A comparison of the useful lives of different types of flooring

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Long-lasting flooring helps to secure the value retention of real estate. In a publication supported by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the German Agency for Renewable Resources (FNR) has compared the typical life times of different types of flooring. The three types of flooring with the longest lives were ceramic/stoneware (60 years), wood parquet (approx. 40 years) and finally PVC and plastic flooring, which, according to the specialist agency, have a service life of 20 years.

As a product that is cost-effective in terms of both procurement and maintenance, vinyl flooring is a very economical option throughout its entire life-cycle. The fact that its smooth surfaces are stain-resistant, hard-wearing and easy to clean means that the maintenance costs for vinyl flooring are up to 30 percent less than those of other materials.

The publication is in German language only and can be viewed on the FNR website.

PVC Recycling Record Project in Franconia

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At the end of October 2017, a construction project that may well be a record-breaker in several respects was officially kicked off. A former US Army garrison in Schweinfurt, that is now owned by the city, is currently being demolished and replaced with a new development. Work on the site, which covers an area of 28 hectares and will contain 34 rows of three-storey houses and 26 semi-detached houses, is expected to be completed in 2019. The deconstruction of the existing buildings is being carried out in accordance with modern and environmentally friendly standards, which require the different building materials to not only be separated, but also recycled.

Alongside a large amount of PVC flooring waste, the demolition of the garrison will also involve the removal of around 2500 old PVC windows, which will be collected in containers before being processed using mechanical recycling so that their material can be re-used in new window and building profiles.

The project in Schweinfurt is one of the four largest recycling projects for old PVC windows to be carried out in Germany in the last ten years and is even breaking a recycling record in Bavaria. It is being supported by the German Working Group for PVC and Environment (AGPU), the Rewindo window recycling service, the German Association for the Recycling of PVC Floor Coverings (AgPR), the European PVC Window Profile and Related Building Products Association (EPPA ivzw) and the recycling company Dekura GmbH.

Successful series of events: PVC recyclers meet PVC processors

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Last week, the third and last regional meeting of the „PVC recyclers meet PVC processors“ series of events this year was held at REHAU in Erlangen. AGPU and VinylPlus have launched the Network Meetings 2012 to promote PVC recycling in Germany.

The meeting in Erlangen was now the tenth event and again achieved good participation from industry. Since the kick-off event in Cologne, AGPU and VinylPlus have brought a total of around 250 experts together. Due to the great interest and the continuing demand from all those involved, it is planned to continue the series of events in Germany in 2019. The successful concept is now also being offered to other national PVC-network associations.

Get the new STARKE SEITEN and BLITZ-INFO Autumn 2017 issues

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A couple of days ago, around 26,500 copies of the autumn issue of the German magazine STARKE SEITEN are being sent out to readers, mainly to decision-makers from selected target groups and to addressees from the PVC industry and its value chain in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The current issue focuses on PVC health care applications.

AGPU is distributing about 6,300 of these copies together with the BLITZ-INFO, which summarises up-to-date information on the sustainable development of PVC to decision-makers in the fields of politics, administration, industry, trade and commerce together with a personal letter.

If you would like to use STARKE SEITEN for your communication activities or publish your own article in the magazine, please feel free to contact us. We will be happy to send you the latest media data together with information on the topics planned for next year.

Download here!

Mobile Flood Protection Systems Made of PVC at the UN Climate Change Conference

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The 23rd United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP23) will take place in Bonn from 6th to 17th November 2017. The preparations for the event are almost finished and include the construction of a huge tent city in the Rheinaue park. AGPU has learnt that this tent city will use tents and pavilions made of PVC-coated fabric. All these temporary structures will be taken down after the conference.

As the technical host of the event, Germany is also responsible for the flood protection measures on the event that is located directly next to the Rhine river. The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature, Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) has announced that a mobile flood protection system will be used. This is being created especially for the event and will be handed over to the local fire brigade for further use after the conference. The flood protection system will also use PVC-coated fabric, as is explained by the manufacturer SSU on its company website.

The Latest PVC Trend Report Is Published

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The current October issue of the plastics magazine “KUNSTSTOFFE” contains an up-to-date trend report on PVC material produced in cooperation with the AGPU member company Vinnolit. The seven-page-long article focuses on the advanced and sustainable properties of PVC for use in the construction, automotive and consumer goods industries.

PVC is a popular material thanks to its high versatility, but the demands being placed on it by users, especially in the field of health and environmental protection, are increasing. The careful selection, further development and coordination of all formulation components are therefore becoming more and more important.

The trend report is available in both English and German and can be downloaded for free from the website of the magazine.

PVC4Cables: The European PVC Cables Sector Plugs Into Innovation And Sustainability

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PVC4Cables hosted last week its first conference ‘Sustainability, Innovation, Market: The new horizons of the PVC cables industry’ in Lyon, France, attracting more than 120 delegates from all over Europe. Focus of the Conference was the significant progress made by the PVC cables industry in terms of sustainability and innovation, particularly thanks to the development of new formulations; and a factual debate on the impact of the European regulation on the market, notably in relation to CPR (Construction Products Regulation) and RoHS Directive.

For the full press release, please look to the PVC4Cables website: http://www.pvc4cables.org/en/media-en/news/item/92-prconf

PVC Recycling Finder Website Expanded

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After the last major update of the PVC Recycling Finder in January, AGPU has now also expanded the services provided by the information platform. One of the main elements of this expansion was the revision of the interactive map containing around 60 of the PVC recycling companies listed in the Finder. Another feature of the expansion was the addition of a news area containing current articles focusing on the topic of PVC recycling to the website.

Ever since the PVC Recycling Finder was first created, the website has become increasingly popular, not only in terms of its visitors, but also with regards to the number of enquiries that are regularly answered by the recycling experts at the AGPU office. Alongside the service, AGPU organises the corresponding series of “PVC Recyclers Meet PVC Processors” events in cooperation with VinylPlus. The next regional meeting in this series will take place at the company REHAU in Erlangen on 23 November 2017. If you are interested to participate please contact Julia Gogos (julia.gogos@agpu.com).

The Second Recycling Meeting Was a Complete Success

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At the beginning of September 2017, the second regional meeting of the „PVC Recyclers Meet PVC Processors“ series of events held by AGPU and VinylPlus took place in Minden/Porta Westfalica. The meeting attracted a very impressive total of more than 30 participants, who made the most of the opportunity to briefly present their products, services and requirements. They were then able to discuss these in detail in personal discussions. This second meeting was hosted by Tönsmeier Kunststoffe. After the event, the plastics recycling company also invited participants on a tour of its modern plastics sorting plant.

The third and final meeting this year will take place at the company Rehau in Erlangen on 23rd November. A number of participants have also already signed up to attend this networking event. If you too are interested in participating in the meeting or would like to find out more about the event programme, please feel free to contact us: Ms Julia Gogos (julia.gogos@agpu.com) at the AGPU office looks forward to hearing from you! We will be happy to send you an invitation to the meeting together with the event programme on request.

PVC Recycling in FOCUS Magazine

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The next issue of FOCUS magazine (publication date: 30th September 2017) will contain a special supplement covering the topics of recycling and resources. AGPU was able to publish two articles in this high-quality publication, which will also feature an article by Plastics Europe and plastics recycling companies. The guest article by the AGPU Managing Director Thomas Hülsmann promotes the recycling of PVC building products in Germany and the successes achieved by the industry with regard to the topics of sustainability, resource efficiency and energy efficiency. A further guest article presents VinylPlus, the sustainability programme of the European PVC industry, and its objective of further increasing the registered quantities of recycled PVC by 2020.

Both articles will not only appear in the printed special supplement but also on the FOCUS website. A PDF version of the special supplement will additionally be available after the magazine has been published.