In the EU, it is forbidden to take old windows to landfills, and the local recycling market operates under conditions of strict regulation and constant audit by the relevant organizations. If a certain manufacturing company violates the rules, it is punished with a fine or a complete prohibition to work. According to the legislation, manufacturers of window and door systems must use secondary raw materials, and the percentage of the mandatory content of secondary raw materials in PVC products must be at least 10–15%. All of these efforts have helped turn production into a closed-loop system that is beneficial for both the environment and business.
"Using recycled raw materials is beneficial both economically and environmentally, because in this case plastic does not enter the environment, and raw material producers do not extract the main components for PVC - oil and rock salt, and, accordingly, do not harm nature. Polyvinyl chloride can be recycled up to 10 times, therefore, taking into account that the service life of windows is approximately 30-50 years, purely mathematically we get 500 years of the possibility of using the material. I am sure that in the future, humanity will find a way to either dispose of PVC without harming nature, or recycle it again and again, so we will have a completely waste-free production," explained Dmytro Firsov, a representative of the VEKA Ukraine company.
The territory of VEKA UT is a company that transforms old PVC into material for a new profile. Photo: Christopher Schmidt
Unfortunately, Ukrainian companies do not receive economic benefits from the recycling of old windows. The fact is that in Ukraine, the field of plastic waste processing is at the initial stage of development and is a network of individual enterprises that collect plastic waste for the further sale of raw materials obtained from them. In 2019, only about forty such companies worked in the country. This is absolutely not enough: as of 2021, about 42% of plastic was recycled in the EU, 20% in the world, and only 12,5% in Ukraine. And if before the war, the capacities of our waste processing industry were designed for only 12,5% of plastic waste, then what fate awaits thousands of tons of PVC windows that flew out of buildings during explosions?
Buildings destroyed by rockets. Photo: Alex Fedorenko / Unsplash
Currently, the answer to this question is already being sought, however, so far the state is at the stage of collecting information and regulating the process of storing waste from destruction. According to the resolution adopted in 2023, all communities must arrange temporary storage sites for demolition waste (MTZ) on their territory and transport pre-sorted waste to them. However, MTZ will operate only until the end of the war: within 90 days after the victory, the garbage will have to go somewhere. This is where the most interesting part begins, because, despite the fact that recycled materials cost money, the Ukrainian processing infrastructure is not yet ready for such a large amount of waste. "There is still nowhere to take garbage from MTZ, because there are no processing facilities in Ukraine, and logistics chains for processing abroad have not yet been established," said Lyudmila Tsyganok, president of the Association of Environmental Professionals.
Dmytro Firsov: "Using recycled materials is beneficial both economically and ecologically, because in this case plastic does not end up in nature, and manufacturers raw materials do not extract the main components for PVC - oil and rock salt, and, accordingly, do not harm nature"
Each "arrival" damages up to 300 windows in the affected and surrounding houses. Photo: Jade Koroliuk/Unsplash
When asked what to do about it, experts unanimously say: take an example from the EU. "According to the law, construction waste must be disposed of in the EU, so companies that install new windows collect old windows and send them to collection points. As a system company, we have our own plant for the recycling of old windows, which has a very extensive collection system, and we provide containers for the collection of plastic windows to all companies. After collection, we process windows using a technology that allows us to obtain secondary raw materials that are not inferior in quality to new material.
Preparation of the PVC profile for further grinding. Photo: Christopher Schmidt
Unfortunately, there are no processing plants in Ukraine. All you can count on here is a company that processes plastic using technology that allows it to be used in the production of window sills and pipes. However, I am convinced that somehow the situation will be resolved, and the Ukrainian recycling market will revive later. In any case, we are very interested in this. If soon there will be a sufficient number of recycling companies and points of reception of recycled materials, where people who will hand over old windows will be paid, then everything will be fine," explained Dmytro Firsov, a representative of the VEKA Ukraine company.
Dmytro Firsov, expert of the VEKA Ukraine company
When asked if VEKA is interested in becoming an active player in the PVC recycling market, a VEKA company representative replies: "There is interest, and we are paying a lot of attention to this issue. If there are changes, we will be ready to consider any options."
The market of processing business: what needs to be done to make it a new niche?
So far, everything rests on the changes emphasized by the experts, because in Ukraine there is neither a legally prescribed procedure for the disposal of garbage (both ordinary and from destruction), nor a law that would oblige citizens and companies to dispose of recyclables instead of to take it to landfills, nor favorable conditions for creating processing plants in general.
The worker pours crushed PVC. In the future, new PVC will be made from the recycled material. Photo: Christopher Schmidt
As for the first of the problems, according to Oleksandr Chervak, executive director of the Confederation of Builders of Ukraine, we should now significantly improve the legislative framework that defines the process of temporary storage, transportation, sorting, processing and disposal of demolition waste. "The purchase of recycled raw materials is much more profitable than the production of primary polymers, so currently recycled raw materials are used in the production of partition and foundation blocks, paving slabs, dry building mixes and many other materials. We need to develop regulations that would promote the use of recycled materials in the production of construction materials, the creation of new processing enterprises and the repurposing of already existing factories," he said.
According to Ludmila Tsyganok, president of the Association of Environmental Professionals, efforts to regulate the field of environmental legislation have already taken place. However, so far it has not produced the results expected by the community of Ukrainian ecologists. "If waste management is regulated very systematically in the EU countries, it happens a little chaotically in our country: the law is focused on regulating the field, but does not take into account the need to stimulate the creation of new enterprises. And this issue must be resolved immediately! We need a clear and understandable position of the state that keeps the course on the circular economy. Acts are needed that will clearly establish the rules of the game on the market. And also - a system of clear environmental control, because, for example, in the EU, the responsibility lies with the community," she said.
Work process at one of the VEKA enterprises. Photo: Christopher Schmidt
Oleksandr Chervak takes up the topic of building a new plant. The expert emphasizes: it is no longer possible to delay the development of processing infrastructure. "Given the number of windows that were damaged as a result of Russian aggression, the need to build a PVC processing plant in Ukraine has increased significantly. In addition, the scale of reconstruction will be significant, so it is important that the quantity of building materials corresponds to their quality. And this is possible only if we process the raw materials technologically correctly."
Currently, large PVC producers, in particular VEKA, are most interested in creating a processing plant in Ukraine. The company has three processing plants — in France, Great Britain and Germany. The work of such a plant must be clearly regulated at the legislative level, therefore, if soon this or other manufacturers decide to build a processing plant in Ukraine, they will fall into a legislative trap. The lack of regulation of environmental legislation at the level of collection and transportation of any PVC materials is also a threat.
Shredded PVC prepared for further processing. Photo: Christopher Schmidt
"To begin with, it would be good to start with the grinding stage. This would allow primary processing of PVC for shipment and further processing at a plant in Europe. But here there are questions regarding the transportation of secondary raw materials by EU countries. Difficulties are created precisely by legislative inconsistencies," Dmytro Firsov explained.
The formula for solving the listed problems is as follows: creation of favorable conditions for the development of the recycling market. And the main factor that can help to create them is money. However, where to get funds in conditions when every free hryvnia must become a donation? According to experts, entrepreneurs who would like to enter the processing market should try to find investors abroad.
The finished recycled material is transported to the workshop. Photo: Christopher Schmidt
The second step on the way to a full-fledged recycling system is to create demand. According to Dmytro Firsov, the only thing that can force Ukrainians to start sorting is the reorientation of society towards the right values. "We need to form values that will encourage Ukrainians to sort. The culture of sorting is formed at the household level, and in our country it is still quite primitive: people hand in only those materials that can be recycled in Ukraine. These are usually metal, glass and paper. At the same time in Europe, people know all the packaging labels and throw away glass and plastic of different colors in different containers. Again, any recycling initiative starts with the communities: if people get a clear and accessible sorting system, and management cares about promoting the importance of recycling, there is a high probability that people will sort," said the expert.
Collecting the old PVC profile before shredding. Photo: Christopher Schmidt
Lyudmila Tsyganok is sure: if we use not only a gingerbread man, but also a whip, values will be formed faster. "What should be the systems of financing and stimulating enterprises in Ukraine? I can't say exactly, because it is done differently in different European countries. However, I can definitely say that the cost of burial must be high enough to make it unprofitable to bury. If we don't change this, no financial programs will help us."
Bad scenario: What if thousands of tons of PVC end up in landfills?
Even those who have never typed the word "ecology" into a search engine already know about the harm of PVC to nature: the next news about plastic islands in the Pacific Ocean or scientists' discoveries about the ways in which microplastics enter the human body have become commonplace. Under these conditions, the consequences of the release of hundreds of tons of plastic waste from destruction into the environment are still difficult to predict. But one thing is clear: it would be a crushing disaster.
Lyudmila Tsyganok: "When people hear the phrase "chemical recycling", they think that this method involves the release of even more chemicals into nature. In fact, the chemical method involves the principle of "technology follows the waste": it is necessary not to build separate factories, but to place compact installations in the places of processing, which allow to process different types of waste and, in addition, to obtain useful chemical substances, for example, nitrogen fertilizers."
The territory of VEKA UT is a company that processes old PVC profiles into material for new windows. Photo: Christopher Schmidt
"There are several types of plastic waste: PVC, PVC, PCP and PCB. Plastics of the first type are quite common, and plastics of the last three are found in electrical equipment, capacitors and transformers. It is important to understand that all these substances are safe as long as there is no depressurization. As for PVC, it also contains lead, it is added as a stabilizer. As part of PVC, lead is combined with other elements, so it is less toxic than the pure metal. However, during destruction, it can also pose a significant danger. At the time of independence, the Ukrainian government was faced with a global question about what to do with it, because while the entire civilized world had long established recycling, we never did it," Lyudmila Tsyganok said.
Containers provided by VEKA are filled with old PVC. Photo: Christopher Schmidt
The expert explains: hazardous waste must be burned at a temperature above 1000°C. At this temperature, 99% of plastic turns into hydrogen chloride, water and carbon dioxide in just 2 seconds. The toxic substances that PVC contains are very stable, so if the temperature is lower, supertoxic substances will be formed during processing — furans, which cause the so-called chemical AIDS. Doctors and ecologists emphasize that these substances do not kill instantly, but affect health in a very "multifaceted way": they affect the nervous system, skin, liver and kidneys and provoke cancer. Also, they accumulate in adipose tissue and suppress immunity. Getting into the body of a pregnant woman, furans can provoke the development of serious defects and even mutilations in the child's body. "Unfortunately, in Ukraine, garbage is mostly processed by the incineration method, and at the same time, recyclers often do not always follow the technology and burn garbage at a lower temperature than necessary. This causes the release of furans," says Lyudmila Tsyganok.
According to the environmentalist, in order to correct this situation, we should not only strengthen control and open more plants for the processing of secondary raw materials, but also involve modern technologies, in particular, refocus on chemical processing.
The territory of VEKA UT, where recycling of VEKA profiles is carried out. Photo: Christopher Schmidt
"When people hear the phrase "chemical processing", they think that this method involves the release of even more chemicals into nature. In fact, the chemical method involves the principle of "technology follows the waste": it is necessary not to build separate plants, but to place compact installations in the places of processing, which allow processing of various types of waste and, in addition, to obtain useful chemical substances, for example, nitrogen fertilizers. Currently, this method is considered very promising in Europe, but incineration, on the other hand, is a thing of the past... And when we tell Europeans that we will soon build many, many waste incineration plants, they are very surprised," the expert explained.
The territory of the enterprise VEKA is a leader in the processing of plastic windows and doors. Photo: Christopher Schmidt
So, in order to change the situation now, the state should help: create favorable conditions on the market for recycled products or at least stop interfering, namely, change the legislation so that already interested players can start recycling PVC. Be that as it may, experts agree on one thing: the heroic resistance of Ukrainians in 2022 helped us understand that changes are not only necessary, but also possible.
