Food for thought on the environmental impacts of PVC pipe:

• PVC resin starts with two simple building blocks: chlorine (57%) from common salt, a plentiful inexhaustible raw material, and ethylene (43%) from natural gas. Most of the natural gas utilized to manufacture ethylene is domestically produced, which reduces consumption of imported oil products.
• PVC Pipe manufacturing is an extremely efficient process. The ability to immediately return scrap and off-specification materials (regrind) directly into the manufacturing process results in virtually no manufacturing waste.
• PVC Pipes are completely recyclable and consume less energy to produce than alternative pipes.
• Smooth and corrosion resistant PVC lowers flow losses and reduces energy costs for pumping water
• Durability and Long-Life: The number of recorded failures in PVC pipes is low compared to other materials (AWWA Research Foundation, 2005) – valuable water resources are conserved.
• Considering equipment utilization and reduced traffic disruption, trenchless construction methods using restrained-joint PVC pipes result in significantly lower carbon outputs compared to conventional open-cut methods.
• PVC is often used to pump reclaimed, treated wastewater for applications such as irrigation of parks – conserves highly treated, expensive drinking water.
  
  More information on CertainTeed's Sustainable Building Products can be found at:
  
  http://www.certainteed.com