When working on a design project that requires resilient flooring, what product would you choose? Of course things like application, location and maintenance requirements will play a role in your decision, but nearly a decade ago the obvious answer would have been vinyl flooring. In fact, it was the accepted flooring of choice.

In recent years however, with increasing awareness of sustainability and environmental responsibility, most designers get a little nervous about choosing vinyl and when possible have turned to alternatives such as rubber and linoleum floors. We wanted to find out why vinyl is considered toxic and bad for the environment.

O-Vert decided to ask the question: VINYL: EVIL OR JUST MISUNDERSTOOD?

WHAT IS VINYL?

Vinyl is a synthetic material first created in the 1920’s. Vinyl is made from ethylene (crude oil) and chlorine (found in salt) which is combined to create polyvinyl chloride resin or PVC for short.

Vinyl is a popular building material due to it’s durability, low cost to manufacture and that it can be made into a large variety of rigid and flexible products. In order to keep from breaking down, PVC requires stabilizers in the form of various chemicals ingredients to remain resistant. More additives called plasticizers are then added to PVC to give it a flexible quality you would see in flooring. In fact, when you search PVC on the internet you will find site after site explaining all of the endless chemical compositions that make up the various types of vinyls. It would take a degree in chemistry to sort through all of this, but we were able to pull out some important points:

1. Vinyl is synthetic, not natural.
2. A common bi-product in the manufacturing process of vinyl is called chlorine dioxin which is a known carcinogen. This dioxin (aka toxic pollution) is also released if PVC is incinerated at the end of it’s life cycle.

HOW UNSAFE IS VINYL?

There are varying reports on how dangerous vinyl is during it’s consumer use. Vinyl is used in many industries including medical (for things like intravenous bags, gloves, valves etc), auto (interior upholstery, floor mats, dashboards etc), and of course the construction industry (siding, window frames, flooring, gutters etc). Although some will claim that vinyl is relatively harmless during it’s intended use, it is also said that some of the additives and plasticizers have been known to leach out of the products over time or through off-gassing after initial installation. We are all familiar with the smell of a new shower curtain or car interior and now know that this is the result of chemicals being released from the products.

CAN VINYL BE RECYCLED?

So far, it’s not looking good for vinyl. When speaking with one of our local vinyl flooring representatives, we were told that their product contained 25% recycled content and was now 100% recyclable. This sounded too good to be true! Most research will tell you that in actuality, vinyl is very difficult to recycle because of it’s high chlorine content. When pressed further, the flooring rep admitted the recycled content was mostly post-industrial, meaning it had never reached the consumer, and that the recycling of the product was only currently happening in Europe and for now was unavailable in North America. He did tell mention that we might be able to find a company who could down-cycle the flooring into safety cones.

If vinyl is difficult to recycle what happens to it? Most often it ends up incinerated or in a land fill. In both scenarios dioxins are either released into the air or eventually leached into the land surrounding a landfill.

VERDICT

With all of this new information, it is much easier to understand why PVC has made so many material red lists and is now being used more cautiously. Regardless, it still remains the most popular type of flooring, in particular in health care applications where it provides an inexpensive, durable, moisture resistant material with minimal seams that can be coved up the wall for better maintenance and overall germ control. It is difficult to find another flooring that can meet the strict requirements of a healthcare application.

However, where a coved base is not required such as in an office or retail application, there are many other options to consider. Two, most commonly used by Omicron are linoleum and rubber flooring.

Linoleum is made from natural materials including linseed oil, limestone and jute for the backing. It is 100% biodegradable and is offered in an endless array of colour and pattern options which is an added bonus.

Rubber flooring is mostly known for it’s high recycled content (some floors can see up to 90% recycled tires as part of it’s composition) and manufacturers within British Columbia can make it a local product. Not to mention it is very comfortable underfoot and reduces the amount of foot traffic noise compared to some harder surfaces.

Although vinyl has not yet been eliminated as a product in our industry, it is definitely worth taking a second look at where and why you might be using it and what possible alternates could be better choices for your project.