Research paper
Plastics that contain hazardous substances: recycle or incinerate?
Publication date: February 11, 2015
Organisation: Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu (RIVM)
The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) in the Netherlands published a report on the recycling of materials that contain hazardous substances.
This report focuses on a few cases where hazardous substances have been incorporated into potentially recyclable material: the flameretardant hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) in Styrofoam (extruded polystyrene), and the plasticiser DEHP, cadmium and lead in polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The report outlines the technical background to the recycling of these materials, current practice and the complex legislation on recycling, and it ends with some policy recommendations.