PVC Pipe Sustainability

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PVC Pipe Sustainability
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PIPA Who are we?

• PIPA Plastics Industry Pipe Association
• Represent the manufacturers and suppliers of
  plastic pipe systems and raw materials
• Objective is to ensure the proper use of plastic
  pipeline products
• Operate at over 50 manufacturing sites across
  Australia, employs over 3000 Australians

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PIPA Members

• PVC, PE, PEX, PB and PP pipe systems for a range
  of applications
• Why focus on PVC
• In many building and infrastructure applications
  PVC simply offers the best material properties
  and most cost effective installation

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Why is PIPA here?

• PVC pipe products used extensively for
  infrastructure and building applications-
• pipe and conduit
• Over 60 of PVC resin goes into pipe applications
• Concern about procurement policies that
  discriminate against plastics and PVC in
  particular - Potential impact on our products

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Common PVC pipe applications material of choice
in most applications

• Electrical and Communications conduit
• DWV (gt90)
• Stormwater (gt90)
• Sewer pressure and non pressure (gt90
  reticulation sizes)
• Water pressure (gt80 reticulation sizes)

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Why is PVC preferred by end users?

• Cost effective
• Infrastructure retic pressure 30 - 36/m cheaper
• Ease of installation
• Light weight no OHS, simple effective
  jointing, full suite of fittings
• Durability - gt100year life expectancy (WSAA)
• Proven Performance over decades
• Low failure rate, excellent joint performance
  (tree root intrusion, leakage), corrosion
  resistant, potable water no taste odour or pH
  issues AS4020.

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Typical house Cost Comparison DWV Stormwater,
Supply Install
7.2 x PVC
2.6 x PVC

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Market Dynamics

• Strong competition within PVC pipe industry
  multiple manufacturers of all products
• Few alternatives offer full product range
• Eliminate PVC and in many areas left with sole
  supply situation a non competitive market

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An actual example without competition retic
water projects
Double the cost for pipe alone

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Olympics cost to avoid PVC pipe

• BIS Shrapnel Report
• 15.3M avoidance cost for pipe alone where they
  could find alternatives
• In many areas alternatives were simply
  unacceptable

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Life Cycle Comparisons

• Building product LCAs are neutral to positive on
  the comparative environmental impacts of PVC
  pipe
• GASTEC (Neth., 1996) - pipe systems
• Swiss Fed. Lab. (1998) - pipe systems
• European Parliament Life Cycle Assessment of PVC
  of Competing Materials.(2004)
• This report found no evidence to support a bias
  against PVC and as a result has placed no
  restrictions on its use.

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Other key reports covering PVC and Environmental
impact

• CSIRO concluded "the balance of available
  evidence indicates that PVC in its building and
  construction applications has no more effect on
  the environment than its alternatives".
• A discussion of some of the scientific issues
  concerning the use of PVC, Dr P Coghlan, CSIRO,
  2001
• US Green Building Council Draft Report 2004
• based on an analysis of over 2400 scientific
  papers, submissions from green groups, the
  building industry and PVC industries.
• We await the final report
• Neutral towards PVC - No grounds to discriminate
  against PVC

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Australian PVC Pipe Additives

• No Plasticisers
• No Cadmium stabilisers
• No Lead stabilisers in pressure pipe (since 1986)
• No Lead stabilisers in any pipe product by 2008
  PIPA Product Stewardship commitment
• gt90 of all pipe products will be lead free by
  end 2006
• Committed to the removal of lead stabilisers in
  recognition of the communitys desire to remove
  all lead from the environment.
• The lead stabiliser is being replaced with
  organic based and calcium zinc stabiliser systems.

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Environmental Positives Embodied Energy

• CSIRO Report comparing Ductile iron cement lined
  (DICL) and PVC pressure pipeline applications
  (Piping Embodied Energy Analysis
  Ambrose, Salomonsson Burn, CSIRO Manufacturing
  and Infrastructure Technology 2002)
• PVC Consistently outperforms DICL
• Up to 6 times less embodied energy using PVC-O
  over equivalent DICL option. (2.35 min to
  6.25 max difference)

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Environmental PositivesMaterial Efficiency
pressure pipe

• PVC-O vs PVC-U
• 2x strength, 10x impact, significant increase in
  fatigue performance.
• Wall thickness approximately 50
• Larger bore, gt10 better hydraulic performance
• Retains all existing benefits of PVCU

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Environmental PositivesMaterial Efficiency non
pressure pipes

• Structured wall
• Sandwich construction multi layer pipe
• Same stiffness
• Facilitates recycling
• 15 - 25 less energy
• 15 - 30 less material
• Smooth bore same hydraulic performance as solid
  wall

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Environmental PositivesDurability

• WSAA assign gt100 year life to all pressure and
  non pressure infrastructure piping (WSAA PVC Pipe
  Product Appraisal)
• Other studies support this conclusion
• Whittle / Tennakoon Plastics Pipes XII Milan
  Italy 2004 Predicting residual life of PVC sewer
  pipes.
• Millewa, pressure water pipes
• Long life translates to effective use of
  resources
• At this point there are limited quantities to
  recycle because we are still within their first
  100 years of service life

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Environmental PositivesRecycling

• PVC is recyclable and IS BEING RECYCLED
• No post industrial waste to landfill Post
  consumer rigid PVC is recycled
• Sandwich pipe and conduits ideal
• Provides opportunity to recycle larger volumes in
  future as volume of recyclate increases
• Provides opportunity to recycle other rigid PVC
  products into pipe eg profiles
• DWV, conduit, sewer and stormwater pipe use the
  recyclate - restrict their use and limit ability
  to recycle

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Environmental PositivesRecycling Collex, Alex
Fraser
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Conclusion

• Few products have been as rigorously and
  transparently scrutinized in terms of
  environmental impacts as PVC.
• Need to look very carefully at alternatives
• Support selection on merit principle
• PVC pipe is undoubtedly cost effective
• PVC pipe has good sustainability credentials