Cladding
PVCu & Vinyl Cladding
PVC or polyvinyl chloride or vinyl is a plastic that is well known to all of us from plastic containers to bank- and membership cards or records. PVCu is also a type of plastic, however with the difference that it is un-plasticised. While PVCu is slightly better for the environment as it is un-plasticised both are made of finite resources and not biodegradable. We do believe there is an opportunity with PVCu cladding- it should be possible to produce those out of 100% recycled material. This would keep more plastic away from landfills or other ways of disposal for longer and minimise the amount of plastic created in the first place. Currently we are not aware of any manufacturers in NZ using 100% recycled materials.
PVCu likely emerged due to lower purchase and maintenance costs. There have been different reports regarding weathering of PVCu, some stating that PVCu looks like what it is in time- plastic.
Advantages of PVC, PVCu or vinyl cladding:
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Does not degrade or require maintenance
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Can be recycled to its base plastic form
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PVCu doesn't warp or change shape over time
Disadvantages of PVCu or vinyl cladding:
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PVCu and PVC are made from oil- a limited resource at present
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While it can be recycled a lot of energy is required to recycle it, creating more CO2 emissions
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Plastic tends to end up in our ocean or landfill eventually- being bad for natural organisms
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PVCu and PVC can become often brittle and discolor over time, which can make it look cheap
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The true cost to us is different from the purchase price as the cost of damage after the product is a weatherboard is not calculated into the price
