Flexible foams group Vita joins Dow mattress recycling initiativeDow plans to recycle the foam from around 200,000 mattresses each year (Photo: Dow)
Dow (Horgen / Switzerland;
www.dow.com) is collaborating with flexible PU foams company
The Vita Group (Luxembourg;
www.thevitagroup.com) for the production of flexible PU foams made from post-consumer waste mattresses. The collaboration is part of Dowâ??s â??Renuvaâ? mattress recycling programme (see Plasteurope.com of
30.07.2020).
Dow said this collaboration allows a chance to close the loop for post-consumer mattresses. As previously announced, French furniture collection organisation
Eco-mobilier (Paris;
www.eco-mobilier.fr) plans to supply post-consumer PU mattress foam for chemical recycling to Franceâ??s first industrial-scale production plant, which is operated by
Orrion Chemicals Orgaform (Semoy / France;
www.oc-orgaform.com).
Vita seeks to produce flexible PU foams made from Renuva polyols, which are created from the recycled mattress content. The company plans to start using the polyols at its ICOA production site in Crancey / France in early 2021. Vita will also work with its customers and mattress brands in the French and European markets to promote the foam for new mattresses and explore applications in other product areas.
Ana Haracemiv, EMEAI commercial VP at Dow Polyurethanes, said Vitaâ??s market experience and a focus on sustainability are expected to accelerate the industryâ??s creation of a circular economy for flexible PU foams. The Renuva mattress recycling programme aims to recycle up to 200,000 mattresses a year in France and help address the problems of waste landfilling and incineration.
Ian Robb, Vitaâ??s CEO, said, â??We are committed to being pioneers in the development of a circular economy within our industry, where post-consumer flexible PU foams will be recycled into new raw materials for use in our manufacturing processes to produce new-quality foams.â?19.10.2020 Plasteurope.com [246097-0]