The UK's largest vinyl flooring take back scheme has exceeded expectations, collecting 533 tonnes of waste in 2024, 6% above its annual target. This milestone brings the scheme's total recycled volume to the equivalent of 2.55 million square metres of vinyl flooring since its inception.
© Aleksander Bedrin | Dreamstime
Founded in 2009 by flooring manufacturers Altro and Polyflor, the initiative has collected over 7,650 tonnes of vinyl waste to date, resulting in carbon savings of nearly 9,000 tonnes. These savings are equivalent to removing 2,342 cars from the road for a year, based on emissions avoided by substituting concrete in traffic management products.
The scheme is widely recognised as a model of circularity in the sector, with collected materials recycled into new flooring and traffic-related items. Increased engagement from contractors has been a key driver, with a record 531 collection requests in 2024, up 19% from the previous year.
Scheme Manager Carla Eslava credited the uptake to broader awareness and deployment on major project sites: 'It has been great to see more main contractors promoting the scheme as a result of our awareness generation activities.'
Contractors contributed 47% of the collected material, while 38% came from distribution drop-off points and 15% from industry partners.
Looking ahead to 2025, the programme aims to grow further by promoting takeback initiatives, improving material quality, and boosting recycling awareness across the industry. 'We will focus on further collaboration... and engage with scheme participants to ensure we are collecting higher quality material,' said Eslava.
As sustainability pressure grows across construction sectors, the success of this vinyl scheme signals rising industry readiness to embrace greener waste practices.
Source: www.floorinsite.com