Recycling Scheme Recofloor Wins Top Environmental Award

Thursday 21 June 2012

Vinyl-flooring recycling scheme Recofloor has won a coveted Business Commitment to the Environment Award.

The company won the Process Premier Award and was presented with the trophy by Sir John Armitt, chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority, at the 2012 BCE Environmental Leadership Awards ceremony in London.

Fourteen companies, ranging in size from SMEs to much larger businesses, also won major awards or commendations across a number of sectors including construction and utilities.

Founded by Sir Peter Parker in 1975, the BCE Awards scheme is one of the world's longest running environmental competitions.

Founded in 2009 by UK flooring manufacturers Altro and Polyflor, Recofloor is the UK's first, joint, industry-led, vinyl-flooring recycling scheme.  Managed by resource recovery specialist Axion Consulting, Recofloor diverts waste vinyl flooring from landfill by collecting the material from across the supply chain and recycles it.

Recofloor is a unique example of two major competitors working collaboratively to promote sustainability of their products – a major achievement and an important step for the flooring sector as a whole.

Over three years, 950 tonnes of waste vinyl flooring – enough to cover a football pitch 45 times – has been diverted from landfill, with a net reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 750 tonnes achieved since the scheme began – equivalent to the emissions from a family car driving around the equator 90 times.

Recofloor project manager Jane Gardner said:  "The producer responsibility taken by Recofloor's founders, Altro and Polyflor saw 447 tonnes of vinyl diverted from landfill in 2011 alone.  Winning this BCE Award validates Recofloor's pioneering engagement of the supply chain and the commitment of our collectors."

The Business Commitment to the Environment (BCE) Environmental Leadership Awards represents all that is innovative and cutting edge in environmental sustainability in the context of modern business practices. They are awarded only to those businesses that can actually demonstrate that they are making a real difference to their impact on the environment without affecting their ability to make a profit and develop the business for the future.