F. Ball and Co. Ltd. is partnering with national vinyl take-back scheme Recofloor to provide flooring contractors with the means to recycle plastic buckets and bottles used for many of its products. This is part of the company’s ongoing efforts to reduce the amount of plastic waste generated by the flooring industry.
Currently in the trial stages, the new initiative is providing recycling points at select distributors, where flooring contractors can dispose of recyclable plastic containers used for flooring products. This includes F. Ball’s new 5 litre recycled and recyclable bottles used for gauging liquids, primers and tackifiers, as well as the company’s 5 and 15 litre yellow buckets.
F. Ball is the first manufacturer of subfloor preparation products and adhesives for floorcoverings to provide such a recycling service.
Recofloor, which was founded by floorcovering manufacturers Altro and Polyflor in 2009, provides designated points at select flooring suppliers where contractors can dispose of old and unused vinyl floorcoverings for recycling. Vinyl offcuts are then turned into new vinyl floorcoverings, while smooth uplifted vinyl flooring is reprocessed into traffic management products, such as cones and sign bases.
To date, Recofloor has collected over 4400 tonnes (or 1,472,000 square metres) of flooring, the equivalent of 206 Wembley football pitches. In doing so, it is estimated that it has reduced the carbon emissions of the flooring industry by 765 tonnes of CO2.
Commenting on the scheme, F. Ball Managing Director Mark Hughes said: “Having introduced recycled/recyclable alternatives for our 5 litre bottles, which have been well received by the industry, we are now delighted to partner with Recofloor to provide a channel whereby contractors can dispose of them, as well as other recyclable F. Ball buckets and bottles, in order that they are recycled properly. If the trial is successful, we will be rolling it out nationally, so I encourage customers of participating distributors to take advantage of the service.”
Further details of the trial and a list of participating wholesalers can be found on the F. Ball website.
