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Vinyl recycling: An update
Author(s) -
Carroll William F.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
journal of vinyl technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.295
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 1548-0585
pISSN - 0193-7197
DOI - 10.1002/vnl.730130207
Subject(s) - waste management , business , soft drink , high density polyethylene , carton , commerce , engineering , materials science , composite material , chemistry , food science , polyethylene
Despite industry protests to the contrary, in September, 1989, few people believed that PVC bottles were recyclable in the same sense that PET soft drink bottles and HDPE milk bottles were. At that time, however, OxyChem announced its post‐consumer recycling initiative, offering to buy bottles back from anywhere in the United States. By paying prices comparable to that of PET ($0.06–$0.10/1b) and paying the freight from the recycler's dock, recycled PVC has begun to appear. Collection is handled by existing waste haulers and recyclers as an addon to their overall program. Promotional materials were generated to aid in visual separation of PVC from other plastics; in addition, automated sortation is being engineered by two laboratories with financial assistance from the Vinyl Institute. In general, PVC is reprocessed in the same fashion as other plastics: it must be ground, washed, and pulverized or repelletized. Care must be taken to minimize heat history and in some cases to boost stability and lubricity before pelletization. Material is resold into permanent, semi‐permanent and packaging applications.