An innovative print waste recycling partnership has been developed and set up by printable material manufacturer and distributor, Soyang Europe along with waste management specialists, Blue Castle to offer a much sought-after solution to the industry’s PVC waste dilemma that will pioneer the use of PVC banner material as an environmentally sustainable substrate.
The PVC Recycling Membership Scheme has been a long time in the making, as Soyang Europe’s managing director, Mark Mashiter describes; “The PVC Recycling Scheme is the first step towards a very real recycling solution to the use of PVC banner material, which is widely used within the printing industry, but not currently recyclable. The demand for print providers and their customers to consider the environmental impact of the print they produce is a hot topic and we’ve been in discussions with our customers about the need for this for some years, which until now has seemed unattainable. Now we’re delighted to be able to reveal that, thanks to the dedication and specialist knowledge brought to the table by Blue Castle Group, we can now offer PVC waste recycling to our customers through a one-of-a-kind scheme.”
Blue Castle Group is an established waste and energy consultancy based in Lincolnshire that has developed and rigorously tested the machinery needed to convert PVC banner into a reusable format. The company’s CEO, Marie Harley, explains how the project has developed; “Our team has worked tirelessly to not only cultivate a workable solution for PVC waste recycling, but also to strengthen relationships with partner companies capable of using this material once it has been processed and broken down. Reaching the point of viability with the project is an incredibly exciting time for the team at Blue Castle and for our partners at Soyang Europe. We’re here to disrupt the printing industry!”
Blue Castle’s PVC recycling plant is located near to the company’s Head Office in Lincolnshire, where, in its simplest form, a team puts the PVC waste through an industrial sized shredding machine to break it down into a re-processable size. “We have extensively tested the PVC banner material, establishing critical elements such as its flash point and chemical properties,” expands Harley. “We’ve explored many options for using the shredded PVC and thanks to strong partner relationships in other sectors, we have developed lines of supply to ensure the processed banner material has viable future uses in a range of industries.”
Print providers and sign makers currently using PVC based substrates could very easily be accessing this green credentials-enhancing and cost saving scheme. “We would encourage anyone currently offering a PVC banner printing provision to get in touch with the team at Soyang Europe to discuss how the PVC Recycling Membership Scheme can benefit their printing business,” Mashiter concludes.
