Cyclyx International, a consortium-based, post-use plastic innovation company with a mission to increase the recyclability of plastic from 10% to 90%, has welcomed the Vinyl Institute (VI) to the Cyclyx Consortium.

Founded in 1982, the Vinyl Institute represents manufacturers in the vinyl industry. In the US alone, the industry accounts for 3,000 manufacturing facilities and 350,000 employees, and has a $54bn economic valuation.

VI describes plastic vinyl material as "the material for life", as it is used in fields including packaging, building and construction, water delivery, medicine and transportation.

It can be widely recycled: 1.1bn pounds of PVC (polyvinyl chloride) are recycled annually in the US and Canada. PVC manufacturers divert pre-consumer scrap from landfill and the roofing industry recycles large volumes of post-consumer material.

A big focus and goal for the VI and the vinyl industry is the recycling of installation scrap, post-use waste and end-of-life materials.

As a new member of the Cyclyx Consortium, the VI is looking to help the industry achieve its goal of recycling 160 million pounds of post-consumer PVC by 2025.

VI CEO Ned Monroe commented: “Tapping into the Cyclyx Consortium’s network will allow more post-consumer PVC to be recycled. We look forward to collaborating on new ways to innovate recycling.”

Cyclyx vice-president of membership and engagement Ron Sherga added: “We look forward to working together to collect more vinyl materials from a wide range of industries, divert these materials from landfill and ultimately increase recycling across the vinyl collective.”

In late 2023, Cyclyx announced that it is building its first circularity centre in Houston, US.