Sustainability

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Our Sustainability Journey


Learn about our sustainability initiatives, our goals and our passion to be the leading sustainable pipe manufacturer in Australia.

 

 

 

Australian Plastic Pipes are Smart, Efficient, Sustainable

The Plastics Industry Pipe Association of Australia has developed extensive information on the sustainability of Plastic Pipe systems.

Vinidex is committed to being a leader in sustainability

 

What is Vinidex doing?

 

 

Vinidex Products Engineered to Last

Vinidex plastic pipes are long life, not single use.

  • Vinidex pipe systems can have a service life longer than 100 years

    Vinidex product manufactured to Australian standards for PVC, PE and PP pipes and fittings (listed below) are intended for long-term performance in these critical applications.

    By international convention, the long-term design point is 50 years. However, this design point should not be confused with actual service lifetimes.

    “By convention, plastics pipe systems are often designed to Australian Standards on the basis of 50 year extrapolated test data. This is established international practice but is not intended to imply the service life of pipe is limited to 50 years. For correctly manufactured and installed systems, the actual life cannot be predicted, but can logically be expected to be well in excess of 100 years before major rehabilitation is required.”

    AS/NZS standards

    • AS/NZS 4130 Polyethylene Pressure Pipe
    • AS/NZS 1254 PVC-U Pipes and Fittings for stormwater and surface water applications
    • AS/NZS 1260 PVC Pipes & Fittings for drain, waste & vent applications
    • AS/NZS 1477 PVC-U Pipe & Fittings for Pressure Applications
    • AS/NZS 4765 Modified PVC (PVC-M) Pipes for Pressure Applications
    • AS/NZS 4441 Oriented PVC-O Pipes for Pressure Applications
    • AS/NZS 2053.2 Conduits and fittings for electrical installations-Rigid plain conduits and fittings of insulating material
    • AS/NZS 2053.6 Conduits and Fittings for electrical installation-Profile wall, smooth bore conduits
    • AS/NZS 5065 Polyethylene and Polypropylene pipe and fittings
  • At the end of this long service life our Vinidex manufactured pipes and fittings can be fully recycled

    So after more than a 100 years of service life, our Vinidex pipes and fittings can be reused to manufacture new pipes and fittings. The initial polymer used in pipes and fittings can be reprocessed and could be providing clean water and energy to Australian communities in several hundred years time!

Vinidex products are designed for long life and are not single use. This long life comes from the durability of the plastic polymers combined with the engineered design of the pipes and fittings products.

  • Vinidex products are engineered for long life and made from materials that are designed to be Robust, Reliable and Recyclable

    The long life of Vinidex pipe comes from the durability of the plastic polymers combined with the engineered design of the pipes and fittings products.

    The stringent Australian Standards are designed to provide products which meet demanding customer specifications. Vinidex pipes provide clean water to our homes, convey sewage safely for treatment, channel stormwater, provide gas for homes and businesses or water reticulation under pressure for food and livestock, providing safe protection for electrical and communications cables, dealing with wastewater effluent from mines and many other areas.

  • Vinidex is proud to manufacture pipes and fittings in Australia which are engineered to exacting standards.

    Our conformance to these standards is externally validated and verified to Standardsmark, Watermark and other accreditations. Our Quality Policy entrenches our commitment to delivering quality, high-performance products and service. This policy is founded on the philosophy of continuous improvement and innovation in every aspect of our business, always with the aim to enhance customer satisfaction. We are a quality endorsed company with a quality management system certification to ISO 9001.

Delivering essential, everyday services and utilities

Complete systems and solutions to deliver essential services

Vinidex provides complete pipe systems and solutions which deliver clean drinking water to households and communities.

Vinidex delivers essential, everyday services and utilities

  • Building

    Plumbing, Electrical, Communications systems to provide:

    • Clean drinking water to our homes

    • Take away stormwater and sewerage safely

    • Recycled water capability

    • Protect cables which provide electricity to power our life and allow us to communicate

    • Provide safe gas reticulation into our homes and businesses

    • Provide specialised drainage systems for domestic homes and high rise living, offices, shops, warehouses, hospitals and schools

  • Infrastructure

    • Water supply including clean water to cities, towns and communities in houses,
    commercial buildings and parkways.

    • Carrying away Stormwater and sewerage safely

    • Drainage for road and rail projects

    • Recycled water

    • Protect cables which provide electricity to power our life and allow us to communicate
    • Safe gas reticulation into our homes and businesses

    • Specialised drainage systems for domestic homes and high rise living, offices, shops, warehouses, hospitals and schools

     

  • Rural & Irrigation
    Water supply and drainage for agriculture – crops, pastoral for livestock, food growth, parks and recreation to provide:

    • Water supply on farms for livestock and crops, fruit, vegetables, nuts, grapes for wine

    • Water conservation and diversion

    • Watering and drainage for recreation parks and reserves, golf courses, playing fields, landscape design

    • Drainage systems for rural landscapes

  • Mining & Industrial

    Facilitate the production of minerals which contribute to critical products and infrastructure in our industrialised world.

  • Gas

    Provides reticulation for gas for homes and for specialised industrial applications.

 

Plastic pipes are safe for households, communities, people and our planet

Vinidex pipes and fittings are safe for carrying drinking water and don’t corrode

Vinidex plastic pipes and fittings do not corrode and do not change the water chemistry.

The superior chemical resistance of Vinidex plastic pipes provides an essential way of safely conveying chemicals in aggressive environments. All Vinidex manufactured PVC, PE, PP pipes and fittings can be used safely when in contact with drinking water, as they are specifically tested to AS/NZS 4020. Download our statement of suitability.

Vinidex PVC, PE and PP manufactured products contain no heavy metals such as lead and cadmium, no phthalates; no dioxins and no BPAs.

Vinidex plastic pipes and fittings and manufacturing raw materials don’t pollute our waterways and oceans.

Vinidex is taking a leading role in Operation Clean Sweep® to reduce the risk of any plastic raw material loss into our waterways – read more

Vinidex has been manufacturing plastic pipes and fittings for over 60 years in Australia and led the way in the development of advanced material-efficient products such as Supermain® PVC-O.

Plastic pipes such as Vinidex Hydro® PVC-M and Supermain® PVC-O and PE are now the preferred choice in pressure water pipelines, due to their safety and superior performance.

Plastic pipes are the smart choice
– responsible and sustainable use of resources

Vinidex PVC, PE, PP pipes and fittings are fully recyclable

PVC, PE and PP pipes are thermoplastics and can be fully recycled. We internally recycle all manufactured scrap, so none of this goes to landfill.We can also take your old pipes and recycle them to make news ones. See more below on Recycling your pipes at Vinidex.

Vinidex is taking an active role in taking back old pipes, fittings or offcuts to recycle for reuse to give another long service life to the thermoplastic materials in these products.
We are also actively using post industrial and post consumer
recyclate for use in selected products.

Lower Carbon Footprint than alternatives

The manufacturing impact of plastic pipe production is low carbon and low emission. Plastic pipes have a lower embodied energy impact than other pipe system alternatives, outperforming other materials in life cycle analysis studies. See the PIPA website for comparison studies showing the lower carbon footprint of plastic pipe systems.

Vinidex undertakes life cycle analysis as part of our Environmental Product Declarations, which are independently verified.

Vinidex is committed to being a leader in sustainability

What is Vinidex doing?
As an industry leader, Vinidex recognises our responsibility to care for the environment and  create a more sustainable future for Australian communities. Here are the ways Vinidex is committed to being a leader in sustainability.

Vinidex is closing the loop

Vinidex has a dual objective when we work to “Close the loop”. We will always ensure our products are engineered for long life by manufacturing products to the appropriate standard, ensuring our customers’ expectations of long life are met, and then we will maximise the use of recycled material.

Recycling contributes to the circular economy by removing material from waste streams, provides a valuable engineered product solution in which to use the recyclate, and reduces carbon footprint through less use of virgin raw materials to make our products.
Here is what we are doing:

  • Recycling internal scrap and recycling old pipes from customer sites to re-use and make into new pipe and fittings
  • Investing to increase our capacity for handling, cleaning and sizing recycled plastic for re-use
  • Some Vinidex products including Draincoil® are made from 100% internal/external recycled plasticOur goal is to at least quadruple recycled content by 2025, while ensuring the long-life performance of our products.
  • Vinidex manufactured PVC, PE and PP pipes and fittings are 100% recyclable

    Plastic pipes and fittings are perfectly suited to the circular economy. PVC, PE and PP are thermoplastics and can be fully recycled. This means at the end of their long service life, the products can be reused as input to new pipe or fittings manufacture.

    Appropriate recycled material is cleaned and sized then added to the manufacturing process to produce new pipe or fittings.

  • Vinidex internally recycles (reuses) any scrap

    Vinidex reuses scrap from pipe and fittings manufacture. This scrap is appropriated sized for re-use and added back into manufacturing processes. Vinidex re-processes all in-house scrap from manufactured PVC, PE and PP pipe and fittings.

  • Vinidex uses recyclate from industrial and consumer sources

    Many people do not realise that Australian product standards prohibit the use of external recyclate in some products, such as certain pressure pipes. Vinidex will therefore not use external recyclate in these products.

    In selected products, Vinidex can use post-consumer recyclate or post-industrial recyclate from construction, demolition, commercial or industrial sources.

     

    We source material directly from material recycling facilities and sometimes directly from customers. Vinidex is reusing decommissioned pipes no longer needed, using packaging waste and offcuts from other industries to produce new pipes and fittings to industry standards.

    Some Vinidex products including Draincoil® are made from 100% internal/external recycled plastic.
    For more information and details on which Vinidex sites can take your pipe for recycling, please click here

  • Vinidex also reduces waste in the community by recycling external plastic waste. We are increasing recyclate use in our products

    We are recycling external waste bought in from building sites, reusing decommissioned pipes no longer needed, using packaging waste and offcuts from other industries and sourcing materials from material recovery facilities.
    But there are some limitations on the availability of recyclate. As the expected service life of many plastic pipe and fittings are in excess of 100 years, substantial volumes of product are still in their first lifecycle of use. Therefore, availability of old pipes for recycling has some limitations.

    Under Australian product standards, some products cannot use external recyclate, so we are actively targeting increased usage of recyclate in suitable products. External material recovery facilities are working to expand their ability to use and supply appropriately sorted, cleaned and sized materials and Vinidex is also expanding our capability to use recyclate for the right quality product outcome.

  • Recycling your plastic pipes at Vinidex sites

    Vinidex reduces waste in the community by recycling decommissioned, unused or offcut plastic pipes and fittings.

    Listed below are the Vinidex sites which used recycled PVC and PE.
    Please call Vinidex customer service on 13 11 69 for more information, so we can discuss your material and how we can help in recycling.

    Queensland:

    Vinidex Townsville – 18 Enterprise Avenue, Bohle QLD 4818   Polyethylene pipes
    Contact: 13 11 69 or sales@vinidex.com.au

    Vinidex Toowoomba – Lot 2 Witmack Road, Wellcamp QLD 4350   Polyethylene pipes
    Contact: 13 11 69 or sales@vinidex.com.au

    Vinidex Brisbane – 42 Perrin Place Salisbury QLD 4107   PVC and Polyethylene pipes
    Contact: 13 11 69 or sales@vinidex.com.au

    NSW

    Vinidex Sydney – Woodpark Road Smithfield NSW 2164   PVC pipes and Polyethylene pipes
    Contact: 13 11 69 or sales@vinidex.com.au

    Victoria

    Vinidex Melbourne – 231-245 St Albans Road Sunshine VIC 3020   PVC pipes and Polyethylene pipes
    Contact: 13 11 69 or sales@vinidex.com.au

    Western Australia

    Vinidex Perth – Sainsbury Road O’Connor WA 6163   PVC pipes and Polyethylene pipes
    Contact: 13 11 69 or sales@vinidex.com.au

Vinidex are leaders in innovation and development of sustainable products

Developing piping systems that improve industry solutions and provide a sustainable and innovative approach to existing pipeline needs.

Here is what we are doing:

  • Vinidex led the way in development of material efficient products (lower carbon footprint) such as Supermain® PVC-O and have recently released StormFLO® Civil and StormFLO® Rural, the latest in a long history of Vinidex sustainable innovations designed to better meet customer needs.

Vinidex is reducing the carbon footprint of products by efficient product design

Material efficient products reduce carbon footprint by using less material to achieve the same or superior custom engineered performance outcomes.  This produces savings in the use of raw materials, energy, transportation and installation costs. Vinidex material efficient products are highlighted below.

Vinidex PVC, PE and PP manufactured products contain no heavy metals, such as lead and cadmium, no phthalates, no dioxins and no BPAs.

 

  • StormFLO®

    StormFLO® Rural and StormFLO® Civil products are made using recycled PE whilst ensuring high quality, long service life and uncompromised performance.

    StormFLO® pipe systems are locally made in Australia to sAustralian Standards and international standards which specifically address the effect of recyclate on product quality. As well as being manufactured using recycled PE, StormFLO® pipes and fittings are 100% recyclable at the end of life supporting a circular economy.

  • Supermain® PVC-O

    Vinidex Supermain® oriented PVC pressure pipe is the most technically advanced PVC pipe available. Molecular orientation means PVC-O is double the strength of PVC-U or PVC-M material with significantly improved impact and point load resistance. The higher strength means around 50% less material is required for the same pressure class, reducing carbon footprint and giving the lowest embodied energy of any reticulation pressure pipe system (confirmed by the CSIRO). Supermain® is the high-performance, cost-effective pipe material choice for pressure applications.

  • Vinidex Hydro® PVC-M

    Vinidex Hydro® PVC-M is a modified PVC suitable for pressure applications for potable water, irrigation, fire fighting and some general industrial applications, with enhancements in fracture behaviour and hydraulic efficiency. Depending on size and class, Vinidex Hydro® offers weight savings in excess of 10% over normal PVC.

  • Corflo®

    Vinidex Corflo® is high-performance double-wall PVC pipe with a smooth internal bore and corrugated exterior for electrical and communications applications

     

  • StormPRO®

    Vinidex twin walled corrugated StormPRO®  stormwater pipe is a materially efficient and sustainable solution for stormwater and drainage applications in road, rail, infrastructure, mining, rural and land development.

Vinidex manufactures Best Environmental Products

Vinidex products are carefully designed from start to finish with a high focus on sustainability.

Here is what we are doing:

  • Our manufactured PVC pipe, fittings, PE and PP pipe are made to the best environmental standards.
  • All Vinidex manufactured pipe and fittings are compatible with drinking water. All Vinidex manufactured PVC, PE, PP pipes and fittings can be used safely when in contact with drinking water, as they are specifically tested to AS/NZS 4020. Download our statement of suitability.
  • Vinidex manufactures PVC pipe and fittings are Best Environmental Practice PVC (BEP PVC)
  • Vinidex manufactured PVC, PE and PP pipes and fittings are made in Australia to Australian standards
  • Vinidex is also a signatory to the PVC Product Stewardship program
  • Vinidex PVC is accredited to Best Environmental Practice PVC (BEP PVC) standards

Download the Vinidex BEP PVC certificates

  • What is BEP PVC?

    The Best Environmental Practice standards cover criteria which addresses the environmental impacts associated with the manufacture and end life management of PVC products.

  • Why BEP is important?

    The Best Environmental Practice (BEP) PVC criteria were originally determined by the Green Building Council of Australia in consultation with industry bodies and were subsequently included in Australian product standards for PVC pipes and fittings. The criteria cover the environmental impacts and health risks associated with the manufacture and end life management of PVC products used in buildings. They include strict minimum compliance requirements for PVC supply chain constituents, PVC resin production, PVC product manufacture and end of life management – recycling.

    Vinidex is proud to manufacture PVC pipes and fittings in Australia to the BEP PVC requirements.

  • Vinidex PVC pipe and fittings are made to the highest standard
    • Vinidex PVC pipe and fittings are rigid and have no phthalates
    • No heavy metal stabilisers. Therefore, no lead, cadmium or mercury-based compounds are added to Vinidex PVC pipe or fittings.
    • Australian PVC pipe standards set the lowest VCM thresholds of any National Standards worldwide at 1ppm
    • No dioxins in PVC pipe
    • Vinidex has responsible sourcing of raw materials, best practice manufacturing, fully independent third party certification compliance and easier identification of compliant products.

Vinidex has Independently verified Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)

Download Vinidex EPDs

 

  • What is an EPD?

    “An EPD® (Environmental Product Declaration) is an independently verified and registered document that communicates transparent and comparable information about the life-cycle environmental impact of products.” – The International EPD® System

  • Vinidex EPDs

    Vinidex has published a number of EPDs to cover our range of pipe and fittings products. These EPDs have been produced and independently verified in accordance with ISO 14025 and EN 15804 and are registered with the Australasian EPD Programme.

    These EPDs cover:

    • Product information, content declaration, product life cycle assessment, environmental assessment of performance, health assessment, assessment of recyclability potential, and product specifications.

    Vinidex published EPDs:

Vinidex is changing our product packaging – less packaging and better environmentally

Here is what we are doing:

  • The Vinidex well-known white box packaging has been replaced with unbleached boxes containing recycled content.
  • Vinidex has changed the way we pack our fittings, removing excess plastic bagging in a number of products
  • Customers are requested to dispose of packaging with local waste recyclers
  • Vinidex are able to take back timber pallets nationwide to reuse for future deliveries.

Over 2020-2021 Vinidex has taken back over 14,000 pallets returned from our customers to reuse for product deliveries

We aim to achieve 100% renewable electricity to power our manufacturing plants by 2025.

And we aim to reduce our CO2 per tonne of production by 75% by 2025.

Vinidex is taking a leading role in improvements environmentally

Here is what we are doing:

  • We actively prevent the loss of plastic pellets into our waterways – zero pellet loss is our goal.
  • We take a leading role in industry sustainability programs and developing product standards for the future
  • Continuously auditing our waste amounts and energy usage to reduce waste and energy consumption across all our sites
  • Site programs are also focused on reducing water usage and external waste in manufacturing and distribution
  • What is the PVC Product Stewardship Program?

    The PVC product stewardship program is a voluntary initiative to recognise and address all environmental issues facing the Australian PVC industry

  • Signatories to Product Stewardship

    Signatories to the Product Stewardship Program undertake to meet binding commitments in a given time frame covering a wide range of environmental initiatives including production of raw materials through manufacture of products, their use and subsequent recycling or disposal, energy efficiency and greenhouse emissions, additives and end-of-life management.
    Vinidex is has been a signatory to the Australian PVC industry’s Product Stewardship Program since its foundation in 2002

    Significant progress has been achieved in product changes. Heavy metal stabilisers and additives containing lead and cadmium were phased out and replaced by alternatives many years ago. Strategies to advance recycling of PVC in Australia have been formulated and implemented. Environmental Management Systems have been adopted and “life cycle thinking” approaches promoted.

    Vinidex has been awarded a number of PVC Stewardship Excellence Awards, and successively for the last 5 years. This award certifies that Vinidex met 100% of the Australian PVC industry’s Product Stewardship commitments.

  • Vinidex was a founding member of the Green Building Council of Australia

    Vinidex has actively contributed to increasing standards of sustainability of the built environment.

    The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has a set of building rating tools (Green Star) that evaluate the environmental design and construction of buildings. Green Star has achieved widespread acceptance by developers and government.

    Early versions of the Green Star ratings tool contained a PVC minimisation clause. However a review in 2010 found that significant improvements had been made on the Australian PVC industry.

    “A rigorous PVC literature review revealed that where international opposition to PVC remained it was based on historical industry practices which had led to unacceptable health risks and/or environmental impacts. These concerns did not take into account the significant achievements within the PVC industry in recent years, particularly in Australia and Europe, to reduce the environmental and human health risks previously associated with PVC building materials. In addition, these concerns did not reflect the findings of independent scientific assessments, as well as comparative risk and impact studies, between PVC and non-PVC alternative materials.”1

    Download the full report from the GBCA website

  • Vinidex is a partner in Operation Clean Sweep® Australia

    Vinidex is now an official partner and part of Operation Clean Sweep® and Aliaxis globally has adopted the program. Plastic products, mainly single use plastics from packaging or various plastic containers, make over 70% off marine debris that are floating in our oceans. There is significant community concern about plastics in our waterways.

    Although not a major source of waterways contamination, Operation Clean Sweep® in an industry program focused on the loss of plastic resin pellets both in transportation & manufacturing process thought out the plastics industry. By participating in Operation Clean Sweep® we are making a contribution to protecting our waterways. Zero pellet loss is our goal!

    Operation Clean Sweep aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, in particular goal 14 life below water.

  • Continuing to improve the way we use energy and natural resources

    Vinidex is committed to continue to improve the way we use energy, natural resources and how we process waste to reduce any impacts that may contribute to environmental issues by committing to:

    • External waste reduction
    • Reduced energy usage
    • Reduced water usage

    Vinidex is a consumer of electricity and consumption of this energy resource is directly related to production output. We have actively sought ways to reduce our consumption of electricity without adversely affecting production or product quality. A number of key performance indicators such as energy consumed per tonne of product manufactured are used by Vinidex to continually monitor consumption in the production process and help us see where improvements can be made. In addition to our manufacturing process, upgrades at our facilities have reduced our energy consumption.

    Vinidex continuous improvement programs in areas such as reduction of waste from our manufacturing and distribution sites have resulted in significant reductions – for example, three major sites over a number of months in 2019 reduced dry waste removed from sites by 30-40% compared with 2018.

For further information on our Sustainability practices, initiatives and research contact Vinidex here.

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