Why using wood (and not PVC) in doors
and windows manufacturing.
For some time, several companies and countries have adopted a roadmap towards the gradual elimination of PVC in products and public structures. In England, Greenpeace even draws to this conclusion: “a long time will be needed to convince consumers that PVC is harmful for our planet, especially with the multimillionaires of the plastic materials industry supporting it; but the idea is slowly gaining ground. For example, wood doors or windows enable energy saving, both in the production and use. They are reasonably easy to repair and maintain, they last longer than any other product available, they are biodegradable and can be recycled at the end of their service life without polluting the atmosphere. No other material meets these standards and this is proved by the hundreds years of use.
In conclusion, wood is the raw material par excellence thanks to its extremely limited pollution rate during its processing. It can be produced, renovated, disposed of or re-used in perfect symbiosis with the environment.
In recent years, the marketing of windows and other products in PVC perfectly imitating wood, has developed. In the misleading slogans spread by the powerful plastic industries and oil barons, PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) is even defined as a “natural product”, as it is made of materials which are naturally available, like ethylene (which is derived from oil) and chlorine (an highly polluting element). Owing to its chemical composition the material is clearly not eco-compatible and its use is likely to be limited in the future because of the health and environmental consequences implied, both during the manufacturing and disposal processes.
