Products made of polymeric materials have become an integral part of day-to-day life and play a key role in the modern world. The demand for polymeric materials is huge, which makes it imperative to recycle them in order to ensure ecological sustainability. Although the majority of building products made of high-quality plastics are long-lasting, modern technology makes it possible to turn these materials into new, valuable products at the end of their life cycle.
The sustainable use of raw materials is key to REHAU’s workflows, and recycling has been an integral part of the company’s production processes for many years. The company takes recycling options into account from the product development phase onwards. This makes PVC the ideal material for recovering precious raw materials.
In-house recycling concept
As far back as 1988, REHAU was the first company in its sector to develop its own recycling concept that enabled used PVC windows and profile sections to be recycled in a competent manner. The materials are collected, cleaned, broken down into small pieces and finally fed back into the production cycle.
REHAU’s recycling concept was also integral to the market launch of RAU-FIPRO, the high-tech fiber composite. From the start, RAU-FIPRO profiles were given unique identifiers to facilitate sorting and recognition, namely special bright red lettering, a prominent protective film and a silver-colored imprint in combination with the REHAU logotype, which are clearly visible even on the installed window. These measures enable end customers to identify the responsible profile manufacturer even decades after installation. Furthermore, a marker in the material allows the materials to be separated by machine. This is unique to the industry. REHAU is also a member of Rewindo and supports used window recycling in Germany.
Separation of raw materials at the highest level
To further cement this commitment, REHAU has expanded its facility in the Polish town of Srem to include a 1,250-m2 area for recycling technology. This area is equipped with cutting-edge technology and has a capacity of approximately 10,000 tons per year. Profile sections and production waste are processed in the ultramodern facility, which utilizes machines by the renowned manufacturer Hamos. Twelve employees are responsible for the sustainable processing of the materials to be recycled from the plastic window industry. The newly recycled materials are then extruded into the core of the new window profiles.
To comply with REHAU’s extremely strict quality requirements, the plant’s operations revolve around a modern, high-performance precision sorting system which has been specially modified for REHAU’s purposes. This system ensures that the raw materials (sorted into uniform lots) are salvaged and subsequently used to create new products. In terms of quality and technical values, there is absolutely no difference between the windows developed from these materials and windows made from new materials. As such, the production of window profiles at REHAU is a closed material cycle, which makes a significant contribution to the reduction of CO2 emissions and improves the environmental footprint of plastic windows.
Co-extrusion for high-quality window profiles
Co-extrusion is an innovative method for producing high-quality window profiles. It enables a range of PVC materials to be processed for interior profile sections and outer layers. The use of recycled materials renders valuable secondary raw materials reusable and is environmentally friendly. As well as being committed to operating in a sustainable manner, REHAU makes every effort to provide its customers with the best range of products possible and, in doing so, to help them enhance their level of sustainability as well. Quality is the key element here.
All REHAU window profiles are subject to the strictest quality requirements. This applies in particular to co-extrusion products. REHAU pays special attention to ensuring that the visible surfaces on the finished and assembled windows correspond to the high visual requirements of the end customer. In addition to the applicable standard (EN12608), all materials used meet the requirements of various national quality labels (e.g. RAL, CSTB). As with mono-extrusion, all co-extrusion profiles are subject to external quality control and are regularly inspected by external testing institutes.
Further information about sustainability and REHAU’s activities in this area is available at www.rehau.de/nachhaltigkeit
The sustainable use of raw materials is key to REHAU’s workflows, and recycling has been an integral part of the company’s production processes for many years. The company takes recycling options into account from the product development phase onwards. This makes PVC the ideal material for recovering precious raw materials.
In-house recycling concept
As far back as 1988, REHAU was the first company in its sector to develop its own recycling concept that enabled used PVC windows and profile sections to be recycled in a competent manner. The materials are collected, cleaned, broken down into small pieces and finally fed back into the production cycle.
REHAU’s recycling concept was also integral to the market launch of RAU-FIPRO, the high-tech fiber composite. From the start, RAU-FIPRO profiles were given unique identifiers to facilitate sorting and recognition, namely special bright red lettering, a prominent protective film and a silver-colored imprint in combination with the REHAU logotype, which are clearly visible even on the installed window. These measures enable end customers to identify the responsible profile manufacturer even decades after installation. Furthermore, a marker in the material allows the materials to be separated by machine. This is unique to the industry. REHAU is also a member of Rewindo and supports used window recycling in Germany.
Separation of raw materials at the highest level
To further cement this commitment, REHAU has expanded its facility in the Polish town of Srem to include a 1,250-m2 area for recycling technology. This area is equipped with cutting-edge technology and has a capacity of approximately 10,000 tons per year. Profile sections and production waste are processed in the ultramodern facility, which utilizes machines by the renowned manufacturer Hamos. Twelve employees are responsible for the sustainable processing of the materials to be recycled from the plastic window industry. The newly recycled materials are then extruded into the core of the new window profiles.
To comply with REHAU’s extremely strict quality requirements, the plant’s operations revolve around a modern, high-performance precision sorting system which has been specially modified for REHAU’s purposes. This system ensures that the raw materials (sorted into uniform lots) are salvaged and subsequently used to create new products. In terms of quality and technical values, there is absolutely no difference between the windows developed from these materials and windows made from new materials. As such, the production of window profiles at REHAU is a closed material cycle, which makes a significant contribution to the reduction of CO2 emissions and improves the environmental footprint of plastic windows.
Co-extrusion for high-quality window profiles
Co-extrusion is an innovative method for producing high-quality window profiles. It enables a range of PVC materials to be processed for interior profile sections and outer layers. The use of recycled materials renders valuable secondary raw materials reusable and is environmentally friendly. As well as being committed to operating in a sustainable manner, REHAU makes every effort to provide its customers with the best range of products possible and, in doing so, to help them enhance their level of sustainability as well. Quality is the key element here.
All REHAU window profiles are subject to the strictest quality requirements. This applies in particular to co-extrusion products. REHAU pays special attention to ensuring that the visible surfaces on the finished and assembled windows correspond to the high visual requirements of the end customer. In addition to the applicable standard (EN12608), all materials used meet the requirements of various national quality labels (e.g. RAL, CSTB). As with mono-extrusion, all co-extrusion profiles are subject to external quality control and are regularly inspected by external testing institutes.
Further information about sustainability and REHAU’s activities in this area is available at www.rehau.de/nachhaltigkeit
