Hygienic Assessment of Recycled Polymers for Their Potential Use in the Manufacturing of Children’s Products

Background: At present, one of the critical hygienic tasks is to study the potentials of using recycled polymer materials in the manufacturing of modern children’s products and ensuring their chemical safety. Secondary polymer materials are various polymer wastes that have lost their consumer properties but have retained their technological characteristics enabling their reuse as raw materials. A number of significant initiatives on the use of recycled polymers in the production of goods for children and adolescents are already being implemented worldwide.

Objective: To assess safety of recycled polymer materials used for the manufacturing of children’s products, including toys.

Materials and methods: We studied 96 samples of primary and recycled polymer materials based on polyethylene terephthalate and high-density polyethylene by performing 4,186 tests using 31 chemical, physical, organoleptic, and toxicology methods.

Results: We obtained the results of a comparative study of primary and recycled polymer materials that included determination of migration of 48 volatile and semivolatile organic compounds to the air of environmental (climate) chambers and an aqueous model environment; migration of cadmium, lead, chromium, arsenic, selenium, barium, antimony, and mercury into distilled water; toxicity indices in the air of climate chambers and in aqueous extracts; organoleptic parameters (odor of the sample, odor and taste of the aqueous extract); changes in pH and permanganate index of aqueous extracts, and color fastness to saliva and sweat. Under standard conditions of sample preparation and under all aggravated conditions (e.g., high temperature, long-term exposure, etc.), nonconforming products were not found; in some samples, the levels of chemicals tested were below the limits of detection. We observed no differences between the results of testing primary and recycled polymer materials.

Conclusions: We established that the tested samples of recycled polymers based on polyethylene terephthalate and high-density polyethylene are chemically stable and can therefore be recommended for use in the manufacturing of products for children and adolescents on equal terms with primary polymer materials.

1. Shugalei IV, Tselinskii IV, Voznyakovskij AP, Garabadjiu AV. The problem of polymers’ waste recovery in Russia. Ekologicheskaya Khimiya. 2011;20(4):218-230. (In Russ.)

2. Hahladakis JN. Delineating the global plastic marine litter challenge: clarifying the misconceptions. Environ Monit Assess. 2020;192(5):267. doi: 10.1007/s10661-020-8202-9

3. Axelsson C, van Sebille E. Prevention through policy: Urban macroplastic leakages to the marine environment during extreme rainfall events. Mar Pollut Bull. 2017;124(1):211-227. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.07.024

4. Yakimenko AL, Blinovskaya YaYu. [On the issue of the study of microplastics in the marine environment.] Teoreticheskie i Prikladnye Aspekty Sovremennoy Nauki. 2015;(7-2):139-141. (In Russ.)

5. Hahladakis JN, Velis CA, Weber R, Iacovidou E, Purnell P. An overview of chemical additives present in plastics: Migration, release, fate and environmental impact during their use, disposal and recycling. J Hazard Mater. 2018;344:179-199. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2017.10.014

6. Horton AA, Walton A, Spurgeon DJ, Lahive E, Svendsen C. Microplastics in freshwater and terrestrial environments: Evaluating the current understanding to identify the knowledge gaps and future research priorities. Sci Total Environ. 2017;586:127-141. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.01.190

7. Schmidt K, Krauth T, Wagner S. Export of plastic debris by rivers into the sea. Environ Sci Technol. 2017;51(21):12246-12253. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.7b02368

8. Job S. Recycling composites commercially. Reinf Plast. 2014;58(5):32-34, 36-38. doi: 10.1016/S0034-3617(14)70213-9

9. Акишева Б., Джуринская И. Перспективы и безопасность использования вторичного сырья в качестве наполнителя мягких игрушек. // Norwegian Journal of Development of the International Science. 2021. № 60. С. 13–17. doi: 10.24412/3453-9875-2021-60-2-13-17

10. Akisheva B, Jurinskaya I. Prospects and safety of using recycled materials as a filler in soft toys. Norwegian Journal Development of the International Science 2021;(60):13-17. (In Russ.) doi: 10.24412/3453-9875-2021-60-2-13-17

11. Kajiwara N, Matsukami H, Malarvannan G, Chakraborty P, Covaci A, Takigami H. Recycling plastics containing decabromodiphenyl ether into new consumer products including children's toys purchased in Japan and seventeen other countries. Chemosphere. 2022;289:133179. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.133179

12. Guzzonato A, Puype F, Harrad SJ. Evidence of bad recycling practices: BFRs in children's toys and food-contact articles. Environ Sci Process Impacts. 2017;19(7):956-963. doi: 10.1039/c7em00160f

13. Tu JC, Huang XS. Research on the use of recycled plastic bottles for toy development. Conference – Innovations, Communication and Engineering. 2014:517-520. doi: 10.1201/b15935-134

14. Ionas AC, Dirtu AC, Anthonissen T, Neels H, Covaci A. Downsides of the recycling process: harmful organic chemicals in children's toys. Environ Int. 2014;65:54-62. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2013.12.019

15. Pivnenko K, Granby K, Eriksson E, Astrup TF. Recycling of plastic waste: Screening for brominated flame retardants (BFRs). Waste Manag. 2017;69:101-109. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2017.08.038

16. Eriksen MK, Pivnenko K, Olsson ME, Astrup TF. Contamination in plastic recycling: Influence of metals on the quality of reprocessed plastic. Waste Manag. 2018;79:595-606. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2018.08.007

17. Norton M. Tackling the challenge of packaging plastic in the environment. Chemistry. 2020;26(35):7737-7739. doi: 10.1002/chem.202001890

18. Antonopoulos I, Faraca G, Tonini D. Recycling of post-consumer plastic packaging waste in the EU: Recovery rates, material flows, and barriers. Waste Manag. 2021;126:694-705. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2021.04.002

19. Turku I, Kärki T, Rinne K, Puurtinen A. Characterization of plastic blends made from mixed plastics waste of different sources. Waste Manag Res. 2017;35(2):200–206. doi: 10.1177/0734242X16678066

20. Faraca G, Astrup T. Plastic waste from recycling centres: Characterisation and evaluation of plastic recyclability. Waste Manag. 2019;95:388-398. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2019.06.038

21. Milios L, Holm Christensen L, McKinnon D, Christensen C, Rasch MK, Hallstrøm Eriksen M. Plastic recycling in the Nordics: A value chain market analysis. Waste Manag. 2018;76:180-189. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2018.03.034

22. Salhofer S, Jandric A, Soudachanh S, Xuan TL, Tran TD. Plastic recycling practices in Vietnam and related hazards for health and the environment. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(8):4203. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18084203

23. Mao S, Gu W, Bai J, et al. Migration of heavy metal in electronic waste plastics during simulated recycling on a laboratory scale. Chemosphere. 2020;245:125645. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.125645

24. Chernyuk VD, Kukharchyk TI. Polymer wastes potentially containing brominated flame retardants: volumes, spatial distribution and recycling in Belarus. Prirodnye Resursy. 2020;(2):115-124. (In Russ.)

25. Barsukova NK, Chumicheva OA, Khramtsov PI, Nadjozhina LG. The scientific basis for ensuring the safety of children’s products. Voprosy Shkol'noy i Universitetskoy Meditsiny i Zdorov’ya. 2019;(1):58-63. (In Russ.)