It can be processed into a wide range of short-life products such as packaging for food, beverages and cleaning products, medical devices and is widely used as a weather-proof coating for banners, tarpaulins and grain covers. PVC is considered a universal polymer because of its low cost, desirable properties and versatility. In Australia, PVC accounts for one third of the plastics market by volume (Vinyl Council Australia, 2017). Poly vinyl chloride (PVC, or also commonly referred to as vinyl) is, in terms of global market share, the third most widely utilised of the thermoplastics (Stichnothe and Azapagic, 2013). Over the past 50 years, the volume of plastics used across every sector of the global economy has increased 20-fold and demand is expected to double again over the next 20 years (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2016). The unrivalled properties and relatively low cost of polymers is driving continuous growth in plastics production worldwide. Suggested use of waste PVC through this cost-effective and sustainable approach can stop 220–250 t of waste going to landfill every year in Australia. These results demonstrate that waste PVC-coated banners can be used to fabricate strong and durable composite panels for multiple indoor and outdoor applications and one example of final product is shown. Inductive Couple Plasma Mass Spectroscope also demonstrated no toxic elements were released from the panels after soaking in distilled water for 28 days. Panels were tested physically and mechanically and their performance in various possible environments was observed. Composite panels were fabricated using hot press with various wt. A safe fabrication temperature (<200 ☌) was determined using thermogravimetric analysis coupled with furrier transform infra-red spectroscope to prevent the generation of toxic gases. Both materials were characterized elementally and structurally using X-ray fluorescence and X-ray diffraction techniques. ![]() Life cycle analysis study proves that replacing virgin PVC by recycled PVC from banner emits 78% less kg CO 2 equivalent. End-of-life banner material was shredded with recycled cable material which improved the mix density and made material suitable for plastic manufacturing techniques. ![]() This study details a new low-cost solution for waste Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) coated banners that does not require the separation of the PVC from the polyester fabric overcoming a major barrier to recycling. Australian industry estimates 500 t of banners are land-filled every year due to its complex nature which makes recycling either difficult or an expensive process.
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