Recofloor celebrates 15 years of vinyl recycling success

Leading vinyl take back scheme Recofloor has been celebrating 15 years of successful recycling. Launched in 2009 as a collaborative initiated by manufacturers Altro and Polyflor, Recofloor collects both offcuts and uplifted vinyl for recycling.

Material collected is used in new flooring and traffic products such as traffic cones. So far, the scheme has diverted a stunning total volume of nearly 7,500 tonnes of waste from landfill or incineration.

Over the years, Recofloor has won multiple awards, with 2024 being a particularly good year for industry recognition. The scheme won both the prestigious Green Apple Award for Environmental Best Practice and the Better Society Circular Economy Award, and was highly commended in the Awards for Excellence in Recycling Contribution to Net Zero category. In addition, the team was shortlisted for a further eight awards. These include three category shortlist appearances in the MRW National Recycling Awards (results to be announced on 26 November).

One of the keys to the scheme’s success has been the development of strong relationships with main contractors looking for opportunities to help them reach waste reduction and net zero goals. Increasingly, main contractors are sharing information about the scheme with sub-contractors and requesting that Recofloor be used on specific projects.

A recent example of this was the Dixons Newall Green Academy, a school remodelling project in Manchester. Here, main contractor Morgan Sindall asked demolition contractor Rhodar to use the scheme for vinyl being uplifted from the buildings to be demolished. Morgan Sindall actively promotes Recofloor across the company’s construction business and supply chain as one of several best-practice take-back initiatives.

Kane Greenough, Morgan Sindall Construction Supply Chain Sustainability Manager, comments: “Recycling and reuse are top priorities for us. Recofloor complements our other take-back schemes, such as The Pallet LOOP for timber pallets and the Proplex Closed Loop Re-manufacturing Scheme for plastic temporary protection sheeting.”

As part of Morgan Sindall’s policy of sharing best practice, Recofloor was invited to the firm’s 2024 supply chain event to talk to suppliers about the scheme.

Another supportive main contractor is BAM Construct, who were introduced to Recofloor during the building of the Weldon Village Academy project in Corby in 2023. With 3,000 square metres of flooring to be fitted, co-ordinated action between BAM, Recofloor and flooring contractor Hillside Contracts – an existing Recofloor member – resulted in approximately 1.6 tonnes of offcut material being sent for recycling. This saved around 1.88 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

At every stage, the support and involvement of flooring contractors has been crucial to the scheme’s growth. From local fitters to national flooring firms, more and more contractors now see the scheme as their primary vinyl waste disposal option.

For larger quantities of waste, Recofloor will collect from both project sites and contractor premises. Using Recofloor in this way can save up to 70% on waste disposal costs such as skip hire and gate fees.

Tim Brown, at Commercial Flooring Bristol, comments: “Joining Recofloor has boosted my company enormously… recycling offcuts saves on skips and helps reduce material going to landfill, and we can show customers on our website what we do, which has brought us in so much work. It’s a great scheme and everyone in flooring should become a member.”

For the disposal of smaller day-to-day quantities, flooring distributors play an important role. Thanks to a network of Recofloor drop-off points set up by distributor members across the UK, contractors can drop off day-to-day amounts at no charge.

Eoghan Herriot, of SASGO, comments: “By providing Recofloor bins at both our northern and southern trade counters, we offer local flooring contractors a convenient and eco-friendly solution for disposing of their excess and waste vinyl products.

“This partnership not only helps us reduce the environmental impact of flooring waste but also reinforces our role as a responsible business that actively contributes to a greener industry.”

Whichever the collection method chosen, Recofloor provides members with evidence of volumes collected and estimated CO2 savings. This evidence can then be used to apply for industry environmental awards, certificates and BREEAM points.

On reaching the 15-year milestone, Recofloor Scheme Manager Carla Eslava comments: “Since the start, our take-back scheme has led the way in terms of vinyl resource recovery and circularity. The scheme has provided major environmental and economic benefits both in diverting waste vinyl flooring from landfill and saving on disposal costs for our members.

“Our achievements over the last decade and a half are due in no small part to the efforts and enthusiasm of all our members – we couldn’t be prouder of their commitment to responsible waste management practices.”

To celebrate the anniversary, thank you care packages were sent to all members who had collected more than 50 tonnes over the 15 years. In addition, a prize draw open to all members rewarded the winners with useful prizes, such as Altro and Polyflor training courses.

Recofloor is the UK’s leading vinyl take back scheme. It is free to join and simple to use. To find out more, go to www.recofloor.org or contact Recofloor on 0161 355 7618 or at [email protected].