- Title
- Risk assessment of recycled plastic products
- Creator
- Daggubati, Lakshmi Vandana
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2024
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- The global plastic economy is facing challenges due to the significant increase in plastic waste. To overcome these challenges and mitigate environmental impacts, reducing, reusing, and recycling have become pivotal strategies globally. These alternative methods are viewed as viable alternatives to landfill and incineration for managing plastic waste. Recycling, in particular, plays a crucial role in reducing plastic waste worldwide. However, concerns persist regarding the potential toxicity of recycled plastic products due to chemicals and contaminants. This is thesis examines and shows evidence of the presence of harmful chemicals, such as metals, PFAS, PAH, flame retardants, and plasticizers, many of which can have significant effects on human health and the environment. Despite growing awareness, there is limited research and data on the levels of hazardous chemicals in recycled plastic materials. Nonetheless, reports detailing the chemicals present in recycled plastic products raise concerns for human and environmental health. This is exacerbated by the lack of regulation governing recycled plastic applications, and the potential for leachates to be released from recycled plastic products. To address this gap, comprehensive sequential investigations were conducted to investigate the properties, chemical fingerprints and environmental fate of recycled plastic products to better understand their potential risk to human and environmental health. This thesis explores the interplay between recycling, chemical toxicity, effects on human health and terrestrial organisms, as well as the fate and behaviour of recycled plastic during ageing and weathering in aquatic environments. This research has shown that levels of chemicals are higher in recycled plastics compared to virgin plastic products. Recycled microplastic particles revealed distinct effects on terrestrial organisms, including adverse effects on reproduction, alteration of the gut microbiome, and impacts on DNA and metabolites. Furthermore, the ageing and weathering of recycled plastic leads to morphological changes, with fluctuations in metal(liod)s over a 12-month period. Continued degradation may result in further chemical leaching and the release of microplastics, which can adversely affect the health of aquatic organisms. The leaching of PFAs is also observed in biological matrices (saliva, gastric and intestine juices) and the recycled plastic tends to leach more than virgin plastic which causes risk to human life. Consequently, we highlight a significant knowledge gap regarding recycled plastic and its toxicity, emphasizing the need to safeguard human health and environmental well-being in the recycling process.
- Subject
- recycled plastic; risk assessment; plastic waste; environmental well-being
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1513623
- Identifier
- uon:56748
- Rights
- This thesis is currently under embargo and will be available from 31.10.2025. Copyright 2024 Lakshmi Vandana Daggubati
- Language
- eng
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