Good news for the environment (and for our country, which is good).
In the year of Italian victories in any event, from sports to music, we also won a podium in recycling.
In fact, Italy is a bronze medalist at European level in the recovery and recycling program of PVC products Recovinyl, a third place ahead of France and behind Germany and the UK that we have won thanks to the 62 thousand tons collected.
According to PVC Forum, 61% of this total is made up of rigid PVC and 39% of plasticized: in addition to electrical cable sheaths and profiles for doors and windows and building, the 62 tons are made up of 15.8% pipes and this is an important incentive also for our company.
Recycled pipes, pipes from recycled materials
The recycling numbers are important not only when it comes to recycled pipes, but also when it comes to manufacturing pipes from recycled materials.
In this sense, 218 thousand tons of recycled plastic were used in Europe in 2020 alone for the production of pipes and fittings, an increase compared to 2019 and this despite the slowdown in production due to the Covid19 pandemic.
When we talk about recycled materials in this context we think of PVC and polyolefins such as Polyethylene (PE) and Polypropylene (PP), obtained from packaging and bottles (this for polyolefins) but above all from other pipes, in a virtuous circle that cannot than to benefit the industry as a whole.
What could be, at this point, the obstacle to an increasing use of recycled materials?
Undoubtedly, the difficulty of finding: this is why there are urgent measures that can guarantee greater and above all constant availability, at sustainable costs and with quality certifications, especially at a time when (fortunately) the demand for recycled materials is increasing in many other industrial sectors.
Finally, a small comment on another important data: in Italy in 2020 the separate collection of plastic packaging increased by 4% compared to 2019. Furthermore, thanks to separate collection, Italy was able to recover 95% of the plastic packaging placed on the market, positioning itself on the podium of the most virtuous countries.
A success that we also feel ours: the use of packaging from recycled materials for our tubes, the recycling of packaging at the end of its life and the study of sustainable packaging are issues that are very close to our hearts.
