The rise of high-quality recycled PVC in street and road works Oxford Plastics

Street and road works are often unavoidable, carrying out essential improvements to road networks can ensure safer and better journeys - but there’s no denying the potential inconvenience to the general public. For many companies, a major consideration in carrying out these works is ensuring they are as unintrusive, environmentally-friendly and convenient as possible. Organisations across a multitude of sectors will need to consider workforce used, when maintenance is carried out, impact on surrounding roads, safety and much more in order to meet this aim. 

 In the experience of ​Oxford Plastics​, a key element of ensuring works are completed as planned, is considering materials used on site. Making sure the right products are to hand, will function as required and can ease any potential inconvenience is key.

What’s the risk of not considering materials used on site?

Depending on the job, a range of materials and products may be required - whether it’s ground protection, barriers, signage or cones, to name a few. The quality and availability of these materials can be the difference between a job being completed on schedule and severe delays. 

Materials that aren’t fit for the job are more likely to break, not stand the test of time and cause injury or delays on a site. Keeping the public and workforce safe is of the utmost importance and having materials and products that guarantee this safety is crucial. Considering products that are lightweight, easy to install and transport, while also withstanding increased amounts of pressure will help to ensure safety, convenience and efficiency. 

Environmentally-friendly work sites 

When planning essential works, environmental factors are increasingly important. Adopting environmentally friendly materials and practices on-site is no longer an optional extra, but required by policy. While using plastic materials is often unavoidable, there are options available that are not only durable but also reusable and don’t contribute to landfill - such as recycled PVC. 

Recycled PVC not only reuses plastic materials, but has many other environmental and legislation benefits too - saving up to 90% more energy than virgin PVC. Increasing the traceability of plastic material across the EU is growing in importance, encouraging a circular economy when it comes to plastic usage. Compliant suppliers are required to comprehensively report on the journey of plastics - including end-destinations. 

As technology continues to improve, we can expect to see developments in the traceability of plastic materials, making it easier to track and report on where materials end up - helping with industry and government communications. 

Strong, quality materials

While recycled materials are encouraged on sites, not all are made the same. Ensuring high-quality suppliers and durability of products remains key. After all, products that aren’t built to last will have little contribution to a circular network. As recycled PVC is both highly durable and efficient in nature, it’s a good choice in replacement of single-use materials or depleting natural resources. 

When working with recycled PVC, using materials from quality suppliers ensures that you’re not only getting a great product with longevity, but also making sure your site is as environmentally-friendly as possible. Working with a supplier that provides comprehensive details on product specs can help you plan your work site efficiently - based on product performance. 

About recycled PVC

PVC’s advanced mechanical recycling properties, combined with the large volumes of waste available, make it a well suited material to recycling for work site products. Recycled PVC production saves up to 90% more energy than virgin PVC production, preventing a substantial amount of greenhouse gases, contributing to the preservation of natural resources and reducing landfill volumes of PVC. PVC can be recycled up to eight times. 

 Oxford Plastics​ provides quality materials for a range of work sites, across a multitude of industries. Putting safety, quality and sustainability at the forefront of products, Oxford Plastics works with a number of customers to create productive, safe working sites that keep everyone happy. Recycled PVC is used in a variety of products across the Oxford Plastics range, in efforts to ensure materials are as environmentally friendly as possible. 

Oxford Plastics has been manufacturing with recycled PVC since 1985, today 95% of Oxford Plastics products are made from recycled materials. Manufacturing processes have been developed over 30 years to ensure the highest quality and manufacture, purpose-led design.