Condensed Consolidated Statements Of Operations (USD $) In Millions, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011
Income Statement [Abstract]
Sales	$ 740.2	$ 735.8	$ 2,313.3	$ 2,223.1
Cost of sales	597.5	621.8	1,875.2	1,857.2
Gross margin	142.7	114.0	438.1	365.9
Selling and administrative expense	92.3	71.5	290.1	227.0
Income related to previously owned equity affiliates	0	0	0.4	133.9
Operating income	50.4	42.5	148.4	272.8
Interest expense, net	(12.4)	(8.3)	(37.1)	(25.2)
Other (expense) income, net	(0.4)	(0.9)	(2.7)	0.5
Income before income taxes	37.6	33.3	108.6	248.1
Income tax expense	(13.6)	(11.7)	(39.8)	(87.8)
Net Income	24.0	21.6	68.8	160.3
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	0	0	0
Net income attributable to PolyOne common shareholders	$ 24.0	$ 21.6	$ 68.8	$ 160.3
Earnings per common share attributable to PolyOne common shareholders:
Basic earnings	$ 0.27	$ 0.24	$ 0.77	$ 1.72
Diluted earnings	$ 0.27	$ 0.23	$ 0.76	$ 1.69
Cash dividends declared per common share	$ 0.05	$ 0.04	$ 0.15	$ 0.12
Weighted-average shares used to compute earnings per share:
Basic	88.8	91.8	89.0	93.0
Diluted	90.2	94.0	90.1	95.1