Refurbishment Resource Efficiency Case Study: Vinyl flooring take-back schemes

Vinyl flooring: Making take-back schemes pay back on refurbishment projects This case study focuses on three UK vinyl flooring take-back schemes and identifies the key success factors and future challenges in making take-back schemes economically and environmentally attractive to the refurbishment market, and the benefits that such schemes deliver.

Resource efficiency and economic benefits:

n Direct cost reductions to the end client. n Reduce number of skips required on site. n Diversion of uplifted vinyl flooring from landfill. n Reduce carbon footprint of refurbishment projects. n Provides a valuable source of ‘raw’ materials for new product production.

Background to vinyl sector

Vinyl flooring is the third largest flooring sector, which accounts for 15% by value and 10% volume share of the total floorcoverings market in the UKi. The total market value is approx £1.8bn with a volume of 273m sq m. Commercial vinyl flooring represents two-thirds of vinyl sector sales, whilst domestic vinyl make up one-third.

Vinyl flooring is supplied in either sheet or tile form produced by heating together PVC resin with plasticisers to give flexibility, pigments to provide colour, stabilisers to ensure stability to heat and light and mineral fillers to improve the properties and reduce the cost.

Recofloor scheme explained Founded by flooring manufacturers Altro and Polyflor as the UK's first joint industry-led take-back initiative, Recofloor has grown to 438 members across the supply chain, from waste transfer stations to flooring contractors and distributors.

Recofloor provides a collection service for vinyl flooring offcuts (smooth and safety flooring) and uplifted vinyl flooring, thus helping companies throughout the supply chain to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill. Vinyl offcuts are recycled back into new flooring, whilst uplifted, and end of life material is used in the manufacture of traffic calming products, such as traffic cones and road barrier bases. Wherever possible the flooring is collected by backhaul or by diverting vehicles, to reduce the carbon impact and transport costs. 1,259 tonnes of vinyl off-cuts and uplifted flooring have been collected since Recofloor was launched in 2009 (equivalent to over a million kilograms of CO2). The scheme continues to grow with 449 tonnes collected in 2012 alone which included 108 tonnes of material collected through distributors. This is equivalent to taking 89 cars off the road for a year.

n Recofloor serves small 'one man bands' to large flooring contractors.

n Collects any brand of vinyl flooring and is not tied to a specific manufacturer.

n Recofloor has established 65 drop off sites at distributors across the UK, providing an option for contractors to drop off smaller volumes of vinyl flooring waste, when they go to buy new flooring. This enables smaller volumes of vinyl flooring (which would normally end up in mixed builders skips and sent to landfill) to be bulked up and collected as a backhaul when manufacturers drop off new flooring at the distribution sites.

n Recofloor has an award scheme which recognises the commitment and achievements of Recofloor collectors. Awards include: Distributor of the year, contractor of the year, construction project of the year.

n All collectors receive a certificate of commitment for collecting vinyl flooring.

‘ReUse’ scheme explained ‘ReUse’ is the programme name given to Tarkett's vinyl recycling business - their philosophy for recycling post-installation vinyl waste back into new flooring.

Reuse Programme In Action

The ReUse programme is designed for onsite collection at all medium to large flooring contracts through back-hauling of waste materials, or alternatively directly from the contractor's premises. Reusable waste includes homogeneous and heterogeneous vinyl, luxury vinyl tiles, PVC sports floors, welding rods and end of rolls. ReUse also recycles safety floorcoverings and linoleum

waste. All parties sign an agreement to be a partner in the collection of post installation material and a Partnership Certificate is issued acknowledging supply chain cooperation and environmental contribution. Materials collected from larger contracts can be reprocessed and returned within new flooring to the same site in a closed-loop system. One example of this was on the Birmingham Queen Elizabeth PFI Hospital project where 55 tonnes of vinyl waste for recycling was collected. The bulk of this material was reprocessed into backing material used in the manufacture of new safety flooring, which has been supplied back to the hospital.ii n Tarkett operate their own recycling

facilities allowing them to offer a fast turn-around of materials into new products.

n Collect waste materials within normal delivery cycles avoiding the impact of additional haulage.

‘Back to the Floor’ scheme explained ‘Back to the Floor’ is a scheme which reprocesses installation off-cuts of Forbo carpet tiles, smooth sheet vinyl, cushioned vinyl and Marmoleum products back into new products. Material is bulked up on site in bags before being collected by Back to the Floor representatives to be recycled.

Back To The Floor Process Diagram

n The material is collected as a backload

when Forbo deliver new product or by diverting vehicles. The minimum load is two pallets.

n Back to the Floor provides dedicated bins for the collection of Marmoleum off cuts at distributor sites. This enables flooring contractors to drop off material when they go to pick up new product.

n Scheme participants are provided with certificates for their commitment to recycling flooring products.

Back To The Floor Vinyl Collection Bag

Chris Pickles, Commercial Director of Headlam Scotland, commented: “As the largest distributor in Scotland, we see it [Back to the Floor] not as a ‘green tick’ but as our duty to the environment and the flooring trade to be pioneers of recycling in Scotland. We already have working partnerships with several other recycling schemes and we are really excited to get on board with Back to the Floor.” Flooring contractor Craftsman Flooring based in Port Talbot, South Wales commented: “Over recent years I think everyone has become far more educated on the subject of the environment and waste. At Craftsman Flooring Ltd we have always strived to reduce waste & pollution and keep it down to a minimum. As soon as we were made aware of Back to the Floor, it seemed like the perfect scheme to reduce waste, save costs and help us to achieve our targets of minimising the impact of waste on the environment. Being part of the scheme has also helped us to achieve our Environmental Management System accreditation.”

Take-back scheme benefits The following provides a list of the main benefits of using a take-back scheme:

n Reduce skip costs through regular waste vinyl flooring collections.

n Provides flooring contractors a competitive edge in the refurbishment market by provided an extra service to clients that can save them money.

n Collecting waste within normal delivery cycles avoids the impact of additional haulage, carbon and costs.

n Significant carbon savings can be realised when processing recycled vinyl waste into new flooring which is estimated at 0.2kg carbon per m2. iii

n Helps to comply with Site Waste Management Regulations requiring all waste to be pre-treated before going to landfill.

n Main contractors are increasingly asking flooring contractors to take-back waste material this service as part of their waste management policy.

n Increasingly customers are keen to see their flooring recycled at the end of its life.

Take-back schemes in action

The following provides two practical examples of these take-back schemes in action:

Recofloor - Hull Flooring Hull Flooring received an Outstanding Achievement award at the 2012 Recofloor Awards for collecting 46.2 tonnes on flooring between 2010 and 2012 (8% of Recofloor’s total tonnage). Commercial flooring company and Recofloor member Hull Flooring is saving tonnes of uplifted material from landfill by participating in the Recofloor scheme. With flooring refurbishment contracts with companies including Halfords, BHS, Boots, and WH Smith, Hull Flooring recognised the opportunity the scheme offers to save

money by reducing waste disposal costs, a cost reduction that passes on to its customers. Hull Flooring specialises in carrying out ‘live’ store flooring refurbishments which eliminates downtime in store thus minimising impact on retail sales. Five successful Recofloor trials have been completed to date when re-flooring Halfords stores. One of these was the Newport Halfords store; the operation is quick and easy, causing minimal disruption to staff and customers. The floor is uplifted using a turbo stripper machine and loaded into Recofloor bags stored on pallets, ready for collection whilst fitters prepare the floor and lay new flooring. Shelving and stock can be replaced immediately. This process targets large areas sequentially, meaning it can be completed rapidly.

Hull Flooring Team Collect Uplifted Material

The fitters work in small teams, loading the uplifted material into Recofloor bags as they go. As they come to the end of a cordoned off section of the floor, fitters have already begun laying the new floor at the opposite end. Approach taken by Hull Flooring has secured them Recofloor Gold Awards two years running and an Outstanding Achievement award at the 2012 Recofloor Awards in recognition of their collection of 8% of Recofloor’s total tonnage. Case study benefits n Direct cost reductions to the end client. n Hull Flooring complete refurbishments on

Halfords stores with tight turnaround deadlines whilst achieving high levels of resource efficiency.

n Diversion of uplifted flooring from landfill.

n Eliminates downtime in retail stores through ‘live’ store refurbishments minimising disruption to staff and customers.

n 46.2 tonnes collected and recycled between 2010 and 2012.

ReUse Programme – NHS Hospitals 30 tonnes of vinyl flooring saved from landfill on NHS new build project through ReUse programme, saving over £1,600 in landfill taxiv plus additional avoided skip and haulage costs. The ReUse programme was used at Peterborough City Hospital, and South Glasgow Hospital, both significant NHS development programmes. With increasing numbers of public sector building projects requiring contractors to show a level of environmental commitment, Tarkett aims to make it as easy as possible for firms to recycle its product.

Peterborough Hospital Project

AC Flooring contractors supplied and installed the flooring for both Peterborough Hospital, and South Glasgow projects. Tim Hill, Sales Director for AC Flooring, said: “Our team has worked with Tarkett many times in the past so we know that the service will be excellent and the products themselves are easy to work with. The ReUse programme makes recycling easy. Our on-site project manager ensures that all material off-cuts, trimmings and roll ends are collected and put into the bags supplied to us. When full, the bags are collected.

This aspect of the service is important to us, especially when dealing with a client like the NHS who obviously has sustainability issues high on their agenda.” The above partnership demonstrates the benefits of engaging with your supply chain on resource efficiency issues which can save money for all parties concerned.

Vinyl Offcuts Awaiting Collection

Over 30 tonnes of waste and off-cuts has been collected from the Peterborough Hospital site. This was returned to Tarkett’s factory at Lenham in Kent, where it was sorted and consolidated to ensure all material sent for recycling is suitable for processing. Materials were loaded for transportation to Tarkett’s own recycling plant at Clervaux, Luxembourg, where they were re-processed into backings for new flooring. Chris Fairhall of Brookfield Construction UK Ltd, who carried out the construction, explained “We chose Tarkett because they were able to guarantee recycling of waste from site through their own recycling plants, and the majority of their new vinyl products have an average of 25% recycled content.”

Tarkett Recycled Vinyl Flooring Granules

John Devine, UK Sales Director for Tarkett commented: “We’re pleased to be selected to be used on the Peterborough and South Glasgow Hospital projects and the ReUse programme had such an impact. The concept of recycling is now intrinsic to our way of life and our commitment to continuingly improve processes and reduce negative impact on nature has never been stronger.” Case study benefits n Diversion of 30 tonnes of vinyl waste

from landfill. n Landfill tax savings of over £1,600 plus

additional avoided skip and haulage costs.

n Co-ordination of collection of full bags with fresh deliveries to site minimising transportation costs and reducing transport carbon emissions.

Key challenges for take-back n Take-back scheme operators ideally need

to increase the scope of their schemes and take-back all brands of vinyl flooring to increase economies of scale and benefits to end-users. Only Recofloor currently takes back all brands of vinyl flooring.

n Increase the geographical reach of take-back schemes, which is currently limited by high logistics costs for collecting and hauling flooring waste from site, for pre-sorting and treatment before onwards recycling.

n Currently many if not all of the vinyl take-back schemes operating in the UK are subsidised to some degree by the operators with the costs of operation absorbed with the business. One of the drivers for operating these schemes is thus to provide additional services to the end consumer and differentiate from the competition. However on a longer term basis it is crucial to move to a financial model which is self-sustaining.

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i http://www.contractflooringjournal.co.uk/archive/newsApr01_

2011.html [accessed 10 January 2013] ii http://productsearch.bdonline.co.uk/queen-elizabeth-

hospital-birmingham-news013549.html [25 February 2013] iii A life cycle assessment study - MDD007 Demonstration of

end uses for recovered PVC flooring, 2009, WRAP

iv Landfill tax at £56 per tonne in 2011. £72 per tonne from

1st April 2013.