PVC and the Environment

Is PVC Good or Bad for the Environment? With growing awareness for the environment, the issue of whether or not vinyl/PVC products are helpful or harmful has come to be questioned.

Is PVC Good or Bad for the Environment? Over the past 20 years, dozens of life cycle studies have been performed on PVC to see how manufacturing and using vinyl products affects our environment.

Is PVC Good or Bad for the Environment? The short answer is that vinyl products have a positive effect on our environment - there are at least five specific ways that using PVC is beneficial to nature.

Requires Less Resources To Manufacture Saves energy- By requiring less energy to manufacture, PVC helps reduce energy usage and CO2 emissions. Manufacturing vinyl products requires 20% less energy than other plastics.

Requires Less Resources To Manufacture PVC products also help conserve energy when they are used. Here are several examples: ENERGY STAR PVC roofing membranes reflect solar energy to reduce cooling costs ENERGY STAR PVC roofing membranes reflect solar energy to reduce cooling costs ENERGY STAR vinyl window frames conserve energy, reducing both heating and cooling costs ENERGY STAR vinyl window frames conserve energy, reducing both heating and cooling costs PVC pipe requires less energy to pump water PVC pipe requires less energy to pump water

Requires Less Resources To Manufacture Conserves resources- Using PVC products conserves limited fossil fuels, since the principle raw material vinyl is made from is salt. Nearly 60% of the raw materials used to create the final is chlorine, derived from salt.

Durability Benefits The Planet Longer lifespan - since vinyl products have such a long life span, fewer replacements are needed, which translates to reduced usage of resources.

Durability Benefits The Planet Fewer chemicals - since vinyl products are highly durable this reduces the need for toxic chemicals such as cleaners or paints.

Vinyl Recycling Helps Reduce Waste More than one billion pounds of PVC products are recycled every year. Many carpet, roofing, and building supply manufacturers have highly successful vinyl recycling programs.

PVC Conserves Water Did you know that over 2.3 trillion gallons of treated water are lost every year (just in the USA) because of leaks from older, corroded pipes? That's right! Using PVC pipes can cut this waste to nearly nothing, because PVC pipes never corrode, and they have among the lowest leak rates of any type of pipe.

PVC and the Environment