Australian Vinyls Corporation Limited (AVC) is Australia's only
manufacturer of vinyl (PVC) resin, with a capacity of approximately
130,000 tonnes of suspension grade resin. Australian Vinyls
comprises two businesses - vinyl resin and a specialty products
trading division - employing about 110 people.
The resin business supplies to a wide range of product applications
including water, drainage and irrigation pipe, electric cable
insulation, rigid and film packaging, garden hose, clothing and
footwear, automotive components, floor coverings and furniture.
Specialty Products trades in products servicing the PVC compound and
rubber industries.
Australian Vinyls is committed to conducting its business in ways
compatible with the environment in which its products are sourced,
manufactured, used and disposed and was instrumental in developing
the vinyl industry’s product stewardship commitment. This
initiative, signed by 33 organisations in the industry, commits the
signatories to deliver on a series of life cycle improvements for
PVC products, including recycling.
Australian Vinyls produces relatively low levels of waste PVC from
manufacturing operations and recycles the majority of this. It is
committed to reducing the volume of prescribed and non-prescribed
waste – such as packaging - generated from its operations. Its
progress is reported in annual corporate safety, health and
environment reports.
One key area of focus for post-consumer recycling by Australian
Vinyls is the management of the PVC bottle industry’s recycling
project, “Vinyl Cycle”. This project involves the use of innovative
cryogenic technology to reprocess post-consumer PVC bottles
collected from the kerbside, into a powder which can be used to
replace virgin resin on a one-for-one basis. This powder is
currently used in the manufacture of vinyl flooring and sewer pipe
fittings.
FAQ’s
Q Where is PVC most commonly used in Australia?
A About 80% of PVC sold in Australia is used in long life
applications such as water and sewerage pipes, wire and
cable, electrical conduit, window frames, guttering etc.
Another 10% is used in medium life applications such as floor
coverings, furniture and automotive parts. Only 10% is used in short
life applications such as stationary, blood bags and tubing,
flexible film and packaging and rigid packaging such as bottles.
Q. Why is the amount of PVC recycling still quite
low compared to other plastics?
A. Because so much PVC is used in long life applications of between
15 and 100 years, much of the PVC produced by Australian Vinyls is
still in use and not yet available for recycling.
Q Which bottles are made from PVC?
A There are many types and sizes of bottles which are made from PVC,
but the most common are the larger clear cordial bottles or edible
oil bottles which have a built in handle.
Q Can baled PVC bottles be stored outside?
A Only for short periods of up to 3 months. Any longer than that and
the PVC does start to discolour which can be detrimental to its
recyclability.
