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PVC Pipe: Best Choice for the Environment
PVC Pipe: Safe and Beneficial to Public Health PVC Pipe: Best Choice for the Environment
Helping Build a Greener Tomorrow PVC Pipe: Best Choice for the Environment PVC piping is one of the world’s most sustainable products, making it ideal for long-term term use in underground infrastructure. It requires less energy and fewer resources to
PVC Pipe Quality
manufacture than old-technology materials, and its production
and Service
creates virtually no waste.
Commitment
Moreover, it is produced with sustainable and abundant resources: chlorine, which is derived from salt, and domestically
Sustainable Water
produced natural gas, which helps reduce consumption of
Pipeline
imported oil. About 85 per cent of our medicines are
Infrastructure
manufactured with chlorine chemistry.
Sustainable Piping
For real sustainability, long-term performance and efficient
Solutions - PVC
resource management is critical.
Pipe
The North American PVC pipe industry is very serious about the environment.
Award Application
Major PVC Pipe Users
No Smoke Stacks Clean and Safe Manufacturing PVC pipe manufacturing is extremely efficient, with virtually 100 percent of the PVC compound being used. It takes four times less energy to make than concrete pipe, and half that used for iron pipe. There are no smokestacks at PVC pipe facilities, which means PVC pipe manufacturing is often powered by green energy sources like wind and solar, further reducing its carbon footprint, which is already the lowest of all underground piping materials. And PVC pipe is also completely recyclable. Contrast this with the cement industry – the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. PVC pipe’s environmental attributes have been confirmed by numerous life-cycle assessments (which scientifically assess the impact of a product) from raw material extraction to end-of-life. Sustainability involves a social dimension so it’s important to look at it in terms of human resources and worker safety. According to the United States Bureau of Labor, the plastic piping industry has an outstanding record in this area, experiencing far fewer injuries and illnesses in every phase of production, on average, than similar industries.
A Sustainable Choice A Smaller Human Footprint PVC pipe’s ultra-smooth surface reduces pumping costs, and its leak-free joints eliminate water loss – which can be up to 40 percent in some old-technology and corrosion-prone piping networks. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that 2.6 trillion gallons of potable water are lost every year through leaking pipes, or 17 percent of all water pumped in the U.S. But PVC pipe’s greatest environmental attribute is perhaps its exceptional durability and corrosion resistance – leading to better water conservation and lower replacement, maintenance, and repair costs. According to Utah State University, PVC water pipe has the lowest break rate of all commonly used piping materials. A study by the American Water Works Association Research Foundation recently put the life expectancy of PVC pipe at more than 110 years. Additionally, its light weight and ease of installation reduce transportation and installation costs, yielding further benefits to the environment.
Two Million Miles of Sustainable Piping PVC leads all other piping materials in sustainability. Its durability, soundness, clean and energy efficient manufacture and transportation have made it the material of choice for water and wastewater applications. Today, more than two million miles of PVC pipe are in service throughout North America – helping build a greener tomorrow.
Environmental Product Declaration ISO-compliant, peer-reviewed, industry-wide EPD covers PVC water and wastewater piping and helps municipalities meet their green building and infrastructure goals The Uni-Bell PVC Pipe Association (PVCPA) has published the first North American industry-wide environmental product declaration (EPD) for water and sewer piping, and it has been verified by NSF Sustainability, a division of global public health organization NSF International. The EPD was developed in compliance with international environmental management guidelines (ISO 14025) and benchmarks the impacts of seven PVC pipe products across their life cycles. This includes PVC pressure pipe for potable water, reclaimed water and sewer force main systems as well as PVC non-pressure pipe for storm sewer and sanitary sewer systems. NSF Sustainability reviewed and verified the life cycle assessment (on which the EPD is based) and EPD documents to ensure that no unsubstantiated claims were made and that the EPD followed all applicable rules. Less Frequent Replacement The EPD pinpoints areas of greatest environmental impact as well as the environmental benefits of utilizing PVC piping. For example, the use phase of pressurized potable water pipe, where pumps overcome friction to move water through pipe, was found to contribute the greatest environmental impacts throughout the product’s entire life cycle. The EPD also identified advantages in this stage such as the smooth interior surface of PVC pipe that minimizes friction and therefore energy consumption. PVC pipe is also corrosion resistant and has a proven durability of more than 100 years, requiring less frequent replacement. Environmental impact categories analyzed include global warming potential, ozone depletion, acidification, eutrophication, smog formation and cumulative energy demand. PVC pipe is designed to minimize environmental impacts due to its corrosion resistance, enabling long-term durability. Click here to view the full EPD for water and sewer piping.
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corrosion-proof PVC pipe in water and wastewater systems – for real sustainability, strength and long-term
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