PVC windows could be phased out from council homes because they may be toxic.

Brighton and Hove City Council's sustainability commission will discuss a proposal on Wednesday to stop using PVC windows and investigate more environmentally-friendly options.

A report compiled by council officers over the past two years raises concerns about increasing problems with PVC waste, the continuing unknowns about its hazards and toxicity, and the environmental impact.

The report says: "Many of the chemicals used to make PVC are the subject of international conventions to ban them.

"Some have been banned from production but are still present in existing PVC.

"The complex cocktail of different additives within PVC make it difficult to recycle and hazardous additives such as cadmium, found in old PVC products, are recycled even if they have been phased out.

"Incineration is the industry's preferred option but this leads to large quantities of hazardous residues which are then disposed of in landfills."

PVC windows have already been banned in some European and UK cities but Brighton and Hove's housing maintenance department has expressed concerns about moving back to more expensive timber.

However, members of the sustainability commission argue that environmental costs outweigh these concerns and PVC windows that need repairing should be replaced with more ecofriendly material.

Richard Mallender, who sits on the commission, said: "We had difficulty getting the report out of the officers but everybody on the commission wanted to have a look into the issue.

"Timber windows are better for the environment and if they are properly maintained can last as long."

Joyce Edmond-Smith, the commission's chairman, said: "The report is suggesting PVC windows are not the best environmental option and we should be looking at how to phase them out.

"We need to have clear information because increasingly we will be having to weigh up costs and the environmental impact. In the past the environment has usually lost out but in the future it will grow much more in importance."

Melanie Cole, of Bolney Road, Moulsecoomb, Brighton, has had PVC windows for 15 years but is concerned about the impact toxic materials could have on the environment.

She said: "If they decided to replace them all in one go it would be such a waste of money when so much work needs to be done.

"But we have to take the environmental issue seriously so if they have to replace the windows and decide to put wooden ones in, I would be all for it."

If the proposal is given the go-ahead this week, it will be presented to the housing committee to look into costs.