Everyday black plastic products namely food trays, toys, coat hangers may contain hazardous chemicals such as bromine, antimony and lead, stated new study.

‘Everyday black plastic products namely food trays, toys, coat hangers may contain hazardous chemicals such as bromine, antimony and lead.’

Now scientists at the University of Plymouth have shown that a combination of the growing demand for black plastic and the inefficient sorting of end-of-life electrical equipment is causing contaminated material to be introduced into the recyclate. 




This is in part because despite black plastics constituting about 15% of the domestic waste stream, this waste material is not readily recycled owing to the low sensitivity of black pigments to near infrared radiation used in conventional plastic sorting facilities. The study is published in Environmental International and was conducted by Dr Andrew Turner, a Reader in Environmental Science at the University.
As well as posing a threat to human health, he says the study demonstrates there are potentially harmful effects for the marine and coastal environment either through the spread of the products as litter or as microplastics.
For this research, Dr Turner used XRF spectrometry to assess the levels of a range of elements in more than 600 black plastic products such as food-contact items, storage, clothing, toys, jewellery, office items and new and old electronic and electrical equipment.
Bromine, in the form of brominated compounds, is and has been used in electrical plastic housings as a flame retardant, while lead is often encountered in electronic plastics as a contaminant. However, both elements were found extensively in non-electrical black consumer products tested, where they are not needed or desirable.
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Speaking about the current study, Dr Turner said: "There are environmental and health impacts arising from the production and use of plastics in general, but black plastics pose greater risks and hazards. This is due to the technical and economic constraints imposed on the efficient sorting and separation of black waste for recycling, coupled with the presence of harmful additives required for production or applications in the electronic and electrical equipment and food packaging sectors."
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This research is the latest work by Dr Turner examining the presence of toxic substances within everyday products. He has previously conducted research which showed that decorated drinking glasses can contain harmful levels of lead and cadmium, that the plastic used in second hand toys often fails to meet international safety directives, and that playground paints should be more closely monitored to reduce potential danger to public health.
Source-Eurekalert