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News Release from: RoHSwell.com | Subject: Compliance advice
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 26 January 2005
The future decline of PVC
The most widely used plastic on the planet is facing an uncertain future, reports Ray Franklin.
PVC has long been a target of environmental groups, and now is in the sights of regulatory groups Already on the list of JGPSSI prohibited substances, PVC narrowly avoided inclusion in RoHS and WEEE
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 14 Mar 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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The European Commission continues to study PVC and will likely recommend separation from the waste stream, under WEEE, at some time in the future.
It seems equally likely that PVC will ultimately join PBB and PBDE on the RoHS hit list.
PVC has many sins.
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Production of the essential chlorine still yields thousands of pounds of mercury pollution every year.
The vinyl chloride monomer is unalterably toxic and carcinogenic.
People living near vinyl chloride plants endure much higher rates of otherwise rare cancers than the rest of us.
Plant workers are even more adversely affected.
Lead compounds are still used as stabilisers, and cadmium compounds are used as pigments.
Both stabilisers and pigments readily leach out of finished PVC products because they reside rather loosely between PVC molecules.
Toxins such as dioxins and furans are created both during production of PVC and during burning or incineration.
And where is PVC used? Nearly everywhere.
In electronics, it may be used for case parts or packing material.
It is a common insulator for wires.
Electrolytic capacitor sleeves are often made from it.
PVC wire insulation is one of the major remaining uses for lead stabilisers.
The abandonment of PVC is starting slowly.
The first to switch are Japanese companies adhering to JGPSSI.
Panasonic is now producing electrolytic capacitors with polyethylene sleeves instead of PVC.
Nippon Chemicon is doing the same.
Other Japanese companies are close behind.
Many Japanese OEMs are requiring suppliers to report the full material content of suspicious materials, notably PVC.
This is the first step toward rejecting parts and demanding PVC-free components.
The European Commission has an active study of PVC underway.
This is a continuation of the earlier efforts that lead up to the RoHS and WEEE directives.
PVC was mentioned frequently in the WEEE proposal document.
Several stakeholders to the directive process asked to have the provision for "substitution of substances" extended to PVC and other halogenated hydrocarbons.
For now, WEEE does not expressly cover PVC.
The pressure remains, and as the regulatory wheel turns, I expect an amendment to pop out eventually.
Abundant alternatives already exist.
Polyolefin has superior temperature ratings for wire insulation.
PET works quite well for capacitor sleeves.
Polypropylene and polystyrene are good packaging materials.
Many nonhalogenated plastics are already used for moulded parts.
Renewable materials are even better.
Cornstarch packing pellets work just as well as polystyrene, and they biodegrade, and melt in water.
Inks and pigments are made using soy oil or other plant-derived oils, and without heavy metals.
Still, PVC producers are not going quietly into the night.
In Europe, they are converting from lead stabilisers to organic stabilisers, mostly organic tin.
They are also moving to eliminate lead and cadmium based pigments.
It remains to be seen whether any such tweaking can overcome remaining objections.
The precautionary principle at the heart of RoHS and WEEE errs on the side of caution where long-term health effects are unknown.
Furthermore, the organic tin stabilisers coming into production might not be as green as hoped.
The JGPSSI bans three specific organic tin compounds and lists 11 others as managed.
At this time, PVC is a prohibited substance in only one part of the world, Japan.
Consider the implications of that one ban.
Japanese component makers replace PVC with more benign plastics, like PET.
Japanese purchasers prohibit PVC in purchased components and OEM products.
Suddenly, faced with new customer demands, OEMs re-examine their plastic selections.
Moulded parts are usually designed with one plastic in mind.
A substitution requires redesign and a new mould.
When faced with retooling and dual inventory, most businesses will simply retool and retire the old PVC parts.
PVC-free products proliferate simply because one customer rejects PVC.
Seeing a favourable trend, regulatory agencies issue rules and laws institutionalising PVC-free products.
In the end, PVC fades away.
Dare we imagine a world without PVC? It can happen.
It is happening.
It will happen to your company.
A political will has emerged to do the environmentally right thing.
The businesses that embrace the new trend will thrive.
As the Boy Scouts always say: "Be prepared".
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