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VinyLoop Hailed as Breakthrough in PVC Recycling

A Belgian chemical firm is so confident of its new method of recycling polyvinyl chloride that it has told the European Union to revise its estimates for PVC recycling. Read More

A Belgian chemical firm is so confident of its new method of recycling polyvinyl chloride that it has told the European Union to revise its estimates for PVC recycling.

Solvay has announced plans to build its first commercial plant to use the new technology, called VinyLoop, and is talking to potential partners about building 10 more across Europe.

VinyLoop involves dissolving PVC and any additives it contains while leaving other plastics alone. According to Solvay, the process produces a PVC recyclate that is much purer than other mechanical recycling techniques.

PVC is a plastic comprising macro-molecules which are made up of carbon, hydrogen and chlorine atoms. It is made by combining ethylene, produced by refining petroleum, with chlorine, produced from rock salt.

From the mineral water bottle to the car dashboard, PVC is part of everyday life for most people. It was one of the earliest and is still the most widely used plastic because it is light, non-flammable, impermeable, enduring and easy to maintain.

However, environmental groups such as Greenpeace, which is campaigning for a complete ban on PVC, claim that it causes unacceptable environmental harm during every stage of its life cycle from production and use to disposal.

Companies such as General Motors are taking notice. Last September, the United States based automobile giant announced it would phase out all PVC from the interior of its cars and trucks by 2004. The company charged its suppliers with the job of finding alternatives to PVC, which is used in components such as instrument panels and doors. Last December, European Union member states unanimously approved a precedent setting ban on soft PVC teething toys.

In April, three European Commission studies on PVC waste management concluded that PVC waste volumes will almost double over the next 20 years. The studies also said that significant quantities of phthalates and other PVC additives will continue to leach out of landfills. They are expected to influence the European Union’s PVC policy.

Solvay’s first plant will be built in Ferrara, Italy, with a capacity of 8,500 tons a year. It is expected to be operational next year. The company said it sees particular potential for recycling of cable scrap and flexible plastic packaging.

April’s European Commission studies concluded that only a maximum of 18 percent mechanical recycling of PVCs could be expected using current technology.

Solvay officials do not dispute the figure, but a spokesperson said Monday that the advent of Vinyloop means that the commission “would have to look again at the real potential for mechanical PVC recycling.”

The company’s recycling claims carry increased importance because the European Commission is about to publish a policy paper on PVC and the environment, which is expected to pose tough questions to an industry already on the defensive.

Last month, four trade associations representing Europe’s PVC industry pledged improvements in environmental performance under a voluntary commitment.

After disputing the EC studies as flawed and exaggerated, the European Council for Vinyl Manufacturers pledged to achieve environmental improvements during manufacturing. These improvements are already detailed in a 1999 charter for emulsion PVC and a charter signed in 1995 for suspension PVC.

Individual firms from all four industry sectors committed to set targets to improve their eco-efficiency by reducing consumption of raw materials.

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