The production of synthetic organic chemicals has exploded since the first world war. There are now an estimated 100,000 different synthetic chemicals in use. The health and environmental effects of many of these remain largely unknown and untested. Of these chemical compounds, Greenpeace has prioritised Persistent Organic Pollutants, or POPs.
PVC (both soft and hard) is one of the most widely used types of plastics. It is used for packaging in cling film and bottles, for consumer products such as credit cards and audio records, for construction in window frames and cables, for imitation leather, and around the home in pipes, flooring, wallpaper and window blinds. It is used by manufacturers for car interiors, in hospitals for medical disposables...and many more things.
The new UK Government life cycle analysis (LCA) of PVC and alternatives has been unable to find a way to address the main issue surrounding the use of the material - the impact of toxic pollutants generated throughout its life cycle. This means the LCA adds little information of use to the current debate on policy measures needed to reduce the environmental impact of PVC.
However, even without taking into account environmental impacts of major pollutants, the report finds PVC to be the worst of the options it considered for windows and floors. This is because timber and linoleum use less energy, contribute less to global warming gases, use fewer non-renewable resources and generate less waste. In fact the LCA depends almost entirely on energy consumption, as nearly all of the six impact assessment categories (Greenhouse effect, air acidification, stratospheric ozone depletion, photochemical oxidant formation, water eutrophication and non-renewable resource depletion) follow from this.
Greenpeace today backed the decision to stop Southampton Football Club selling off seats from The Dell when the ground is demolished this summer. The PVC seats contain high levels of the toxic metal cadmium.
Commenting on the decision, Mark Strutt, a toxics campaigner at Greenpeace, said: "This is the right decision for both football fans and the environment. The seats should be sent to a special waste landfill as the best of several bad options. If the seats were sold and taken home by fans the plastic could erode over time releasing highly toxic cadmium dust into the home environment."
Greenpeace applauded Marks and Spencer yesterday (8th February) for announcing its intention to remove polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic from all of its products and packaging. The decision was taken in response to growing environmental concerns surrounding the manufacture and disposal of PVC.
The new UK Government life cycle analysis (LCA) of PVC and alternatives has been unable to find a way to address the main issue surrounding the use of the material - the impact of toxic pollutants generated throughout its life cycle. This means the LCA adds little information of use to the current debate on policy measures needed to reduce the environmental impact of PVC. 
