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Can PVC be recycled? PVC or Polyvinyl Chloride is a common material used in many products. You may be most familiar with PVC in plastic plumbing pipes, and vinyl flooring. But did you know that PVC is also used in a variety of products such as kayaks, cables, pharmaceutical packaging, medical tubes, windows, and more? With all those different uses you’d surely think that PVC is recyclable. But the answer is a bit more complicated than that. In this CleanRiver blog, we will break down the complexities of PVC recycling in an easy to understand way:

PVC Recycling

Over 20 million tons of PVC is produced every year worldwide, and while it is a useful material… disposing of it can be tricky. Because of the chemical composition of PVC incinerating it or leaving it in landfills can be dangerous and terrible for the environment. The good news is, because of the dangers of PVC disposal, PVC recycling has actually become one of the most advanced processes in the mechanical recycling world. This is how PVC is recycled:
  • PVC is ground down into a clean ‘regrind’ plastic
  • PVC is recycled into a plastic powder
  • PVC is shaped into plastic pellets for reuse
Most PVC can be recycled up to 6 or 7 times and with a product life of 100 years, recycled PVC has the potential to last up to 600 years! That’s a lot of time spent recycling… can PVC be recycled

How is PVC commonly recycled?

If you’re unsure of the recycling program capabilities of your local townships it’s best you contact a nearby waste management company to inquire about their mechanical recycling processes. That means you shouldn’t just stick PVC waste in commercial recycling bins with everything else. You have to take it to a special plastics recycling facility to ensure it is being reused. We recommend speaking with your employer or local municipalities to inquire about PVC recycling programs. ______________________________________________________________ Looking for more recycling information? Check out these other blogs: bottom banner CleanRiver Recycling provides a variety of innovative, flexible, and customizable recycling solutions. Start saving money today with our green recycling programs. If you have additional questions that weren’t answered in this blog post please call us at 1-866-479-4038 or email solutions@cleanriver.com