Tracking Year-on-Year Increases in Recycled PVC Use

Europe’s PVC industry boosts circularity, increasing recycled PVC use despite weak demand, cutting emissions and supporting sustainable manufacturing.

Recycled PVC use in Europe continued to expand in 2024, despite a challenging industrial environment. The euro area recorded a 3% decline in industrial output, with weak construction activity and high energy costs affecting material demand. However, recycled PVC uptake by converters increased by 4.3% compared with 2023. Converters used 490,278 tonnes of recycled PVC in new products during the year. This reflects a consistent long-term upward trend in circular material integration within the PVC value chain across Europe.

Steady Growth in Recycled PVC Use

PVC recycling volumes remained strong. A total of 724,638 tonnes of PVC waste were recycled in 2024 within the EU-27, Norway, Switzerland, and the UK. This figure represents around 35% of available PVC waste. Post-consumer recycling accounted for approximately 25% of total post-consumer PVC waste, according to a 2021 dynamic waste model developed by Conversio. Pre-consumer recycling made up around 61.4% of the total PVC recycled last year.

Year-on-year trends show that recycled PVC use has grown due to increased demand from product manufacturers. Industries are responding to policy incentives, sustainability targets, and customer expectations for lower-carbon materials. Recyclate is being used in window profiles, pipes, flooring, cables, coated fabrics, and medical-grade applications.

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Why PVC Recyclate Use Is Increasing

PVC has inherent characteristics that support recycling. The polymer structure remains stable through mechanical recycling. It can be recycled up to eight times depending on application. This durability makes recycled PVC suitable for long-life applications in construction and infrastructure. PVC’s raw material composition also improves its sustainability profile. About 57% of the polymer derives from rock salt and 43% from hydrocarbons. This lowers feedstock energy use compared with materials made entirely from hydrocarbons.

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In addition, studies by PVC4Pipes show that PVC’s process energy use is comparable to other major polymers, while total feedstock energy is lower. CO₂ emissions associated with PVC production are similar to other common plastics. Recycling further reduces energy demand, emissions, and waste.

Advances in Waste Collection and Sorting

Improved collection and sorting systems have helped increase recyclate availability. Structured recovery from construction and demolition waste has expanded. New technological sorting approaches support the identification and separation of PVC from mixed waste streams. Healthcare PVC recycling initiatives have increased clean feedstock availability for medical-grade recyclates. Pilot activities in flooring waste recovery have supported progress in the built environment segment.

These developments reduce the dependency on primary materials and improve supply consistency for recycled PVC.

Infrastructure and Compliance Support Long-Term Growth

Independent third-party verification of responsible PVC production practices has reinforced industry reliability. In 2024, audits conducted at 46 VCM and PVC plants in nine European countries confirmed a 99.2% compliance rate with the ECVM Industry Charter. Stable regulatory performance supports confidence in recycled PVC markets and encourages further investment.

Over the past two decades, Europe has invested in dedicated PVC recycling infrastructure. Since 2000, 9.5 million tonnes of PVC waste have been recycled. This has prevented about 19.1 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions and supported more than 1,500 direct jobs in recycling facilities.

Challenges and Future Priorities

Not all PVC waste is currently recoverable. Some products are too small, too contaminated, or too dispersed to collect efficiently. The industry continues to call for policies that improve access to recyclable waste and ensure fair competition between EU and non-EU producers. Future efforts will focus on increasing post-consumer waste capture and expanding domestic recycling capacity.