PVC Recycling Reports on Workplace Exposure and Environmental Emissions

The Nov 2023 ECHA Investigation Report into PVC and its Additives indicated that there was little known about the exposure of workers in PVC recycling facilities and that such facilities may be major origins (PVC) microplastics emissions. Acknowledging this knowledge gap VinylPlus and Plastics Recyclers Europe worked together to quantify workplace exposure and environmental emissions from four rigid PVC and two flexible PVC recycling facilities, that together recycle around 200 000 tonnes of PVC waste ranging from profiles, to pipes, to cables and flexible flooring. The comprehensive exposure monitoring programme covered general inhalable and respirable dust, lead, cadmium, antimony, tin, and in plants treating flexible PVC plasticisers. The results show that exposure is below Occupational Exposure Limits and other health-based guidance values. Organotins specifically were assessed based on a worst-case proxy approach based on the tin concentration in air and revealed to be controlled. All in all, the workers in PVC recycling facilities are operating safely. In terms of environmental emissions, all plants were equipped with specifically engineered air extraction systems designed to removed particulate matter from the waste material and keep it out of the workplace air. Filtration systems ensured in each plant that the particulate matter was removed from the air stream prior to discharge from their stacks. The reports also show that plants were cognisant of the need to prevent diffuse emissions of microplastics and had put in place various barriers to prevent release. Taken together PVC Recycling plants are not major sources of PVC microplastics emissions as indicated in the ECHA Investigation Report.