Blends of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) with varying contents of plasticizer and finely ground powder of waste nitrile rubber rollers were prepared over a wide range of rubber contents through high-temperature blending. The effects of rubber and plasticizer (dioctyl phthalate) content on the tensile strength, percentage elongation, impact properties, hardness, abrasion resistance, flexural crack resistance, limiting oxygen index (1,01), electrical properties, and breakdown voltage were studied. The percentage elongation, flexural crack resistance, and impact strength of blends increased considerably over those of PVC. The waste rubber had a plasticizing effect. Blends of waste plasticized PVC and waste nitrile rubber showed promising properties. The electrical properties and LOI decreased with increasing rubber and plasticizer content. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 1552-1558, 2004.