What is PVC and why is it harmful to the environment?
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) plastic, commonly known as "vinyl," over the last 20 years has emerged as one of the most popular and widely used plastics globally. It can be found in numerous essential and everyday items, from packaging, home furnishings, children's toys, vehicle parts, construction materials, footwear and countless other products. PVC has gained prominence in manufacturing because it’s so highly adaptable, readily available, and inexpensive to produce and purchase. However, with something so low-cost it often comes with a nasty side, and a heftier price tag long-term. In this case, that cheap, supposedly inoffensive section of PVC pipe work or vinyl play toy is doing more harm than good to our environment.
PVC, from its manufacturing process up to its disposal contributes to an onslaught of toxic pollutants dousing our planet and contaminating all life. While plastics as a whole pose serious threats to human health and the environment, most consumers do not realise that "PVC is the single most environmentally damaging of all plastics.” PVC based products have an average lifetime of 30 years, often reaching over 50 years. Today, this means since its inception more and more PVC products are reaching their end-of-life and ending up in our landfill. Unfortunately, this will only continue to increase unless we reduce PVC use. With the advancement of technology and increasing research, there are many better and safer alternatives to PVC, so there is no reason we cannot try and phase out the production of this poisonous material in the near future.
What makes PVC so harmful?
Chlorine
PVC takes the cake when it comes to using chlorine in its production, accounting for 35-40 percent worldwide. Whilst chlorine is a naturally occurring chemical element and has been an instrumental ingredient of modern construction materials and infrastructure developments (75 per cent of PVC produced in Australia is used in built environment applications), it is the basic component of our world’s major toxicity issues including CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) which breakdown the ozone layer, Agent Orange, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) pesticides. Chlorine-based toxins are constantly building up in the air, water and ending up in our food supply. Chlorine containing organochlorines, are resistant to breakdown and will remain in our environment for decades. According to environmental group, Greenpeace, scientific studies show that chlorine is linked to many devastating and severe global health issues, like infertility, immune diseases, delayed childhood development, hormone disruption and even cancer, to name a few.
For humans and animals, what is so worrying about organochlorines is that they are unable to be efficiently expelled from our bodies. Such compounds accumulate and take residence in fatty tissue, resulting in soaring contamination levels, and in some cases, millions of times higher than what is discovered in our environment. Unless we significantly reduce production of these compounds which use chlorine-based products like PVC, ultimately no one can escape them – we all have measurable amounts of chlorinated toxins in our bodies.
Dioxin
Dioxins are chemicals produced when household and industrial waste is burned, and is a by-product from some of the processes in the creation, utilisation and burning of chlorine-based chemicals. PVC is responsible for a greater share of the USA’s annual dioxin burden than any other industrial product, research has indicated. During the various stages of PVC production, high levels of dioxin are produced. As there has been a history of PVC used in medical waste and garbage. When fire burns down a building it is the melting of PVC construction materials that result in ash and soot, laden in dioxin, being released into the air.
Dioxin is known as one of the most toxic chemicals ever created. Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and World Health Organisation state there is no safe level of dioxin exposure and even small amounts can lead to serious health problems. So whilst dioxin levels in Australia are very low, the Australian Government has recognised the importance of reducing the number of dioxins released into the environment so as to prevent accumulation of the chemical in our food chains. In Australia, air emissions make up 96% of dioxins in the environment, with bushfires and burning agricultural stubble being the major sources.
Additives
PVC has gained the title of the most toxic plastic, as it must be combined with numerous additives to be able to give it the properties required. Such harmful additives include plasticizers (as phthalates), dangerous heavy metals stabilisers (like lead), fungicides, and other toxic chemicals. Additives found in PVC can wash off, being able to be passed into other materials or be transferred into the air.
Can PVC be recycled?
PVC is quite difficult to recycle, resulting in truly little of it being collected and processed in recycling centres. This is mainly due to PVC being comprised of many different formulations composed of various additives, making PVC products not easily separated for recycling.
In 2002 a new system called Vinyloop® had been developed which was able to separate PVC compounds from other materials, allowing it to be reprocessed into new products. Unfortunately, in 2018 the Italian based company had to cease operations due to tightening EU regulations, as their process could not remove low molecular weight phthalate plasticizers during recycling.
Europe is however still forging the way for a more sustainable use of PVC with programs, such as RecoVinyl and VinylPlus, to divert as much waste as possible from landfills. These initiatives of the European PVC industry are working toward advancing the sustainable development of PVC. Their goal is to improve production processes, minimise emissions and develop recycling technology.
Are there safer alternatives to PVC?
Thankfully, there are many natural and safer man-made material substitutes available that can fill the many uses and products that PVC has taken on. Alternatives for PVC include conventional materials such as clay, glass, ceramics, natural rubber, latex and linoleum. In those cases where traditional materials cannot be used as a replacement, even chlorine-free plastics are preferable to PVC. Such as recycled materials as rPET polyester, which is a cleaner option and removes disused plastic from landfill and in the oceans. The USA-based Center for Health, Environment and Justice has created a concise table of PVC-free alternatives for common uses. As consumers awareness grows and there is an increasing demand of PVC-free products, this will place immense pressure on governments, and corporations. Ongoing research and industrial changes are assisting plastic manufacturers, industrial workers, and communities toward a healthier future. Numerous companies and decision makers have enacted PVC restrictions and material substitution policies and are continuing to. In turn as there is momentum away from PVC, practical safer alternatives will become more affordable and viable.
What You Can Do
First and foremost, check the labels of the products you buy to see what they are made of. Where possible avoid buying items made of, or containing, vinyl/PVC.
Whenever possible, reduce your overall use of plastics. Many picnic mats and outdoor lifestyle products are made of virgin plastics and PVC. This why at Sol Seekers Australia we have opted to steer clear of PVC and toxic adhesives in our picnic mats. We see recycled plastic content fabric or rPET (recycled polyester) products as a better, and just as durable, alternative for our health and the environment.
If you aren’t sure what a product or a material is made of, please contact the brand or manufacturer to make this information available.
Spread the message about PVC, and demand for PVC-free products.