The European PVC industry released on 12 April the final Progress Report on Vinyl 2010 – the ten year voluntary commitment launched in 2000 to enhance the sustainable production and use of PVC. The report highlights the huge advances made by the industry over the past decade in waste management, innovative recycling technologies, stakeholder engagement and responsible use of additives.


Vinyl 2010 has succeeded in meeting or exceeding all of the targets set by the industry in 2000.

As it comes to an end, a new industry commitment towards sustainability will be launched later in 2011 which will require the ongoing active support of the PVC value chain and a wide range of other stakeholders in the public and private sector.

The achievements of Vinyl 2010 are particularly notable when it comes to collection and recycling. In 1999 there was no infrastructure for recycling of PVC in Europe and it was dismissed by many as an “unrecyclable” material. Today, the audit results show that in the last year alone 260,842 tonnes of unregulated post-consumer PVC waste were recycled by Vinyl 2010’s network of PVC recyclers across Europe - well beyond the initial goal of recycling an additional 200,000 tonnes on an annual basis by 2010.