Recycling is very much in the frame right now. Sorry. But it is, and as a sector we need to start getting used to the idea of recycling all that we use, and selling more fenestration products that are made in part, or whole of recycled materials.
It’s not the sexiest topic to talk about, but social changes and much better awareness of the environment, climate change and damage to the planet is forcing the issue upon the window industry.
But to gauge the level of interest from the industry, I have been running a poll.
Would you sell/make more?
This is the question I have been asking people on Twitter for the past few days:
Would you be prepared to sell/manufacture more recycled fenestration products within the next five years?
— glazingblogger (@glazingblogger) June 19, 2019
There’s not as many votes on this poll as there usually is. A telling sign that people just don’t find this topic all that interesting. But, it’s as important as the skills crisis so we have to get to grips with it whether we like it or not.
Of those who have voted so far, the clear signal is that the industry is actually prepared to make more and sell more products that are made from recycled materials. That’s a good sign.
Still, there’s not long left in the poll to go, so please take a minute to vote on it so I can get as accurate a result as possible.
A huge opportunity
The other thing we need to remember when we talk about fenestration industry recycling is the immense opportunitues it is going to present to us over the coming years.
For example, the need to build more and more facilities to handle post-consumer waste. That means construction of those facilities and the people to run it. It means job creation and wealth creation.
There will be the need for more and more profile systems to be made from recycled materials, which means more research and development and people to source the post consumer waste to make the new recycled profile.
Much more glass needs to be recycled, so that part of industry will naturally expand over time and create more jobs and even new companies to help make that happen.
The point here is that there is money to be made here by taking a much more sustainable approach to making and selling windows and doors. There is much to do, a whole new industry and infrastructure to build, but those who start now are far more likely to be the biggest players in about ten years time.
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