Environmental Policy

For future generations

We, as Egepen Deceuninck, completed the studies, of which all European countries are liable to complete by the year 2015, before them on the basis of our environmental consciousness and aimed to leave a clean environment for our children as soon as possible. Therefore we took actions for the environment in 2004 with 100% recyclable TPE seals and completed the circle by starting to produce profiles with environmentally friendly calcium-zinc stabilizers: For today, tomorrow and after tomorrow… Free competition and free circulation deemed as one of the basic elements of European integration have made the joint ventures and a common policy in the issue of environment a necessity. EU’s environmental policy is of vital importance since environment is a global issue and it concerns closely both human kind and the future of our planet. Environmental issues have become very important in our country as well.

Most fundamental reasons to create a common environmental policy within European Union are the facts that environmental pollution does not recognize political borders and sustainability and improvement of natural living conditions in a healthier manner are required to increase the quality of life.

Taking account the effects of all products used in human life in terms of environment and human health and safety, new approaches are adopted in Europe and in the world. In this respect European Union has formed VINYL 2010 (The Voluntary Commitment of the European PVC Industry) since 2000. This committee is not only for the PVC manufacturers but also covers the industry that produces PVC additives as well as PVC. In this context, Australia declared that they would not accept plastic materials that contain heavy metals since the beginning of the 2008. It is also forbidden to use lead and similar heavy metals in PVC products in the USA.

ECVM (The European Council of Vinyl Manufacturers), ESPA ( The European Stabilisers Producers Associations) and EuPC (European Plastic Converters) within Vinyl 2010 Committee committed themselves to reduce the use of lead, known to be the most common among heavy metals on the basis of the consumption amounts of the year 2000 in the following rates:

  • A reduction of 15% in 2005
  • A reduction of 50% in 2010
  • A reduction of 100% in 2015

Vinyl 2010 (The Voluntary Commitment of the European PVC Industry) has banned the use of heavy metal Ba-Cd stabilizer in all European markets since March 2001. All PVC manufacturers followed the technological developments since 2001 and started to use lead-based stabilizers. With the increase of environmental consciousness and industrial developments Calcium –Zinc based stabilizers were developed as an alternative to lead-based stabilizers. As a result of this development, The Voluntary Commitment of the European PVC Industry named VINYL 2010 aimed to stop the consumption of lead stabilizer by the European consumers and instead use calcium-zinc stabilizer until the year 2015. This aim shall bring vast advantages in terms of its use, transport and storage in particular in compound manufacture. There are no adverse effects in terms of end users, but windows that are environmentally friendly and compatible to the environment and the European norms shall be manufactured.

There are many technological challenges in this transition. Since PVC is not a raw material that is used on its own, it is enriched by a variety of additives and made ready for industrial usage. Stabilizer has a significant place among those additives. That is why we can call it the foot stone of PVC compound. PVC profile moulds and production machines are always designed and manufactured in line with the composition created by this chemical texture. Changing of chemical structure bearing in mind the existing moulds and machine investments require very high technology, costs and know-how. That is why the transition period shall be completed even in the European countries over a wide span of time.

Egepen Deceuninck completed this process thanks to its experience in a very short time and started to use calcium zinc stabilizers in all its production of window and door profil