PVC panels for raised beds
Are PVC panels safe to use as sides for raised bed food growing?
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
I think it depends. There is what is called "food grade wall panels"
"Food grade plastic wall panels such as Kemlite, Glasboard, Sani-Armour and PVC are certified for food grade use in food or produce facilities. If you operate a fruit or vegetable produce facility, food processing plant, abbatoir, meat plant, or a bread and pastries facility we can help. Our panels are FDA and CFIA approved"
https://www.polyzone.com/products/food-g ... s-moldings
Hygiene Food Grade PVC Sheets available in White and Coloured. Cut to Size Sevice available.
https://www.polycarbonateonline.co.uk/ca ... heets.aspx
In general PVC is an environmental disaster:
The Healthy Building Network, a coalition of green-building professionals and others interested in sustainable building materials and practices, has called PVC an environmental-health disaster. Its production involves the use and release of extremely toxic chemicals. Flexible PVC products contain toxic plasticizers that leach out of the material and can be a health hazard for users. PVC plastic is not widely recyclable and when burned releases dangerous hydrogen chloride gas and dioxin, one of the most toxic chemicals known.
https://watoxics.org/healthy-living/heal ... eets/vinyl
Put note the leaching refers to flexible PVC products, which have phthalates added to make them flexible. As near as I can tell for rigid PVC the environmental impacts & health hazards mostly relate to their production and their destruction (burning).
So if you have rigid PVC panels lying around and want to use them because they are sitting there for free, there is probably no particular risk to that. If it were me, I would not want to buy them for that purpose.
"Food grade plastic wall panels such as Kemlite, Glasboard, Sani-Armour and PVC are certified for food grade use in food or produce facilities. If you operate a fruit or vegetable produce facility, food processing plant, abbatoir, meat plant, or a bread and pastries facility we can help. Our panels are FDA and CFIA approved"
https://www.polyzone.com/products/food-g ... s-moldings
Hygiene Food Grade PVC Sheets available in White and Coloured. Cut to Size Sevice available.
https://www.polycarbonateonline.co.uk/ca ... heets.aspx
In general PVC is an environmental disaster:
The Healthy Building Network, a coalition of green-building professionals and others interested in sustainable building materials and practices, has called PVC an environmental-health disaster. Its production involves the use and release of extremely toxic chemicals. Flexible PVC products contain toxic plasticizers that leach out of the material and can be a health hazard for users. PVC plastic is not widely recyclable and when burned releases dangerous hydrogen chloride gas and dioxin, one of the most toxic chemicals known.
https://watoxics.org/healthy-living/heal ... eets/vinyl
Put note the leaching refers to flexible PVC products, which have phthalates added to make them flexible. As near as I can tell for rigid PVC the environmental impacts & health hazards mostly relate to their production and their destruction (burning).
So if you have rigid PVC panels lying around and want to use them because they are sitting there for free, there is probably no particular risk to that. If it were me, I would not want to buy them for that purpose.