Recycling of plastic waste: Presence of phthalates in plastics from households and industry
dc.contributor.author
dc.date.accessioned
2019-09-16T12:24:42Z
dc.date.available
2019-09-16T12:24:42Z
dc.date.issued
2016-08-01
dc.identifier.issn
0956-053X
dc.identifier.uri
dc.description.abstract
Plastics recycling has the potential to substitute virgin plastics partially as a source of raw materials in plastic product manufacturing. Plastic as a material may contain a variety of chemicals, some potentially hazardous. Phthalates, for instance, are a group of chemicals produced in large volumes and are commonly used as plasticisers in plastics manufacturing. Potential impacts on human health require restricted use in selected applications and a need for the closer monitoring of potential sources of human exposure. Although the presence of phthalates in a variety of plastics has been recognised, the influence of plastic recycling on phthalate content has been hypothesised but not well documented. In the present work we analysed selected phthalates (DMP, DEP, DPP, DiBP, DBP, BBzP, DEHP, DCHP and DnOP) in samples of waste plastics as well as recycled and virgin plastics. DBP, DiBP and DEHP had the highest frequency of detection in the samples analysed, with 360 μg/g, 460 μg/g and 2700 μg/g as the maximum measured concentrations, respectively. Among other, statistical analysis of the analytical results suggested that phthalates were potentially added in the later stages of plastic product manufacturing (labelling, gluing, etc.) and were not removed following recycling of household waste plastics. Furthermore, DEHP was identified as a potential indicator for phthalate contamination of plastics. Close monitoring of plastics intended for phthalates-sensitive applications is recommended if recycled plastics are to be used as raw material in production
dc.description.sponsorship
The help provided by Mikael E. Olsson and Satomi Matsuura (DTU Environment) in the analytical part of the work is greatly appreciated. Vincent M.E. Edjabou (DTU Environment) is acknowledged for his valuable help in statistical data analysis. The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of the Danish Research Council through the 3R Research School and the IRMAR project (grant no. 11-116775).
dc.format.mimetype
application/pdf
dc.language.iso
eng
dc.publisher
Elsevier
dc.relation.isformatof
Versió postprint del document publicat a: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2016.05.014
dc.relation.ispartof
© Waste Management, 2016, vol. 54, p. 44-52
dc.relation.ispartofseries
Articles publicats (D-IMA)
dc.rights
Tots els drets reservats
dc.subject
dc.title
Recycling of plastic waste: Presence of phthalates in plastics from households and industry
dc.type
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.rights.accessRights
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.date.embargoEndDate
info:eu-repo/date/embargoEnd/2018-08-01
dc.type.version
info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion
dc.identifier.doi
dc.identifier.idgrec
026289
dc.type.peerreviewed
peer-reviewed