California Bans Recycled Plastic Resin in ABS Pipe

The State of California has banned the use of “regrind” or recycled plastic resin for use in ABS drain-waste-vent pipe. The new law stemmed from major problems with pipe failure of recycled-content ABS pipe made by several companies during the 1980s. For some homeowners, repairs cost tens of thousands of dollars since all D-W-V pipe had to be replaced. Manufacturers used the regrind or recycled plastic as a way to reduce costs and make ABS pipe more competitive with PVC pipe (which has a lower resin cost than ABS); it was generally not done for environmental reasons. This provides an important lesson to environmentally concerned manufacturers: while the use of recycled materials is admirable and should be encouraged, it should not be done at the expense of performance or durability. The California ban takes effect January 1, 1995.