Studies back case for new PVC controls

Date: 20/04/2000

By Gareth Harding

EUROPE'S PVC industry has been dealt a serious blow with the publication of four reports examining ways of disposing of the controversial plastic.

The long-awaited studies, which were ordered by the European Commission almost three years ago, predict that polyvinylchloride waste in the EU will rise from 4.1 million tonnes to 7.2 million tonnes over the next 20 years - an increase of 80% - unless action is taken soon to combat the problem. Although the recycling of PVC waste is set to triple over the next decade, it will then tail off, reaching only 9% by 2020.

Nor are dumping in landfills or incineration particularly attractive options, according to the reports. The former does not stop the leaching of hazardous substances into soil and groundwater, while burning the plastic does not ensure a reduction in the quantity of waste residues in some cases. Both forms of disposal are also facing a squeeze from planned new Union rules which aim to cut the amount of waste going to landfills and emissions from incineration plants.

Commission sources say environmental officials will draw on the studies when drafting a policy paper on the future of PVC before the summer. They add that it is highly unlikely that Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström will propose a ban on the plastic, as demanded by environmental groups, but say she will examine the ideas floated in the reports for reducing the environmental impact of PVC. These include halting the practice of 'landfilling' plastics, setting EU-wide recycling quotas for the substance, or imposing taxes or levies on landfilling and incineration.

The most likely outcome, however, is a voluntary agreement between the industry and the Commission. The two sides are already holding talks aimed at setting targets for the reduction of PVC waste. But Wallström told European Voice this week that the goals which have been proposed by the industry are "less ambitious than we would like to see" and only addressed the problems caused by PVC produced in the Union.

Martyn Griffiths, of the European Council of Vinyl Manufacturers, claimed the discussions with the Commission would "cast PVC in a clear light and remove the smokescreen erected by Greenpeace". Clearly worried by the reports' findings, the industry group also launched a bullish defence of their product, declaring: "PVC applications have never been demonstrated to cause any harm to human health or the environment."

However, environmental campaign group Greenpeace said the four studies had "sounded the death-knell of PVC". "It is no longer a matter of whether PVC should be phased out, but only how fast it should happen," insisted toxics campaigner Axel Singhofen. Greenpeace has led a long and vociferous campaign against the chlorine-based compound, which it describes as an "environmental poison".

Europe's PVC industry has been dealt a serious blow with the publication of four reports examining ways of disposing of the controversial plastic.