From old windows to recycled
VEKA closes the loop
Our environmental protection covers all stages of the value chain - from the energy we use to operate machines, to water consumption, to the recycling of old products.
At VEKA, we have been practicing a successful circular economy for more than 25 years. Due to the VEKA Recycling Network we are known as a pioneer of PVC recycling - and not just for ourselves, but for the entire industry.
Our recycling plant in Behringen was founded in 1993. A few years later in 1997 it became the first waste management company to be TÜV-certified for the recycling of PVC windows.
Since resources and raw materials on our planet are limited, the entire construction industry will have to switch to a circular economy in the future. This means that all materials will be completely recycled - just like in nature. PVC windows can already be recycled almost completely and without any loss of quality.
The video of our subsidiary VEKA Recycling Ltd. from the UK gives an insight into the work of our Recycling Division.
Recycling cycles
The VEKA Recycling division focuses on the mechanical recycling of PVC windows without burning - both from window production (post-industrial recycling) and from disposed old windows (post-consumer recycling).
When PVC windows are recycled, it benefits the environment twice: On the one hand, less waste has to be disposed and on the other hand, the production of recycled PVC generates significantly less CO2.
Until today, our recycling network has already been able to save 780,000 tons of CO2. And since the recycled PVC is of such high quality that new, sustainable PVC windows can be made, there are already 40,000,000 windows with recycled cores in use.
We are proud of our closed-loop recycling system and the high energy efficiency of our products.
Living the circular economy
Meanwhile, we have exported our successful recycling concept to England and France. With the three recycling plants the VEKA Recycling Network is Europe's largest and most modern recycler of PVC windows.
Recycling success in numbers
How does PVC recycling work?
At VEKA Recycling valuable recyclate is made from an old window in just four steps.
Each stage of the process has been perfected over the years so that the maximum amount of valuable PVC is recovered from each batch in an environmentally friendly way.