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PVC: THE POISON PLASTIC

PVC is a commonly used plastic found in baby shampoo bottles,packaging, saran wrap, shower curtains and thousands of other products yetthere is little public awareness of its serious health and environmental impacts.

Inthe U.S., an estimated 300 billion pounds of longer-lasting PVC products, suchas construction materials that last 30 to 40 years, will soon reach the end of their useful life and require replacement and disposal. As much as 7 billion pounds of PVC are discarded every year in the U.S. PVC disposal is the largest source of dioxin-forming chlorine and phthalates in solid waste, as well as a major sourceof lead, cadmium and organ tins-which pose serious health threats. Short-livedproducts account for more than 70% of PVC disposed in America's solid wastewith 2 billion pounds discarded every year, including "blister packs" and other packaging, plastic bottles and plastic wrap. PVC was promoted in industries as areplacement of metals. Therefore its use increased in all types of industries veryrapidly. But side effects are so dangerous that we should avoid its use.

SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS OF THE FIVE EU STUDIESPVC WASTES ON THE INCREASE

:The amounts of PVC wastes are projected to increase more than80% over the next 20 years, from 4.1 to 7.2 millions tones/year. Almost 90% of these wastes are post consumer wastes.

CONSUMPTION OF PVC IN EUROPE

The consumption of final PVC products according to applicationsectors in Europe and in some Member States is shown below:

Europe Austria Germany Denmark FranceBuilding 53 % 81 % 60 % 69 % 50 %Packaging 16 % 2 % 11 % 8 % 30 %Electronics/cable 9 % 8 % 8 % 8 %Transport/cars 3 % 4 % 4 % 6 %Furniture 3 % 2 % 3 %Others 16 % 3 % 14 % 23 % 6 %

Source: Europe, Austria, Germany (AgPU, 1997), Denmark (Moeller et al., 1996),France (PVC working Group, 1999)

INCINERATION – MAKING THINGS WORSE

: Incineration of 1 kg of PVC in the EU creates on average 0.8-1.4 kgof

hazardous

wastes (in incinerators with non-wet flue gas treatment) and 0.4-0.9kg of residues in liquid effluent (in incinerators with wet flue gas treatment).Hazardous waste from PVC incineration will also be more likely to contaminatethe environment, as PVC increases the amount of leachates and leach able saltsin this waste significantly. Incineration of PVC creates additional costs between20-335 Euro/tonne. PVC is responsible for 38 to 66% of the chlorine content inMunicipal solid waste. The formation of dioxins due to PVC has been beyond thescope of the study. Diverting PVC from incineration always leads toenvironmental improvements. Nevertheless, PVC incineration is estimated toincrease more than fivefold over the next 20 years in a business-as-usualscenario, from currently 0.5 million tones/year to 2.6-2.9 million tonnes/year.

DON'T BURN IT: THE HAZARDS OF BURNING PVC WASTE

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More than 100 municipal waste incinerators in the U.S. burn 500 to 600million pounds of PVC each year, forming highly toxic dioxins andreleasing toxic additives to the air and in ash disposed of on land.

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Open burning of solid waste, which contains PVC, is a major source of dioxin air emissions. Backyard burning of PVC household trash isunrestricted in Michigan and Pennsylvania, partially restricted in 30 statesand banned in 18 states.

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The incineration of medical waste is being steadily replaced by cleaner non-burn technologies.

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When burned, PVC plastic forms dioxins, a highly toxic group of chemicalsthat build up in the food chain, can cause cancer and harms the immuneand reproductive systems.

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PVC is the leading contributor of chlorine to four combustion sourcesmunicipal solid waste incinerators, backyard burn barrels, medical wasteincinerators and secondary copper smelters that account for an estimated80% of dioxin air emissions (USEPA).