Building 56 in the Troisdorf Industrial Park, also known as the "House of Technology", was the control centre of HT Troplast AG for many years. Today, the building houses the administration of profine GmbH, one of the leading manufacturers of plastic window profiles.
To make the building fit for the future, the more than 200 old windows are currently being replaced with new heat-insulating plastic windows. This will significantly improve the energy balance and protect the environment. Of course, the ultra-modern profiles from profine are being used here.
However, the idea of sustainability also guides T-Park GmbH, the current owner of the industrial park, together with the window construction company ROLF Fensterbau GmbH from Hennef, when it comes to the old plastic windows that have been removed. After years of use, these are now being recycled via the nationwide system of Rewindo GmbH, Fenster-Recycling-Service, based in Bonn. In the process, the recovered raw material is used exactly where it actually came from: Old windows are turned into new ones.
In the new window profiles, the regranulate, coated with new PVC material, is then found as a recyclate core. The use of recycled profiles is now standard and the market for vinyl windows with recycled cores is growing steadily. All the recognised advantages of PVC windows, such as durability, stability, low maintenance, diverse design options and high recyclability, are retained in the recycled profile. In terms of technology and building physics, they are just as good as new, and recycled profiles also help to avoid harmful greenhouse gases. For example, each tonne of PVC recyclate used in profile production saves around 1.87 tonnes of CO2 compared to primary PVC. As a founding partner of Rewindo, profine is a key driver and user of these developments.
The material recycling of used plastic windows from Troisdorf is carried out in state-of-the-art recycling plants by the employees of Dekura GmbH from Höxter. Among other things, window frames and old roller shutters from Germany and Europe are recycled here. A tried-and-tested collection system with demand-oriented containers enables a fast and flexible takeover of the old material throughout the country. In the end, a PVC regrind is produced in the factory, which is used as a starting material for high-quality granulate. For the recycling experts from Höxter, however, their core business is not yet enough in terms of sustainability. By separating various metals and other fractions by type, other raw materials are also extracted from the old windows for recycling.
Dekura is one of the recycling partners of Rewindo, which has been organising the recycling of old plastic windows, roller shutters and doors nationwide since 2002 with growing success. In 2016, more than 29,000 tonnes of PVC regranulate were recovered. This corresponds to almost 1.8 million recycled old windows. In addition, there are more than 74,000 tonnes of production waste. Rewindo's tasks and measures are in line with the sustainability goals of the European PVC industry's voluntary commitment, VinylPlus.
