European Parliament Vote Hurts PVC Industry

STRASBOURG, France, April 4, 2001 (ENS) - The European Parliament voted Tuesday to substitute polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, to ban lead additives in PVC and to enforce separate waste collection of PVC because of concern over its hazardous properties.

Voluntary approaches to regulating the environmental impacts of PVC are not enough, according to Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), who were responding to a European Commission green paper on the polymer.

Soft PVC contains phthalates, which are toxic and have been linked to damage to the kidneys, liver and testicles in animal experiments. (Photo courtesy Greenpeace)

Soft PVC contains phthalates, which are toxic and have been linked to damage to the kidneys, liver and testicles in animal experiments. Greenpeace claims phthalates can leach from products and should therefore be substituted for safer alternatives.

The ECVM and the U.S. based Vinyl Institute argue that PVC has been used in products for decades without any evidence of harm to human health. Vinyl is used in medical products such as blood bags and medical tubing, and in food applications such as meat wrap, bottles and can enamel.

The Strasbourg based European Parliament backed calls from its environment committee for introduction of an substitution policy across all 15 member states, beginning with the "rapid" replacement of softened PVC.

The parliament called for legislation rather than voluntary agreements to be used to phase out lead and cadmium additives in PVC, but did not set deadlines for the move. The environment committee had proposed ending lead use by 2005.

MEPs called for the marking of all plastics to aid separation and recycling and a special evaluation of the impact of regulation on small and medium sized businesses.

PVC products are widely used in laboratories. (Photo courtesy plasticsusa.com)

Just two days ago, the ECVM reported what it called "very good progress" in implementing last year's voluntary commitment to make environmental improvements. Jean Pierre de Grève of ECVM was disappointed by Parliament's vote.

"The recommendations... are motivated by political considerations," said de Grève. "They would clearly have a detrimental impact undermining the future of many small and medium sized enterprises."

Europe's PVC industry is made up of 21,000 businesses, employing 530,000 people, according to the ECVM.

"This is not the final step in the decision making process," said de Grève. "We are confident that our...commitment will be endorsed as the best way forward to ensure a sustainable future for PVC."

Greenpeace called Parliament's vote an important step forward.

"The European Parliament has recognized the dangers associated with PVC production, use and disposal and voted in the interests of the environment and public health," said Greenpeace campaigner, Maureen Penjueli.

"This is an important step towards effective action against the many hazards of PVC plastic and the use of safer materials. Evidence that PVC harms the environment and human health is overwhelming and, as today's vote reflects, there is now only one way forward: PVC has got to go."

Penjueli added that it is vital that the European Commission proposes a Directive to act on Parliament's decisions.

{Published in cooperation with ENDS Environment Daily, Europe's choice for environmental news. Environmental Data Services Ltd, London. Email: envdaily@ends.co.uk}