At a time when some companies’ commitment to sustainability has taken a back seat, Dekura, Epwin’s recycling arm, has been reorganised to meet increased in house demand.
“Recycling has never been more important to us and in our systems thinking approach to sustainability,” says David Wrigley, managing director of Epwin’s window systems division, which includes the brands of Profile 22, Patiomaster, Swish Windows and Doors, and now Spectus.
“With an increasing amount of our system design incorporating recycled product we were already seeing in house demand moving upwards; with the arrival of Spectus into our portfolio, including their Eco spec recycled system, demand has significantly increased.
“We deliberately tried to find other external customers in non-window markets in 2010 and 2011. Now with our in house demand rising we recognised we needed to refocus Dekura on our own needs. This meant looking at the business model and making some changes to how we collected both post-industrial and post-consumer waste and how we flexed production within our recycling capacity. That process was completed in the final quarter of 2012.
“Using recycled product makes sense all round,” he continues. “First it demonstrates our commitment to sustainability. Apart from offering an alternative to needless landfill the carbon footprint in manufacture of an extruded product using recycled material is just 6% of a virgin alternative. We reduce CO2 emissions, minimise waste and reduce what goes into landfill, helping the fabricator and installer as well as Society. The industry regulators and specifiers increasingly recognise that products that are sustainably sourced are the way forward for the built environment; that’s why we went down the road of obtaining BS 6001, the Standard for Responsible Sourcing.”
Profile 22 initiated the use of recycled material in reinforcement with their RCM range and then in 2011 the company launched its RECO 22 window range; a suite made from 100% recycled post-consumer window waste which is then foiled on one side, giving the whole product a 98% recycled content. In 2013 it is still the only PVC-U window product on the British market that has been accredited with the BRE A Plus for domestic applications.
The other important contribution that Dekura and recycled product make is supply chain stability. Wrigley goes on to explain, “…raw material prices have been stubbornly high since 2009 and in that year the industry also experienced real shortages of the supply of resin. A material stream of recycled product helps mitigate, to some extent, both high virgin material costs and potential supply shortages.”
Can we expect to see more new products incorporating recycled material coming out of the Epwin stable? “Definitely,” says Wrigley, “…sustainability isn’t a fad. Britain is bound by statute to reduce its CO2 emissions from their 1990 levels by 20% by 2020 and 80% by 2050. Our Systems approach is to minimise waste, minimise carbon footprint and maximise recyclability, whilst using sustainable materials in our process. Dekura and recycling are key parts of that approach.”
