Executive Summary

“Billions of pounds of PVC, the ‘poison plastic,’ are being thrown ‘away’ in the U.S.— but there is no away for the health threatening chemicals associated with PVC.”

The disposal of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic threatens public health and the environment. Although problematic throughout its lifecycle – from production through final use – the discarding of PVC as waste poses perpetual hazards. PVC is widely used in plastic pipes, building materials (e.g., vinyl siding, windows), consumer products, disposable packaging and many everyday products. We can prevent harm from PVC by replacing it with safer, cost-effective alternatives that are available, and by diverting PVC waste away from incineration and open burning. This report summarizes data on PVC production, use and disposal in the United States, though its conclusions about the environmental health hazards of PVC are applicable to every country.

How much PVC do we use?

Billions of Pounds of PVC are Discarded Each Year

Large and growing amounts of PVC are discarded daily in the U.S. As much as 7 billion pounds of PVC is discarded every year in municipal solid waste, medical waste, and construction and demolition debris. PVC disposal is the largest source of dioxin-forming chlorine and hazardous phthalates in solid waste, as well as a major source of lead, cadmium and organotins. Dioxins are a family of highly toxic chemicals that are known to cause cancer, reproductive, developmental and immune problems. More than 2 billion pounds per year of nondurable (short-lived) PVC products are discarded with U.S. household trash, including blister packs and other packaging, plastic bottles and containers, plastic wrap and bags, and more. In fact, nondurable products account for more than 70% of the PVC disposed of in U.S. municipal solid waste. Worldwide, an estimated 300 billion pounds of PVC, which was installed in the last 30 to 40 years in construction and other long lasting uses, will soon reach the end of its useful life and require disposal.

What’s so bad about PVC plastic?

PVC: A Truly “Poison” Plastic

Unlike the many plastics made without chlorine, PVCposes serious environmental health threats from the start. The production of PVC requires the manufacture of raw chemicals, including highly polluting chlorine, and cancer-causing vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and ethylene dichloride (EDC). Communities surrounding U.S. vinyl chloride chemical facilities, half of which are in Louisiana, suffer from serious toxic chemical pollution of their groundwater supplies, surface waters and air. Residents of the town of Mossville, Louisiana had dioxin levels in their blood that were three times higher than normal. PVC plastic also requires large amounts of toxic additives to make it stable and usable. These additives are released during the use (and disposal) of PVC products, resulting in elevated human exposures to phthalates, lead, cadmium, tin and other toxic chemicals. Dioxin emissions from PVC combustion occur regularly due to the 1 million annual fires that burn buildings and vehicles, two sectors that use substantial amounts of PVC.

What are the options for disposing of used PVC?

PVC Products + Waste Incinerators or Open Burning = Dioxin Emissions
Dioxin formation is the Achilles heel of PVC. Burning PVC plastic, which contains 57% chlorine when pure, forms dioxins, a highly toxic group of chemicals that build up in the food chain. PVC is the major contributor of chlorine to four combustion sources—municipal solid waste incinerators, backyard burn barrels, medical waste incinerators and secondary copper smelters—that account for a significant portion of dioxin air emissions. In the most recent USEPA Inventory of Sources of Dioxin in the United States, these four sources accounted for more than 80% of dioxin emissions to air based on data collected in 1995. Since then, the closure of many incinerators and tighter regulations have reduced dioxin air emissions from waste incineration, while increasing the proportion of dioxin disposed of in landfills with incinerator ash. The PVC content in the waste steam fed to incinerators has been linked to elevated levels of dioxins in stack air emissions and incinerator ash.

Incineration and open burning of PVC-laden waste seriously impacts public health and the environment. More than 100 municipal waste incinerators in the U.S. burn 500 to 600 million pounds of PVC each year, forming highly toxic dioxins that are released to the air and disposed of on land as ash. The biggest PVC-burning states include Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine—which all burn more than half of their waste— Florida, New York, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Minnesota, Michigan, New Jersey, Indiana and Washington. The incineration of medical waste, which has the highest PVC content of any waste stream, is finally being replaced across the U.S. by cleaner nonburn technologies after years of community activism and leadership by environmentally-minded hospitals. Backyard burning of PVC-containing household trash is not regulated at the federal level and is poorly regulated by the states. There are no restrictions on backyard burning in Michigan and Pennsylvania. It is partially restricted in 30 states, and banned in 18 states.

PVC Products + Landfill Disposal = Groundwater Contamination
Land disposal of PVC is also problematic. Dumping PVC in landfills poses significant long-term environmental threats due to leaching of toxic additives into groundwater, dioxin-forming landfill fires, and the release of toxic emissions in landfill gases. Land disposal is the final fate of between 2 billion and 4 billion pounds of PVC that are discarded every year at some 1,800 municipal waste landfills in the U.S. Most PVC in construction and demolition debris ends up in landfills, many of which are unlined and cannot capture any contaminants that leak out. An average of 8,400 landfill fires are reported every year in the U.S., contributing further to PVC waste combustion and dioxin pollution.

PVC Products + Recycling = Contamination of the Entire Plastics Recycling Process
Unfortunately, PVC recycling is not the answer. The amount of PVC products that are recycled is negligible, with estimates ranging from only 0.1% to 3%. PVC is very difficult to recycle because of the many different formulations used to make PVC products. Its composition varies because of the many additives used to make PVC products. When these different formulations of PVC are mixed together, they cannot readily be separated which is necessary to recycle the PVC into its original formulation. It’s also virtually impossible to create a formulation that can be used for a specific application. PVC can never be truly recycled into the same quality material—it usually ends up being made into lower quality products with less stringent requirements such as park benches or speed bumps.

When PVC products are mixed in with the recycling of non-chlorinated plastics, such as in the “all-bottle” recycling programs favored by the plastics industry, they contaminate the entire recycling process. Although other types of non-chlorine plastics make up more than 95% of all plastic bottles, introducing only one PVC bottle into the recycling process can contaminate 100,000 bottles, rendering the entire stock unusable for making new bottles or products of similar quality. PVC also increases the toxic impacts of other discarded products such as computers, automobiles and corrugated cardboard during the recycling process.

Safer alternatives are available to replace PVC

Safer alternatives to PVC are widely available and effective for almost all major uses in building materials, medical products, packaging, office supplies, toys and consumer goods. PVC is the most environmentally harmful plastic. Many other plastic resins can substitute more safely for PVC when natural materials are not available.

PVC alternatives are affordable and already competitive in the market place. In many cases, the alternatives are only slightly more costly than PVC, and in some cases the costs of the alternative materials are comparable to PVC when measured over the useful life of the product. Phasing out PVC in favor of safer alternatives is economically achievable. A PVC phase-out will likely require the same total employment as PVC production. The current jobs associated with U.S. PVC production (an estimated 9,000 in VCM and PVC resin production, and 126,000 in PVC fabrication) would simply be translated into production of the same products from safer plastic resins.

How can we get rid of PVC?

To end the myriad of problems created by PVC disposal, we recommend the following policies and activities.

• Policymakers at the local, state and federal level should enact and implement laws that steadily reduce the impacts of PVC disposal and lead to a complete phase-out of PVC use and waste incineration within ten years (see box below).
• A new materials policy for PVC that embraces aggressive source reduction of PVC should be adopted to steadily reduce the use of PVC over time.
• Federal and state waste management priorities should be changed to make incineration of PVC waste the least preferable option.
• In the interim, any PVC waste generated should be diverted away from incineration to hazardous waste landfills.
• Consumers should take personal action to buy PVCfree alternatives and to remove PVC from their trash for management as household hazardous waste.
• Communities should continue to organize against PVC-related dioxin sources such as waste incinerators while working to promote safer alternatives.

A PVC-Free Policy Action Agenda

Accomplish Within Three Years

1. Ban all open waste burning.
2. Educate the public about PVC hazards.
3. Ban the incineration of PVC waste.
4. Collect PVC products separately from other waste.
5. In the interim, divert PVC away from incineration to hazardous waste landfills.

Accomplish Within Five Years

6. Establish our Right-to-Know about PVC.
7. Label all PVC products with warnings.
8. Give preference to PVC-free purchasing.
9. Ban PVC use in bottles and disposable packaging.
10. Ban sale of PVC with lead or cadmium.

Accomplish Within Seven Years

11. Phase out other disposable PVC uses.
12. Phase out other high hazard PVC uses.
13. If safer alternatives are not yet available, extend the PVC phase-out deadlines for specific purposes.
14. Fund efforts to reduce the amount of PVC generated through fees on the PVC content of products.

Accomplish Within Ten Years

15. Phase out remaining durable PVC uses.
16. Decommission municipal waste incinerators in favor of zero waste.

Chapter-by-Chapter Summary of Major Findings

PVC Generation & the Looming Waste Crisis

• PVC is a commonly used plastic found in baby shampoo bottles, packaging, saran wrap, shower curtains and thousands of other productsyet there is little public awareness of its serious health and environmental impacts.
• In the U.S., an estimated 300 billion pounds of longer-lasting PVC products, such as 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 source of lead, cadmium and organotins-which pose serious health threats.
• Short-lived products account for more than 70% of PVC disposed in America’s solid waste with 2 billion pounds discarded every year, including “blister packs” and other packaging, plastic bottles and plastic wrap.

Trouble From the Start: The Production & Use of PVC

• PVC production poses serious environmental health threats due to the manufacture of raw chemicals, including chlorine and cancer-causing vinyl chloride monomer.
• U.S. communities surrounding vinyl chloride chemical facilities, half of which are in Louisiana, suffer from groundwater and air pollution.
• PVC includes high amounts of toxic additives, which are released during use and disposal, resulting in elevated human exposures to chemicals.
• PVC use results in dioxin emissions from PVC products burned in 1 million annual U.S. fires of buildings and vehicles. The International Association of Fire Fighters supports the use of alternative building materials that do not pose as high a risk as PVC.

The Deadly Connection: PVC, Chlorine and Dioxin

• When burned, PVC plastic forms dioxins, a highly toxic group of chemicals that build up in the food chain,can cause cancer and harms the immune and reproductive systems.
• PVC is the leadingcontributor of chlorine to four combustion sources municipal solid waste incinerators, backyard burn barrels, medical waste incinerators and secondary copper smeltersthat account for an estimated 80% of dioxin air emissions (USEPA).

Don’t Burn It: The Hazards of Burning PVC Waste

• More than 100 municipal waste incinerators in the U.S. burn 500 to 600 million pounds of PVC each year, forming highly toxic dioxins and releasing toxic additives to the air and in ash disposed of on land.
• Open burning of solid waste, which contains PVC, is a major source of dioxin air emissions. Backyard burning of PVC household trash is unrestricted in Michigan and Pennsylvania, partially restricted in 30 states and banned in 18 states.
• The incineration of medical waste is being steadily replaced by cleaner non-burn technologies.

No Place Left: Problems with PVC in Landfills

• Dumping of PVC in landfills poses long-term problems from leaching of toxic additives into groundwater, dioxin-forming landfill fires and toxic landfill gases.
• Land disposal is the final fate of between 2 billion and 4 billion pounds of PVC that is discarded every year in some 1,800 municipal waste landfills.
• Many of the 1,900 landfills used for construction and demolition (C&D) debris are unlined and cannot capture contaminants leaking out of PVC building waste.
• An average of 8,400 landfill fires are reported every year in the U.S., contributing further to PVC waste combustion and dioxin pollution.

Recycling Menace: PVC Undermines Recycling Efforts

• Contrary to popular belief, recycling of PVC is negligible, with estimates ranging from 0.1% to 3% of post-consumer PVC waste being recycled.
• PVC is very difficult to recycle because many additives used in PVC products make it impossible to retain the unique properties of the original formulation from a batch of mixed PVC products collected for recycling.
• PVC products contaminate the recycling batch when mixed with PET plastice bottles.

Don’t Buy It: Safer Alternatives are Available, Effective and Affordable

• PVC is the most environmentally harmful plastic; many other plastic resins can substitute more safely for PVC when natural materials are not available.
• Safer alternatives to PVC are widely available and effective for almost all major uses in building materials, medical products, packaging, office supplies, toys and consumer goods.
• Phasing out PVC in favor of safer alternatives is economically achievable.
• A PVC phase-out will likely require the same total employment as PVC production by making the same types of products from safer plastic resins.

Take Action: Preventing Harm from PVC Use and Disposal

• Policy makers at the local, state and federal level should enact and implement laws that steadily reduce the impacts of PVC disposal and lead to a complete phase-out of PVC use and waste incineration within ten years. In the interim, any PVC waste generated should be diverted away from incineration to hazardous waste landfills.
• Consumers should take personal action to buy PVC-free alternatives and to remove PVC from their trash for management as household hazardous waste.
• Communities should continue to organize against PVC-related dioxin sources such as waste incinerators while working to promote safer alternatives.

CHEJ’s BE SAFE campaign co-released this report with the Environmental Health Strategy Center. The report documents the health and environmental hazards posed by PVC (polyvinyl chloride) during manufacturing, product use and disposal.
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The executive summary of CHEJ’s and the Environmental Health Strategy Center’s co-released report documenting the health and environmental hazards posed by PVC (polyvinyl chloride) during manufacturing, product use and disposal.
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A fact sheet summarizing the major findings of the Bad News Comes in 3s report co-released by CHEJ and the Environmental Health Strategy Center
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A fact sheet listing the top 10 states that landfill PVC based on the Bad News Comes in 3s report co-released by CHEJ and the Environmental Health Strategy Center
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Still using a vinyl shower curtain? Read all about the dangers you are exposing yourself and household to in this report. Find alternatives and read about how CHEJ advocates for major retailers to adopt a PVC phase out policy. The report contains the different chemicals that are in a vinyl shower curtain and the number of days they last in your house.
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CHEJ has created this fifth-annual Back-to-School Guide to PVC-Free School Supplies to empower you to make smarter, healthier shopping choices for a toxic-free future. This guide lists the most common back-to-school supplies made out of polyvinyl chloride (PVC or vinyl) plastic and suggests safer PVC-free alternatives for your children.
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The Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ) has created this handy Back-to-School Wallet Guide to PVC-Free School Supplies to empower you to make smarter, healthier shopping choices for a toxic-free future.
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This fact sheet explores the connection between PVC and our health. From young children in school, through the reproductive years of adulthood and beyond, PVC is affecting the health people more and more. This fact sheet will help you understand the problem, and minimize its effects on you and your family.
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This fact sheet explores how PVC is being used in our nation’s schools to alarmingly damaging effects on our children. From building materials, to school supplies and cleaning products, our schools are putting our children’s health at risk. This fact sheet will help you understand the problem, and minimize its effects on you and your family.
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This fact sheet explores how PVC is being used in flooring and commercial cleaning products across the US. It provides you with safer alternatives that will not put your family’s health at risk.
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This fact sheet provides you with the top ten most compelling reasons your school should go PVC-free. From PVC’s endocrine disrupting phthalates to its toxic effects upon disposal/incineration, this list will help you convince anyone to act and push for a PVC-free school.
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PVC plants are disproportionately located in low-income communities and communities of color, making the production of PVC an issue of environmental justice and racism for neighboring residents. This fact sheet gives you the tools to raise awareness of PVC manufacturing as an issue for underprivileged communities.
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This fact sheet will inform you of the shifting policies regarding PVC around the world. Responsible state and national governments, as well as leading corporations that are mindful of their consumers are shifting away from PVC. This fact sheet will help you identify those entities that are helping reduce the dangers to you and your family.
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This report covers a study undertaken by the Center for Health, Environment & Justice and the Teamsters Office of Consumer Affairs, with the laboratory assistance of the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor, MI. It reveals that the majority of toys in a limited sample from two Toys “R” Us outlets still contain PVC. This means that, despite Toys “R” Us pledged to phase out the sale of toys containing lead or phthalates, reduce the sale of PVC-containing products and offer more PVC-free products, they have yet to live up to their promise.
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This guide lists the most common consumer products made out of PVC and safer PVC-free products including baby products, children’s toys, electronics, and more.
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