Decorative Products and the Environment.

The majority of decorative products from OMNOVA Solutions utilize vinyl substrates which offer a host of performance and environmental advantages. Extensive testing by industry and government, advanced manufacturing and recycling processes, as well as the chemistry behind the product, all make a strong case for vinyl as an environmentally smart material choice. Since the late 1980s, more than 20 life-cycle evaluations have been completed on PVC building products, many of them comparing those products to similar products made of other materials. PVC products were found to perform favorably in terms of energy efficiency, thermal-insulating value, and low contribution to greenhouse gases and product durability, which means using fewer resources. In fact, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) Technical and Scientific Advisory Committee issued a final report on February 27, 2007 which reaffirms their findings from 2004. Using both life cycle and risk assessment analyses, the report concluded that in the Council’s LEED rating system, a credit that rewards avoidance of PVC could steer decision makers toward using materials that are worse on environmental impacts.

Because of their long life and durability, vinyl products have consistently been found to contribute to the environmental performance of sustainable buildings. As an example, OMNOVA’s commercial wallcoverings and upholstery products are designed to not only be beautiful but last for many years with minimal maintenance. OMNOVA Laminates remain popular surfacing choices for office and residential furniture, store fixtures, cabinetry as well as building trim and moldings because of their durability and ease of maintenance.  Architects and designers have and continue to specify these products for a variety of interior environments including healthcare, corporate and hospitality. The benefit of long life and low maintenance combined with aesthetic and performance attributes reinforce the role of PVC based products in the design of buildings and interior spaces.

OMNOVA remains committed to designing and creating long lasting, high performing decorative products while minimizing their impact to the environment. We have instituted recycling and waste reduction practices in all of our facilities. We have reduced our emissions both in production of our materials as well as in their off-gassing; this is demonstrated with over 90% of our Commercial Wallcoverings being certified as low VOC emitting by the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute.

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Advancing our commitment to help build a more sustainable future, OMNOVA recently has introduced two eco-friendly wallcovering solutions to the interiors industry:

 

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To learn more about the effects of vinyl on the environment – issues such as indoor air quality, product safety, process emissions, recycling and disposal. The Chemical Fabrics and Film Association (CFFA) and The Vinyl Institute have compiled information in response to the most frequently asked questions. Learn more about your area of interest below, along with specifics about what OMNOVA Solutions is doing to promote environmental responsibility in the design and production of our products.

 

Additional facts and information on these topics are available through the following organizations and web sites:

• The U. S. Green Building Council
  www.usgbc.org
• The Vinyl Institute
  www.vinylinfo.com
• The Chemical Fabrics and Film Association
  www.chemicalfabricsandfilm.com
• GREENGUARD Environmental Institute
  www.greenguard.org

Additional information on other environmental topics

Chemistry

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) provides OMNOVA’s vinyl products with flexibility, durability and resiliency. PVC is manufactured through a chemical process that is regulated and safe. The process begins with basic saltwater, an abundant natural resource. Chlorine, derived from the saltwater, is an element of the final chemical compound and provides the end product with many inherent advantages. The chlorine is combined with a petroleum product, ethylene, in a number of intermediate steps to produce an inert, PVC resin.

OMNOVA purchases PVC resin and combines it with additives such as plasticizers, stabilizers and pigments in a process known as “compounding.” Compounding allows OMNOVA to customize the physical characteristics of the end product to meet the particular needs of customers.

Chlorine

The campaign against chlorine by a few activist groups is indeed puzzling. Chlorine is a naturally occurring element that is essential to life. It is the 20th most common element on the planet, present nearly everywhere in the form of table salt. Not only is chlorine found in the human body, but it is used in ways that protect public health and safety (e.g. water purification and pharmaceuticals). Chlorine also promotes the inherent fire resistant properties of OMNOVA’s vinyl products and helps make them economical.

Dioxin

Dioxin is an unintended by-product of incomplete combustion in the presence of chlorine. Because chlorine can be found almost everywhere on earth, dioxin will be formed when most things burn, including wood, garbage and vinyl. The good news is that dioxin emissions and levels in the environment are declining, according to data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This has occurred even as production of vinyl has soared, proving that vinyl production and disposal are not significant contributors to dioxin levels.

A voluntary vinyl industry study conducted by The Vinyl Institute, using Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) protocols and under the guidance of an independent panel of scientists, indicates that the vinyl resin manufacturing process is likely accountable for less than one percent (12 grams) of the approximately 3,000 grams of dioxin that EPA estimates is emitted in the United States each year. Current incinerator operating standards established by the U.S. EPA have doubtlessly helped to reduce the formation of dioxin.

Recycling and Disposal

Vinyl products are especially conducive to recycling because they can be reprocessed using heat with little or no loss of properties. It’s common for manufacturers such as OMNOVA to recycle excess or off-spec vinyl back into the production process, creating very little waste. In fact, a recent study sponsored by The Vinyl Institute found that, of the 17 billion pounds of vinyl manufactured each year, more than 99% ends up in a finished product. In addition, post-consumer vinyl products are being recycled more than ever, taking on new life after long years of service in the field. Some groups have called attention to the fact that when vinyl products are land-filled; they remain inert and do not degrade. While biodegradability can have an environmental benefit for some materials, it is not true in every case. Some products can release chemicals as they biodegrade which can potentially reach ground water. As an inert material, vinyl does not pose this problem. In fact, vinyl is so stable in landfills that vinyl membranes have been used as landfill liners to prevent groundwater contamination.

Flammability

The presence of chlorine and calcium carbonate (crushed limestone filler) in vinyl gives the material inherent fire resistant properties. Fire- and smoke-reducing additives are also included in many of OMNOVA’s vinyl compounds to further enhance product fire performance. OMNOVA has done extensive development work in this area and has incorporated proprietary technologies that promote fire retardancy in our wallcoverings.

Indoor Air Quality

While vinyl products may have an initial characteristic odor or ”new” smell, these odors dissipate quickly once the products are removed from their original packaging. OMNOVA’s performance in the area of indoor air quality has earned our wallcoverings the coveted GREENGUARD INDOOR AIR QUALITY CERTIFICATION ™ which recognizes low-emitting products that have been tested for emissions. Our wallcoverings were not only the first wallcoverings to earn this certification, but also were the first product in the interiors category.

Phthalates

Phthalates are organic molecules with a variety of consumer and industrial applications. Dozens of phthalates have been developed over the years, and some have been in use for nearly a century. The dozen or so types in general use today have some traits in common, they are clear liquids resembling common vegetable oil, have little or no smell, and do not readily evaporate. They all break down rapidly in the environment and in living organisms.

The larger-molecule phthalates are used primarily to make vinyl plastic flexible, in everything from your child's toys to your kitchen floor. They make possible the color-fast, durable, low maintenance qualities that make vinyl so valuable and so widely used in building materials, autos, toys, and even medical devices. Many OMNOVA products containing phthalates are flexible sheets or films consisting of a vinyl polymer mix.

Some advocacy groups complain that phthalates are all around us and therefore must pose some special kind of concern. But recent government data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that human exposure levels are far below minimum safety levels set by regulatory agencies. And because phthalates have been around for so long, and are so widely used, they are also one of the most widely studied and well understood families of chemicals. Learn more about phthalates.

Manufacturing Process

OMNOVA’s vinyl fabrication plants recycle waste back into the process. We have also made a major investment in equipment and processes that minimize air emissions. We have dramatically reduced the use of solvent-based inks in our coloring systems in favor of water-based inks. This move to cleaner, water-based inks has been a significant technical challenge, but it was the right thing to do.