Recycle Frames … For Free!

Installers are being offered free disposal and recycling for PVC-U windows across the UK within the REHAU UK FENSA Recycling Scheme.

More than 7,000 window frames have been collected and recycled through REHAU's involvement in the scheme since it launched in February 2026.

Run through REHAU's recycling division, PVCR, the scheme gives installers a free, compliant route for their end-of-life PVC-U frames for those who want to save on waste disposal costs and support sustainability in the fenestration sector.

Since February it has drawn 60 enquiries and brought 35 new customers into the collection network, many of them moving to regular weekly collections rather than one-off drops.

The scheme also provides an easy way for installers to improve their sustainability credentials and carbon footprint, at no additional cost to the business.

The 7,000 frames are material kept out of landfill and, in REHAU's case, returned to production through their closed-loop system.

Old for new

Frames collected from installers are brought back to PVCR's plant in Runcorn, where they are shredded and cleaned through multiple sorting stages into a fine white granulate. That material then travels to REHAU's manufacturing site in Blaenau Ffestiniog, where it becomes recycled compound used in the core of new REHAU window profiles. Old windows, in effect, become new ones.

Whole country covered

PVCR collects across the whole of the UK, through a network of satellite hubs where frames are stored before transport to Runcorn.

It is a simple process where PVCR will collect your old (deglazed) windows from site removing them via recycling vehicles. Each collection is covered by a waste carrier's licence and waste transfer note, ensuring installers have documented proof that their waste has been dealt with correctly. This point is incredibly important, as liability for fly-tipping frames lands on the installer who produced them, rather than the company that collected them.

In the loop

Ian Ward, Purchasing Manager at PVCR, said: "This has been a really successful launch. The numbers are only part of the story. Every frame we collect through FENSA is material we secure directly, clean and put back into new REHAU windows, which is exactly the closed loop the industry keeps talking about.

"What I would say to installers is that this is really simple to get involved with, it’s free and it gives you the paperwork to prove you are doing the right thing. We collect nationally, so wherever you are, we can almost certainly reach you. The more installers who join us, the more old windows we can keep out of landfill and turn into new ones."

Growing

REHAU expects the scheme to build steadily and projects it could recycle in the region of 25,000 to 30,000 windows over its first full year. That predicted expansion accompanies the consistent investment into PVCR's recycling capacity, as REHAU works to keep more of its material within its own supply chain.

For more on the FENSA Recycling Scheme and how to take part, visit the FENSA installer portal and navigate to the benefits page or see PVCR on the link below.

Picture: Old window frames are shredded and then used in the production of new frames.

fensaonline.com

www.pvcr.co.uk