Call for separate rules to combat PVC waste threat

Date: 19/10/00

By Renée Cordes

THE European Commission is urging signatories to a United Nations convention on waste management to regulate PVC separately from other plastics to combat environmental damage.

More than 100 countries are discussing comprehensive new guidelines for dealing with all kinds of plastic waste within the framework of the UN's Basel Convention. The new rules are due to be finalised next spring.

However, Commission officials insist that PVC should be dealt with separately. They argue that unlike other plastics, the material contains large quantities of additives such as lead and cadmium which need to be removed from the waste stream. The incineration of PVC has also been linked to the formation of dioxins, which have been shown to accumulate in the body over time.

The EU executive has not yet decided whether PVC should be classified as hazardous waste, although it is under pressure to do so as it prepares to publish a revised list of such materials within the Union later this year.

Industry and environmental groups will have their first opportunity to comment publicly on the issue next Monday (23 October) when the Commission hosts a hearing on its Green Paper published in July.

That report evaluated the environmental impact of PVC and put forward a number of options for minimising its effects, ranging from voluntary agreements to binding legislation, although Commission officials have indicated that they are leaning towards the latter option.

The European Commission is urging signatories to a United Nations convention on waste management to regulate PVC separately from other plastics to combat environmental damage.