New Fact Sheet Reveals the Worst Plastics
Today NRDC released a fact sheet in partnership with the Break Free From Plastic movement highlighting the worst plastics. Called The Worst of the Worst: High Priority Plastic Materials, Chemical Additives, and Products to Phase Out, the resource highlights particularly toxic plastics such as PVC.
A previous report by CEH with Material Research L3C and Autocase Economic Advisory uncovered the true carbon footprint of vinyl flooring made with polyvinyl chloride (PVC), sometimes called “luxury vinyl tile.” The report showed the carbon dioxide equivalent emissions from producing this flooring, which manufacturers have been underreporting by up to 180%. Read the Fact Sheet on Flooring’s Dirty Climate Secret.
The report also provided the first-ever published estimates of the rate of use of notoriously harmful substances such as mercury, PFAS, and asbestos. These toxic substances used in PVC production both in the U.S. and in China, endanger workers and fenceline communities along the entire global supply chain.