PVC BOTTLES: PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE.

Although clear bottles were first blown from rigid polyvinyl chloride (PVC) more than a quarter century ago, it was not until 1965 that advancements in technology made them economically competitive for widespread use in the packaging market. PVC then passed through a period of broad acceptance, followed by a period of regulatory uncertainty. Now, after several years of efforts on behalf of PVC bottle compound procedures, machinery suppliers, PVC bottle suppliers and the various divisions of the Society of the Plastics Industry - not to mention the efforts of numerous packaged goods marketers - the cloud over the use of PVC in food containers is rapidly dissipating. This is good news indeed, because PVC has emerged from these efforts to face what promises to be the greatest growth in applications and bottle volume ever.