Document KKg0z8RMp7xOM2pGkrpJy0MQ

I Partnerships for a New Century: With our Neighbors With the Environment With the World Community | I The vinyl industry in the 1990's and beyond. oday, everyone wants the best of both worlds: o live well, to live longer, to live better and more omfortably than our parents and forefathers. Vith clean air and pure water. And no threats to ur health and safety. Is it possible to have both worlds at once? In the vinyl industry, we think it is. his brochure tells how we're producing life's ecessities--and conveniences--without harm to ur workers, our neighbors or the environment. Ve Tak Safety Seriously trict safeguards make the production of PVC relyvinyl chloride, or vinyl) one of the most careilly monitored operations in industry today. \nd safety is our first concern at each step in ie process: When we make the key raw material (vinyl chloride monomer, or VCM). When we ship VCM to other processing sites. When we convert VCM to a finished plastic material (vinyl). When vinyl is made into end products like house siding, pipe or packaging. >ver the years, the way vinyl is produced has ranged substantially, and worker exposure to n-the-job hazards has decreased accordingly, iars ago, workers were protected by special reathing equipment and their access to certain eas of each plant was restricted. Since then, the reduction process has been re-engineered to inimtze emissions dunng manufacturing. Higher sk processes are completed in smaller, better retected areas. Therefore, workers are exposed to fewer chemicals. And monitoring of both the manufacturing site and individual workers is con ducted on an ongoing basis to confirm this. Since monitoring began in the 1970s, the vinyl industry has reduced its VCM emissions 95 percent nationwide. That trend is continuing as we develop better equipment to control releases into the atmosphere. This means our workers and neighbors are safer than ever before. Numerous studies of "fence line" exposure risk related to vinyl production have shown that no cause for concern exists. Communications Are A Priority Specific laws are now in place to help us better communicate this progress to the communities in which our plants operate. These same laws require that all manufacturing plants plan for emergencies and keep the public informed of what they are doing to improve their environ mental performance. We're finding other ways to improve the environ ment in which we operate, too. More and more of the industry's manufacturing scrap is being recycled back into the production process, thereby reducing landfill and waste handling demands. Increased effort is focusing on ways to refine and reuse process chemicals as well in order to keep these materials out of the waste stream. Our plants also are monitored under federal laws that regulate the handling and storage of potentially hazardous wastes. A bright future for our childr n. A healthy environ ment for everyone is our numberone concern. We're Committing Resources To Solid Waste Solutions New programs are demonstrating that vinyl end products can be a part of the move toward better environmental stewardship, too. Disposal/reuse options for vinyl include: recycling incineration with energy recovery landfilling With vinyl, all of these can be done without the need for "special handling" that complicates and increases the cost of waste management. Recycling Heads The List Today, vinyl products account for about two and a half percent of all solid waste. Based on current market projections, this small percentage is expected to remain constant in coming years. On the other hand, markets for recycled vinyl are expected to grow dramatically. Vinyl is one of the most recyclable plashes and |he practicality of recycling vinyl has been ^monstrated in numerous small-scale projects. The Vinyl Institute, for instance, has funded projects it Vermont Republic Industries in St. Albans, Vermont, at Rutgers University, and at Recoverable Resources Boro Bronx 2000 (R2B2). The industry ilso has identified at least 40 additional com panies in 17 states that recycle vinyl commercially. That list is growing as entrepreneurs discover he profit potential for recycling this versatile naterial. Another important benefit of recycling vinyl is that short-term uses like packaging can be converted into long-term, second-generation uses. This will further reduce the demand that discarded vinyl products could make on the environment. Research Will Make It A Reality Vinyl's recyclability is well known among pro cessors who do it every day by reusing the vinyl scrap they generate in their production process. More recently, vinyl received its own recycling code under the The Society of the Plashes Industry's "Voluntary Plastic Container Coding System'' With this system, which is quickly becoming state law across the country, manufacturers add a special symbol to containers as they are produced in order to identify the type of plashc used. The symbols aid separation and recycling, and are expected to greatly enhance consumer/curb side separation of plashes. Vinyl containers bear the SPI code of "3-V" Currently, the most common way to sort plashes for recycling is at solid waste processing centers. Until recently, separating vinyl from other plashc materials this way was difficult because many different products in many shapes and sizes are made from vinyl. That hurdle is expected to be overcome soon, with new research underway at the Center for Plashes Recycling Research at Rutgers University and at Nahonal Recovery Technologies, a private company based in Clean air and water. We make sure our products are manufac tured in a r spon sible manner. BOR 000385 Nashville, Tennessee. Both programs, funded by the Vinyl Institute, are developing technology to automatically identify vinyl containers typically found in municipal solid waste. The technology is based on vinyl's unique chemical make-up and will be available for use by handlers once the development work is completed. Since separation of individual plastics is not always feasible, the industry also has funded research to explore how vinyl can be mixed with other plastics and recycled together. This research, conducted by Rutgers University, has found that up to 60 percent vinyl can be added to mixed--"commingled"--plastics recipes without affecting end-product properties This new replace ment for special wood and concrete applications like park benches and boat docks opens up additional markets for recycled vinyl. Waste-To-Energy Remains An Option Incineration is likely to remain an important part of waste management programs for those products with little recycling potential. Like other plastics, vinyl produces significant amounts of energy when it is incinerated in a waste-to-energy plant. And, it can be incinerated without harm to the environment--a fact demonstrated by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Landfilling Will Play A Part, Too Through recycling and incineration, theamountof vinyl that ends up m landfills likely will decrease substantially in the years ahead. Nevertheless, vinyl remains a stable, inert material that can be landfilled safely. Landfilled vinyl products do not leach harmful chemicals into groundwater and soil, and can help keep landfill contents from shifting and settling. In fact, vinyl sheet often is used as landfill liner matenal because it is not easily attacked by the chemicals that decomposing landfill material generates. We Stand Behind A Product With A Future In the coming century, we believe products will be judged as much on their contribution to society as on their performance and for this reason, we see a bright future for vinyl. Concern for dwindling natural resources will be one reason. Vinyl products are durable and longlasting, often with a useful life many times greater than "traditional" materials like wood and metal. Fifty percent of its raw material production comes from salt, a basic, readily available commodity. Additional energy savings are realized when vinyl resin is converted into end products. Just as important, however, are the con tributions vinyi products make to pro viding the improved quality of life society wants for everyone: Pipe made from it economically delivers pure water to places that have never had this basic necessity. Medical goods and pharmaceutical packaging made from it help provide a higher, safer standard of health care. Wiring made from it makes electrical service safer and more dependable. Construction products made from it make housing more affordable. Packaging made from it reduces food spoilage and waste. Through partnerships with our employees, our neighbors and the environment, the vinyl industry can continue to provide these products and more--products that give all of us the best of both worlds. A better life for everyon . Vinyl products play an important role. 0003&6 bob A New Century is Coming... .. .and a new commitment to the future is growing. We all know that what we do today will shape the world our children inherit tomorrow. It means taking responsibility for our environment--as individuals and as corporations. Safeguarding the health and safety of our workers and neighbors. Finding ways to extend the useful life of the products we make. Developing new products that will bring a better life to more people around the world. We in the vinyl industry are proud of the responsibility we have taken to make sure these things happen today, and that they continue to happen in the future. BOR 000387 File Vinyl Institute 15a Route -lo West Wavne Inter<_li^iny^e I'la/a II Wayne, Nil 07-170 Members: Air Produi ts arid C lleniK.aN. Inc Borden (. heinnals arid Plastics C eitamTeed Corporation The How C hcmical Company Georgia Cull C orporjtion Die BFGoodnch Company Occidental Chemicjl Corpoiahon ITG Industries, Inc. Shintech Inc Vista Chemical Company Associate Member: Luropcan Vinyls-Corporation Affiliate Members: Atochern North America Ak/o Chemicals Inc. BASF Corporation CL Specialty Chemicals Kaneka Texas Corporation Rohm and Haas Company Witeo Corporation Supporting Members: American Vhriex Corporation Klockner Pentaplast o! Amenca. Inc. L2J V VINYL IT S RECYCLABLE * IW,The Vinyl Irwhtute Printed m USA Printed (hi recycled p.iner ,--If ~ BOR 000388 $