As sustainability becomes a bigger part of specification and sales conversations, aluplast says fabricators and installers need to understand where recycled material is used in PVC-U profiles, not just how much is included. We report.
Sustainability is now firmly part of the window and door conversation. Homeowners are more aware of environmental impact, specifiers are asking more detailed questions, and fabricators and installers are under growing pressure to offer products that support responsible material use.
But in PVC-U profile manufacture, not all recycled content is equal.
While recycled material can help reduce waste and support lower-carbon thinking, where that material is used within a profile is just as important as how much is included. For aluplast, that distinction is critical.
“There is a big difference between simply saying a profile contains recycled material and engineering that recycled content into the profile in a controlled way,” says Graham Colls, Head of Technical and Operations, aluplast.
“The market is becoming more forensic. Fabricators, installers and specifiers are asking better questions, and rightly so. They want to know what is in the product, where it is being used, and whether it has any impact on appearance, durability or long-term performance.”
aluplast’s answer is ecotech, its controlled co-extrusion process that places carefully managed recycled PVC-U within the internal, non-weathered areas of the profile, while maintaining 100% virgin material on all external, visible faces.
This means fabricators and installers can offer a more sustainable product without compromising the surface finish, colour stability and weathering performance expected from a premium PVC-U system.
Controlled from the core
The principle behind ecotech is straightforward, but technically demanding. Recycled material is used where it can deliver sustainability benefits without affecting exposed faces, while virgin material is retained where appearance, gloss consistency and long-term weathering are most important.
“It is easy to talk about recycled content, but the real question is where it goes,” continues Graham.
“With ecotech, we use reworked material in the core of the profile, in areas that are not exposed to weathering. On the outside, where the profile is visible and exposed to the elements, we maintain virgin material.
“That allows us to reduce reliance on virgin material overall, but without gambling with the parts of the profile that homeowners, installers and fabricators actually see.”
This controlled approach is very different from simply blending recycled material into a base formulation. If recycled content is not carefully managed, variations in material density and composition can affect the extrusion process, leading to subtle differences in wall thickness, dimensions, gloss and surface quality.
For fabricators, those differences can create problems on the shop floor. Inconsistent profiles can make welding, alignment and foiling more difficult, increasing the risk of rework, waste and remedial action.
“Profile consistency matters because it affects everything that follows,” says Graham.
“If you have variation from one length to the next, fabricators have to compensate for it. That costs time, creates frustration and can affect the finished product. With ecotech, we are controlling the process so that sustainability and consistency work together.”
Sustainability without compromise
For installers and specifiers, the same principle applies once the product is fitted. The external face of a window or door is what the end-user sees every day, and it must continue to perform over the long term.
By retaining virgin material on all visible, weathered surfaces, aluplast protects the quality of the finish, supporting colour stability, durability and long-term aesthetics.
This is particularly important as the market moves towards more premium colours and finishes, including aluplast’s aludec and woodec foil options. A consistent, high-quality base profile helps deliver a cleaner, more uniform finish, reinforcing perceived value and supporting customer satisfaction.
“Homeowners do not want sustainability at the expense of quality,” adds Graham. “They want products that look good, perform well and last. That is the point of ecotech. It gives fabricators and installers a credible sustainability story, but one that still protects the quality message.”
A meaningful differentiator
Genuine co-extrusion requires investment, process control and technical capability. It is not the simplest way to use recycled content, but aluplast believes it is the right way.
For fabricators and installers, that creates a valuable commercial advantage. They can talk confidently about recycled content, knowing it has been engineered into the profile in a controlled, performance-led way, rather than added as a simple marketing claim.
“Responsible material use is only valuable if it works in the real world,” concludes Graham.
“Our role as a systems house is to make sustainability practical for our customers. With ecotech, we are giving fabricators and installers a product that uses recycled material intelligently, protects long-term performance and gives them a story they can stand behind.
“That is what genuine co-extrusion should deliver.”
For more information visit aluplast.co.uk
