Vinyl flooring specialist and South African Vinyl Association (SAVA) member Polyflor SA continually develops and improves formulations for all flooring ranges to ensure that volatile organic compound (VOC) emission levels are kept to the lowest possible levels, with no significant negative contribution to indoor air quality.

VOCs are gasses released from materials, such as paints, adhesives and cleaning products in buildings.

“When planning and designing these buildings, extra care is taken with the building specifications to ensure that international criteria are met,” says SAVA CEO Adri Spangenberg.

All Polyflor SA products are manufactured in the UK and meet all European VOC emission guidelines. The best reference for VOC emissions is the Indoor Air Comfort gold accreditation which is the most widely recognised certification globally.

“While there are many different regulations in Europe, there are also various certification schemes that set the requirements for VOC emissions. The ISO:16000 test method is accepted for the different schemes and regulations, and only the limits or requirements within each country vary.”

Spangenberg states that, locally, architects and designers are increasingly following international guidelines regarding VOC emissions, especially in public buildings.

Polyflor SA’s flooring products meet the AgBB health-related evaluation procedure for VOC emissions from building products, the FloorScore certification, the Collaborative for High Performance Schools criteria in the US and California 01350 specification for special environmental requirements.

Spangenberg adds that, this in addition to low VOC emissions, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) flooring provides multiple benefits for healthcare, industrial, commercial and domestic uses.

She tells Engineering News that PVC is a cost-effective, multifaceted and a much-used material, owing to its functionality and performances in multiple applications.

“The composition of PVC makes it extremely practical and durable, with a life span of more than 20 years, if correctly maintained. PVC flooring is energy efficient to manufacture and uses less energy to produce than other plastics.”

Moreover, she states that vinyl flooring is 100% recyclable and can be recycled many times over without losing any performance properties. “Recycled vinyl requires 85% less energy to manufacture than virgin PVC and, if not recycled, vinyl waste products can be safely incinerated while generating energy recovery.”

With its easy maintenance, long life span, low VOC emissions and recyclable qualities, PVC flooring is contributing to a greener and more sustainable environment, Spangenberg concludes.