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More than 1.1 billion pounds of pre- and post-consumer PVC / vinyl materials are recycled annually in the U.S. and Canada, and post-consumer recycling continues to grow thanks to industry efforts. 

According to the Vinyl Institute’s most recent recycling data, more than 1.1 billion pounds of PVC is recycled in the US and Canada annually. Just about 10% of this is post-consumer. The VIABILITY grant program is also working to increase that post-consumer number and has had great early successes in some of its funded programs.

Sortation is a prerequisite for successful recycling of all plastics. This is because polymers differ in melting point and other properties. In modern sorting plants, the different types of plastics – including PVC – are sorted into the separate streams for further processing and use in new products. Successful recycling begins, and hinges on, proper infrastructure being put in place to properly sort materials. 

For most PET washing recycling plants, controlling the concentration of PVC in the PET flakes produced is essential. This is because PVC tolerance is ultimately determined by the end-use application. While some applications can tolerate higher levels of PVC concentrations, most high-end applications (such as producing top-grade polyester fibers) require PVC concentrations to be well below 50ppm. Hence, in order to sell to high-end users at premium prices, PET recyclers must make extra effort to remove PVC from the PET flakes produced.

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PVC pipe does not produce benzene during open-air combustion, including wildfires. Wildfires would not impact any water and sewer infrastructure pipe that is buried to a sufficient depth underground; it is insulated from heat generated above ground.

Dioxins can be generated during combustion when chlorides are present.  Chlorides are widely found in nature in various forms of salt, so the largest contributors to dioxins are unregulated sources, such as forest fires, volcanoes, and burning of wood.  The chlor-vinyl chain, including PVC resin production represents less than 0.2% of all U.S. dioxin releases. This is an order of magnitude lower than heavy equipment (~2%), industrial wood burning (~3%), and diesel trucks (~5%). Dioxins are not released from PVC products such as pipes during their normal use, when being recycled, or when disposed into a landfill.  

VI estimates approximately 4% of PVC resin is used in packaging applications.  The data we rely on includes the annual ACC resin review, MRF residual stream characterization studies, and EPA data on plastic packaging.  The 4% figure represents approximately 270,000 MT of PVC used in packaging, which, according to EPA, would be less than 2% of all plastic containers and packaging, and less than 0.1% of all municipal solid waste. 

The North American PVC market has not used lead or cadmium stabilizers since alternative stabilization methods were introduced in the 1970s. The PVC industry in the EU voluntarily phased out cadmium- or lead-based stabilizer systems in 2001 and 2015, respectively, and replaced them with (organo-)tin-, barium- and zinc–calcium-based systems. The conversion rate from lead to calcium-based stabilizers globally has moved from around 40% to 80% since 2017. This is partly due to bans on their use in drinking water pipes in India and China, as well as increased global exchange of knowledge and technology in the PVC field. Cadmium is only used in very limited quantities in PVC worldwide to meet challenging military and defense specifications, making it difficult to obtain accurate tonnage data. The shift away from lead and cadmium is reflected in several vinyl industry stewardship programs, including +Vantage Vinyl (USA), VinylPlus (EU) and Vinyl Council of Australia.  

In PVC production, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are not directly used as raw materials in the manufacturing processes themselves. However, polymeric PFAS are present in equipment and materials used in production due to their unique properties such as durability in extreme conditions. For example, polymeric PFAS are used in membranes and asbestos-free diaphragms for electrolysis, gaskets and lined pipes or vessels, all of which are critical components in the production process for chlor-alkali and further for PVC. It should be noted that PFAS are widely used throughout society, in sectors such as aviation, transport, medical devices, energy, electronics, architecture and construction, textiles, food and medicine. For many of these sectors, PFAS’ ability to perform under extreme conditions makes them difficult to replace. 

In the US, the phasing out of DEHP with safer alternatives is already a reality in many applications. One challenge is blood bags, where PVC plasticized with DEHP has been the only solution since the 1950s to ensure a blood shelf life of up to 49 days (based on certain European regulations). This long shelf life is vital, especially for patients with rare blood types.  The other main reason DEHP is used in medical devices is basic mechanical performance, especially when under cold conditions such as when blood is stored in a refrigerator.  Blood bags must survive the basic impact of nurses handling them, and cold impact strength of flexible PVC bags is enhanced with DEHP.