New BPF Vice President Martin Hitchin Supports Calls for Greater Manufacturing Circularity Within Plastics Industry

Martin, who has been CEO of REHAU UK&I since 2007, was recently appointed as the new Vice-President of the BPF and is encouraging a fresh look at what the industry can offer on sustainability. 

The BPF, in its pre-election manifesto, called on parties to acknowledge the significant role that the UK plastics industry can play in enabling the country to achieve Net Zero by 2050. This includes the responsibility that plastics play in the production of renewable technologies such as wind turbines and hydrogen, alongside the potential of polymer within buildings.

Polymers have the potential to become a critical part of achieving climate goals, such as achieving net zero status by 2050. They possess lightweight characteristics, greater flexibility alongside insulation properties that make it a practical material for use in district heating networks. This is something REHAU is already very familiar with through its line of district heating solutions, such as RAUVIPEX a new innovation developed to support wider roll out of heat networks. 

Sustainable building and polymers don’t just fall to heat networks, material choice for plumbing is also a developing area with recent developments in bio-based polymers. Earlier this year REHAU launched RAUTIAN flex green, a sustainable plumbing pipe made using renewable raw materials, offering over 90% savings on CO2 during production. 

One of the key policies that the BPF is calling for is reforms to help the plastics industry reach its potential in terms of improving circularity. They are encouraging the expansion and improvement of plastic recycling infrastructure, making it easier for companies to recycle plastic such as PVC. 

The PVCR plant based in the North West of England enables the company to process over 13,200 tonnes of post-consumer windows and doors per year, recycling them into brand new PVC products across its range. 

The company is looking to increase this commitment to circularity going forward and is planning to increase the share of recycled PVC in new frames to 70% by further enhancing the facility’s processing capacity. Currently, about 55% of its frame output currently contain recycled materials. REHAU’s digital service package, Window.ID, also allows the company to track windows through their lifecycle to improve recovery at end-of-life.

You can learn more about the British Plastics Federation here.

You can learn more about REHAU, and their PVCR facility here.