PVC

New research out of the University of Michigan could one day completely change plastics recycling, particularly when it comes to PVC plastics.

Issues of the Environment is produced in partnership with the office of the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner, and we bring it to you every Wednesday. David Fair: That is Dr. And I look forward to what it brings in the future. Danielle Fagnani: So, because of the nature of the chemical reaction that we're doing--so this is an electro synthetic reaction--in a recycling plant, there would probably be new infrastructure that would be needed because plastics aren't typically recycled electro synthetically. Or is this something that could be integrate into what already exists? Issues of the Environment and our conversation with Dr. Danielle Fagnani: So, the chloride portion of polyvinyl chloride is being reused in this process. And then, in the same reaction vessel, same reaction vessel, we get those chloride ions, and then we can actually do a second reaction where we re-use those ions directly. It's much better to be able to collect the PVC and recycle it or controllably degrade it. And then, the other reason why PVC isn't recycled is because it's usually formulated with a lot of plasticizer additives. PVC releases HCL, and that's very corrosive to the recycling equipment and just not something you'd want to happen. And much of it is PVC piping.