as Eurocell Recycle and continuing to carry out positive work within our industry.”