GREENING SYNAGOGUES RESOURCES

PVC/Vinyl and Alternatives

Among the most pervasive, persistent, and problematic building materials is PVC, polyvinyl chloride, or just “vinyl.” It is toxic in its production, deadly if burned in fire or incinerated, and a near-permanent contribution to landfills if ultimately dumped. Avoiding vinyl should be a primary concern for all ethical building initiatives, and vinyl’s marriage of social and environmental justice concerns make it a natural area in which to focus green synagogue efforts.

Jewish groups have a powerful and vital educational tool in activist filmmaker Judith Helfand’s award-winning documentary, Blue Vinyl. The educational campaign in which she and her partners engaged often included COEJL, leading to the creation of source-sheets on why vinyl is a Jewish issue. And the website they created -- myhouseisyourhouse.org -- is an incredibly helpful repository of information and ideas for combating this pervasive pollutant. (One of the pictures at that website shows “Rabbinic students at the Reconstructionist Rabbinic College in Philadelphia, PA, after BLUE VINYL screening and discussion about 'building in good faith'. After their discussion about building just institutions out of non-toxic materials, they posed with their BLUE VINYL 'tchotchkies' in front of the Torah.”)

Alternatives to vinyl do exist! And they come in all forms and all price-ranges. Sometimes they may be more expensive than vinyl; as an example, linoleum can be much pricier than PVC tile flooring (though the former is also more durable, and is made from renewable linseed oil rather than from oil and chemicals). But sometimes the alternatives look entirely different -- recycled carpet, cork, or other flooring, for instance. And sometimes it involves going back to tried and true approaches -- wood rather than vinyl-clad windows; sheetrock and drywall rather than PVC wallboard; and so forth. All it takes is a bit of research and persistence to find alternatives which aren’t responsible for cancer in Louisiana, increased casualties in fires, and perma-pollution in our solid waste.

The most vexing alternative issue has usually been windows, but there's a new and more accurate life cycle analysis from GreenSpec in England that says it all -- read, and show your architect and contractor, the information found here.

COEJL has long collaborated (through Working Films, involving Judith Helfand, Daniel Gold, and others) with the Healthy Building Network, which is a key resource for learning about PVC and the alternatives to it.

Click here for the Healthy Building Network's PVC Fact Sheet online, or for the pdf version.

Click here for the HBN's alternatives to vinyl online resource.