Eurocell and Biffa expand PVC-U recycling partnership

Eurocell has announced the expansion of its successful recycling partnership with Biffa, following what the company says was a highly effective trial designed to help the trade recycle more post-consumer PVC-U waste than ever before.

The initiative, which has already diverted over 85 tonnes of domestic PVC-U from landfill, will be extended to additional regions and locations throughout 2026.

Joy Naylor, Manufacturing & Recycling Director, said: “Our partnership with Biffa has had a tremendous impact on our sustainability efforts, allowing us to divert large volumes of post-consumer PVC-U from landfill. This collaboration aligns perfectly with our commitment to a closed-loop recycling process, reducing waste and supporting a more sustainable future for both our customers and the environment.”

A significant volume of PVC-U from window and door replacements still ends up in landfill, despite the material being highly recyclable. Smaller installers and sole traders, who undertake much of this work, have historically had limited access to practical recycling options, with PVC-U often being bulky, awkward to store, and ultimately treated as general waste.

To address this, Eurocell set out to make products more sustainable by reducing virgin plastic content, while offering customers a simple, accessible recycling route for post-consumer material.

Working with Biffa, Eurocell launched a domestic and small-load PVC-U collection trial in February 2023. Operating within a 30-mile radius of NE28 (North Tyneside), the service allowed installers to request collections via branches or phone, with Biffa’s reactive fleet picking up material directly from homes, depots, and small trade sites.

Biffa consolidated the material at three regional transfer stations, soon to increase to 10 under the expanded partnership, before sending it to Eurocell’s specialist recycling facilities. The system was designed to handle everything from small domestic loads to bulk skips, opening up recycling access to traders of all sizes for the first time.

The pilot delivered exceptional outcomes and proved fully scalable:

• 300 domestic collections completed with a 100% success rate

• Over 85 tonnes of PVC-U recovered and circularised in the UK

• Virtually all collected PVC-U recycled, re-ground and re-melted by Eurocell for use in new window and door products

• A fully circular, closed-loop model, with Eurocell funding collection and processing before using the recovered material to manufacture more sustainable, lower-carbon products.

For more information about Eurocell, visit: https://www.eurocell.co.uk/eurocell-recycle