Ohio recycler Return Polymers triples PVC recycling capacity

Ashland, Ohio-based Return Polymers Inc., a PVC recycler and compounder, has completed a three-year expansion project to triple capacity as it aligns operations with the strategic direction of its parent company, Chicago-based decking manufacturer Azek Co.

The multimillion-dollar investment at Return Polymers included new grinder rooms, three open spaces and additional warehousing for incoming shipments and outgoing products.

Founded in 1994, Return Polymers collects rigid PVC, cellular PVC, chlorinated PVC, acrylics, Kydex-brand material and acrylonitrile styrene acrylate from partnerships with manufacturers, builders, dealers, lumberyards and other material recycling facilities.

Return Polymers processes more than 60 million pounds of recyclables annually, according to its LinkedIn profile.

The company handles the transportation logistics for the scrap PVC to its facility, where it is reprocessed into a sustainable PVC material that can be used to manufacture other products, such as Azek decking, Versatex-brand trim and Vycom-brand sheet products.

Azek announced it acquired Return Polymers in early 2020 to expand its recycling capabilities to include PVC in addition to polyethylene.

Now the subsidiary, which offers sorting, grinding, pulverizing, blending and pelletizing, is a big part of Azek's goal to recycle 1 billion pounds of PVC by the end of 2026.

Return Polymers is using social media and other marketing tools to find more partners with messages for manufacturers about increasing profits by using recycled vinyl scrap for new building products, such as siding, windows, fences, flooring and pipe.

One LinkedIn post says, "Shout it from the rooftops: The technology to recycle plastics is here, and we have to do everything we can to capitalize on it! Return Polymers is already working hard to recycle PVC; we just need more and more partners who are on board."

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