PVC AND THE ENVIRONMENT

The effects of PVC over the health and the environment have been broadly and carefully investigated, possibly more than any other product. Those studies encompassed     all its stages, from the manufacture of the polymer to the manufacture and use of the products made from PVC.

Just like any other product or area in the chemical and petrochemical industry, PVC is subject to investigations and regulations from national and international authorities, just like other polymers. The industry is continuously investigating how its activities affect the environment, and technological progress leads to ever going improvements of manufacturing procedures and of the resulting products.

Atlantic Forest preserved by Solvay 

Ecological Balance

The Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is a scientific method employed to evaluate the impact of a material in the environment during its whole life in a determined application, from the acquisition of raw materials up to the moment in which the product is discarded.  This way, it is possible to compare the environmental impacts of different materials (plastic, metal, glass, paper products etc) or of different systems used for the same purpose.

Because it is made of common salt (a nearly inexhaustible material), depends minimally on oil, is light and perfectly recyclable at the end of its useful life, the Life Cycle Analysis of PVC is very positive compared to other materials. These analyses show that PVC is a material that is environmentally adequate.

Due to the fact that it’s hardly present in urban residues (less than 1 % of urban garbage), the quantity of PVC in sanitary dump stations is minimal.

Bretzel Project, in Panamá (PVC helping the environment)