Polypipe Building Services exceeds recycled material target with factory investment

Polypipe Building Services (PBS) has exceeded its end-of-2024 sustainability target for recycled material use of 28%. The company has increased its recycled material use from 5% to 32% through investments in its manufacturing facility. This significant improvement supports PBS customers in achieving their net-zero goals across the supply chain, with some products now containing as much as 65% recycled material.

PBS has invested in two new extrusion processes as well as factory manpower. This investment complements its other sustainability initiatives, such as its prefabrication service, which massively reduces on-site fabrication waste and enables smart scheduling to reduce delivery miles.

Andy Martin, Manufacturing Director at Polypipe Building Services, said: “With two brand new extruders, we’re able to run both rework and post-consumer recycled material, increasing our recycling capability and efficiency. We also invested heavily in material handling to aid with the processing of recycled materials and optimise our processes.”

“Extrusion line 2 was completely replaced along with a significant upgrade to our line 1. The key aim was to create a three-layer pipe with inner and outer skins made from virgin PVC, with the core between the skins comprised of recycled material, making up to 65% of the pipe’s material content.

“In addition, we’ve built a new warehouse to ensure raw materials are kept in optimal condition ready for extrusion and have created a state-of-the-art laboratory to test raw materials to ensure they meet specification standards.”

Customers also benefit from PBS’ on-site waste recycling scheme, which helps improve net-zero goals for projects that fabricate systems on-site. The recycled materials are then processed at the factory and used in PBS products, improving the carbon footprint of construction projects and reducing the amount of waste plastic going to landfill.

Martin continued: “Ensuring adequate supplies of acceptable quality recycled material was a challenge. Our in-house regrind was able to meet some of our needs but we had to go outside to meet the bulk of our requirement, the differences between these materials then adding complexity to our processes.”

Committed to supporting customers achieve sustainability goals, PBS will continue to invest in solutions aimed at reducing embedded carbon within its products.

To find out more about Polypipe Building Services’ sustainability drive, visit https://www.polypipe.com/sustain