News

News Article

The UK-based Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) has announced it will be moving its triennial global conference, PVC 2021 to an online format.

Focusing on 'Success and Innovation in the Circular Economy', it will run as a fully interactive, virtual conference experience between 10 and 12 May 2021, with emphasis on delivering the exceptional engagement, networking and knowledge exchange between participants, for which the PVC conference series is renowned.

The Vinyl Council of Australia is again proud to partner with this leading event for the vinyl industry.

Usually staged in the UK, as a virtual conference this year, it offers a chance for more participants in the Australasian PVC industry to attend, with the possibility of creating a personalised schedule, networking with attendees (instant chat feature), visiting exhibitors and joining sessions at a click of a button. Registration offers on-demand access after the event and a book of detailed technical conference papers.

Dr Jason Leadbitter, Chair of the PVC organising committee and Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at Inovyn, says, ‘I’m delighted to see the relaunch and opportunity for a fully virtual event that provides a unique opportunity to have the highest-ever participation to either watch live or via immediate streaming. PVC 2021 presents a great opportunity – there is really no excuse to miss out on any presentation.’

PVC 2021 is the world’s leading conference on Vinyl and this year’s theme will focus on ‘Success and Innovation in the Circular Economy,’ with an impressive line-up delivering a current, comprehensive and wide-ranging technical programme with 60 papers covering seven technical sessions, with speakers and discussion opportunities in between.

IOM3 CEO Dr Colin Church CEnv FIMMM, says, ‘The PVC conference series is rightly praised for the extremely high standard of its technical content, and going virtual means this will be accessible for a wider audience than ever. Coupled with the exciting networking opportunities the virtual conference platform offers, PVC 2021 will be an unmissable event for all in the sector.’

Registration to attend PVC 2021 is now live. To find out more about this year’s event and to register, visit www.iom3.org/events-awards/pvc-2021.html

Published in News Archive

The PVC industry in Australia is crucial to the delivery of several essential services in the Australian economy.

Approximately three quarters of the local PVC industry is engaged in the manufacture and distribution of products for essential utility services including potable water, stormwater management and sewer services, energy and telecommunications delivery, plastics recycling and key construction products for major projects such as healthcare facilities.

Others in the sector produce essential processing chemicals and compounds, specialist food packaging and vital medical products, manufactured here in Australia.

The local industry directly employs over 2,500 people and contributes well over $3 billion to the national economy.  PVC products contribute to virtually every sector of the economy and it is vital that the industry remains operational through this Covid19 pandemic.

Nevertheless, the safety and well-being of the industry's employees and customers is paramount. Members of the Vinyl Council of Australia are implementing appropriate measures to protect their workers, contractors and customers from risk of exposure at their work places, and will continue to ensure the safety of their operations.

 

 

Published in News Archive

Global vinyl industry partnerships are driving progress in the sustainability of the Australian PVC industry, resulting in the creation of successful initiatives such as best practice manufacturing, product stewardship and recycling.

Sophi MacMillan, Chief Executive of the Vinyl Council of Australia and a member of the Global Vinyl Council, believes that partnership is ‘absolutely integral to the work that we do as an association focused on sustainable development of the industry’.

During a panel discussion at the recent VinylPlus Sustainability Forum 2019 held in Prague, Czech Republic, Sophi emphasised the importance of partnerships for sharing knowledge, experience and strategies with experts from all the regions of the vinyl world.

“Attending the Global Vinyl Council meeting and the European Vinyl Sustainability Forum provides a great opportunity to build connections across the industry beyond Australia and our region. For the Australian vinyl industry, which is a small market, partnerships have been essential to us to move forward, to be able to tap into the knowledge of people, particularly in Europe and the US.

“It’s these connections that help us to develop our voluntary, industry PVC Stewardship Program and our initiatives around recycling, as well as sharing ideas and best practice.”

The Vinyl Sustainability Forum, organised by VinylPlus, the voluntary sustainable development commitment of the European PVC industry, attracted more than 170 participants from 32 countries to share further progress towards advancing the sustainability of the industry and its products.

Sophi continued: “Europe’s VinylPlus program is a leader in striving towards sustainable goals across the whole vinyl industry supply chain. Here at the Vinyl Council of Australia we follow in their footsteps with our own PVC Stewardship Program that has driven continual improvement in the vinyl industry for 17 years. We see stewardship as being a shared responsibility, so it is about working with, not just industry members, but also stakeholders - particularly government and NGOs - and trying to establish constructive partnerships.

“It’s about being aware of different epistemologies – different ways of knowing – which can help us to remove blinkers, to understand and characterise issues and develop paths to address them.”

Nowhere is this more important than in addressing the need for the industry to engage in the circular economy. Sophi highlighted their successful PVC Recycling in Hospitals Program, which now has 175 hospitals across Australia and New Zealand participating in the collection of PVC medical products for recycling back into new products, and through collaboration, is being implemented in other countries such as South Africa, the UK and Thailand.

In Australia, partnering with medical devices manufacturer Baxter Healthcare, PVC recyclers, medical waste collection companies, state governments and health authorities has been essential to developing and successfully delivering the program.

Sophi added: “Collaboration with the nurses and midwives’ union has also been very helpful in terms of finding pathways to engage nursing staff and to develop training on which medical products are recyclable under the program.”

A further example was given of the Council’s partnerships with academia such as Monash University and manufacturers in the development of product concepts for vinyl recyclate.

The Vinyl Council would like to see such wider collaboration form between stakeholders, particularly end-user brands, in the broader plastics packaging space.

“By working together, we have more knowledge, more ideas and are better equipped to find solutions to seemingly intractable problems.”

Published in News Archive

Be a speaker at next year's national conference, PVC AUS 2022: Shared Horizons.

Taking place between 24-26 May 2022 at the Hilton, Surfers Paradise, Queensland, PVC AUS 2022 will gather leaders in the PVC value chain from Australia, New Zealand and the Asia Pacific region to share industry trends and developments specific to the manufacturing, use and re-use of vinyl in this region.

The conference will feature technical and case study presentations focused on regional collaboration and opportunities for innovation and PVC solutions for a sustainable, resilient society and circular economy. It provide participants with valuable insights on emerging challenges and directions for the regional markets.

Our speakers can expect to:
•    Connect with business leaders in the fast-growing Asia Pacific PVC industry
•    Influence industry development
•    Learn about emerging technologies and product innovation in this region.

Be part of this event by presenting a paper. Abstracts for presentations are now being accepted for the following conference themes:
•    New products, materials and additives
•    Manufacturing technology and technical advances
•    Market trends and opportunities for industry
•    Demonstrating sustainability and responsible manufacturing & supply chains
•    Case studies on Best Practice PVC and product stewardship
•    The circular economy for PVC
•    Regulatory developments shaping the industry

Presentations may take the form of papers with one or more speakers, panel discussions, or other formats. Papers must be original, featuring new or updated work that has not been presented (or scheduled for presentation) elsewhere. 

Share things you have seen and done, lessons you have learned, problems you have solved in a way you can engage the audience and foster discussion. If you have an idea for who you would like to see participate in an interesting panel session, let us know!

How to register your interest

  • Submit an abstract in English, in 300 words or less, clearly outlining the nature, scope, key points and significance of the proposed presentation.
  • State the paper’s title, the name and organisation of the author and presenter(s), and how it contributes to the key theme of 'Shared Horizons'.
  • Indicate the learning objective i.e what the audience will walk away with from your presentation.
  • Register your interest by 31 jan 2022 by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

NOTE: The invitation to submit an abstract or deliver a paper does not constitute an offer to pay presenter fees, travel or accommodation costs associated with PVC AUS 2022. However, successful applicants will receive discounted attendance to the conference, associated networking functions and conference documentation.

Opportunities to Sponsor

We will have a great range of sponsorship opportunities available at PVC AUS 2022, starting from $500. If your company is interested in being a sponsor to this event to tap into additional benefits of participating, please contact us to request package details:

E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
T: +61 (0)3 9510 1711

Published in News Archive

The Vinyl Council of Australia is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year amid on-going progress in guiding the continuous improvement and sustainable development of the Australian PVC industry.

Founded in 1998, the nation’s peak association for the PVC value chain has made great strides in changing perceptions and advancing the material’s sustainability over the past two decades.

Key achievements include the 2002 launch of the PVC Stewardship Program (PSP) that has been fostering advancements in innovation and sustainability throughout the Australian PVC industry, for both locally-made and imported products and the introduction of the Best Practice PVC third party accreditation scheme for products.

Recognised in rating tools such as Green Star and public and private procurement policies, Best Practice PVC requires strict compliance and has driven change through product global supply chains.

Acknowledged as one of the longest-standing product stewardship programs in Australia with a full life cycle approach, the PSP currently has 47 Signatories representing the majority of the Australian PVC industry. All are committed to driving positive measurable change in five key areas, such as transparency, resource efficiency and safe and sustainable use of additives.

The information and data collected through the program has helped inform industry and stakeholders, influence product design and ensure the Australian PVC industry continues to innovate.

Industry successes include the most stringent manufacturing benchmarks for raw material suppliers; a 98% reduction in lead additive use by Signatories since 2002; compliance by 90% of Signatories with the PVC Industry Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Charter; growing use of PVC recyclate in products placed in the market; research and development of innovative solutions for recycling PVC coated fabrics; and initiation of the recycling of medical devices. As the program evolves year to year, industry is driven to improve performance and reduce the environmental footprint of vinyl products along the entire value chain.

The Council’s thriving PVC Recycling in Hospitals program now operates in 160 hospitals throughout Australia and New Zealand, recycling more than 200 tonnes of high-grade PVC waste each year into new goods, such as playground mats and garden hose. Design of new product applications for the recyclate is currently being explored.

Vinyl Council Chief Executive Sophi MacMillan comments: “We have made major progress over the past two decades with some significant breakthroughs, both in how PVC is perceived and how it is increasingly being specified for sustainable applications. Through our ‘whole of life approach’ to PVC stewardship, today’s vinyl is a sound material choice.”

We have achieved this as an industry, continues Sophi, by ‘working together through a public voluntary commitment to address key aspects of the product life cycle based on credible science and life cycle assessments’.

As a low carbon and durable plastic, PVC provides solutions through its track record of stewardship, alignment with several global Sustainability Development Goals and its potential for circularity. Each tonne of recycled PVC will replace about one tonne of virgin PVC compound in new products, consuming 80% less energy and reducing carbon emissions.

In providing the platform to share information and engage with stakeholders, the PSP has developed partnerships and collaborations that are driving change through the industry and better understanding of supply chains for vinyl products placed on the Australian market.

Sophi adds: “In our 20th anniversary year, we are immensely proud of how far we’ve come on our continuous and evolving journey towards a circular economy for vinyl.”

Published in News Archive
Wednesday, 22 November 2017 01:19

Developing Affordable Passive Houses in Australia

A new house in a Melbourne suburban street has demonstrated that affordable Passive House construction looks within reach in Australia.

Until now passive houses were priced well beyond the means of ordinary Australians, and scared off both builders and home buyers. But retirees Sue and Peter, builder RMH homes, passive house certifier Grun Consulting, and uPVC windows supplier VUE Windows have produced an elegant, spacious home that looks like any normal new build. Unlike those normal new builds, however, the home will produce stellar results in terms of thermal comfort and energy efficiency. In doing so, they have opened the door to more affordable, comfortable, high performing homes in Australia.

The house features an expansive wall consisting of 32.45 square metres of uPVC double glazed windows and doors across the north-facing living and kitchen areas, including openable fanlight windows at ceiling height for purging hot summer air.

The argon filled double glazed uPVC windows achieve excellent insulation value of Uw 1.37 and a solar heat gain co-efficiency (SHGC) of 0.58, allowing winter sunshine to penetrate but not too much solar radiation in summer.

Read the full article about this house, published in Sourceable.net.

Published in News Archive

Floor and Wall Coverings

Vinyl floor coverings
PVC is the most common polymer used for sheet and tile flooring. Vinyl resilient flooring is widely used in Australian hospitals, schools, sporting clubs and commercial kitchens where slip resistance and high levels of safety and hygiene are required. It is hard wearing, warm underfoot, cost-effective and easy to keep clean as it has a pore-free surface.

Vinyl floors are low maintenance, need no polishing or treating and are hygienic and fire resistant. Sheets are joined together by heat welding which prevents water or moisture from seeping through gaps and therefore are ideal for wet floor areas such as in healthcare facilities.

Resilient vinyl flooring - both sheet and tile - has become a valued design tool for many interior designers and architects, particularly those designing for heavy-traffic locations such as retail stores, or for rooms where hygiene is especially important such as a hospital operating room.

Find out Why vinyl is the right choice for hospital flooring

Vinyl coated wall papers
Vinyl coated wallpapers and fabrics offer durable, long lasting, washable wall coverings.

The product is commonly made by applying a liquid coat of hot PVC over a paper base. Alternative types include those where a solid sheet of decorative vinyl is fixed to a paper backing, and those where fabric is laminated with a solid vinyl sheet.

All are easy to clean and resistant to heat and humidity making them a good choice for kitchens and bathrooms. They are also easy to strip from walls.

Use of vinyl wall coverings has had a resurgence for both residential and commercial interiors, driven by interior designers and architects seeking more original and exciting design options. The reasons for vinyl's growth are both aesthetic and practical - vinyl wallcoverings offer a wide range of finishes and colours with enhanced durability.

Published in Content Page