PVC to play key role in London's Sustainable Olympics
PVC to play key role in London's Sustainable Olympics - Vinyl Council Australia
| Media Statement 10 June, 2009 The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and the London Organising Committee (LOCOG) have announced they will work closely with the UK PVC (polyvinyl chloride) industry to identify sustainable PVC solutions for the London 2012 Sustainable Games. The London 2012 Games will apparently have more temporary structures than any other Olympics or global event. PVC is a commonly used material for such structures and David Stubbs, LOCOG’s Head of Sustainability, has said “Given our sustainability goals, this represents a unique and exciting opportunity to work with the PVC industry to develop new methods and tools for assessing, sourcing, specifying temporary materials and identifying appropriate reuse and recycling options.” A recent statement from the ODA and LOCOG confirmed that they are developing criteria to specify PVC in “an environmentally friendly way with an emphasis on recycled content and ‘take back’ to enable [PVC] to be reused or recycled”. British Plastics Federation (BPF), the UK trade association for the plastics industry, responded saying, “We welcome this challenge from London 2012 and the opportunity to demonstrate that temporary uses of PVC can be re-used or recycled after use.” Philip Law, Public and Environmental Affairs Director of BPF, has described PVC as “a leading candidate” for use in high profile buildings and structures on the Olympic Park and said “the sustainability benefits of PVC can potentially be showcased for the world to see.” The recyclability of vinyl membranes was demonstrated effectively for the Turin Winter Olympics in 2006. After the Turin Games, 7,000 indoor and outdoor vinyl banners equal to an area of 22,000 square meters, was recovered and recycled into new products. The London Games organisers are determined to reduce the use of materials and to use materials that minimise social and environmental impacts. All materials for the 2012 Games will be assessed on a range of factors, including cost; whether the use is necessary; fitness for purpose; potential harm to the environment and public health; and the availability and suitability of substitute materials. PVC will make a significant contribution at the future London Games and will be used “not least because it is a light-weight durable material that can easily be reused and recycled,” said Britain’s Economic and Business Minister, Ian Pearson. In a letter to BPF, Minister Pearson applauded the progress of the industry in the recycling of PVC in the UK through its voluntary “Recovinyl” scheme saying he believes “industry will meet the challenge set by the 2012 Games organisers for greater rates of recycling and reuse.” BPF welcomes the challenge in meeting its commitments to London 2012 and recognizes greater exposure may help move the industry towards a more sustainable manufacture, use and disposal of PVC fabrics. The Vinyl Council of Australia (VCA) is working to advance the sustainability of the vinyl, or PVC, industry in Australia. Its members are drawn across the supply chain of the vinyl industry. |
| For further information: contact Neva Law, Vinyl Council of Australia, directly on 03 9368 4857 and 0405 772 700. |
| Visit www.vinyl.org.au and www.pvcproductstewardship.org.au |
