Plastics and the Environment

Plastics and the Environment

ISSUES IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

SERIES EDITORS:

R. E. Hester, University of York, UK

R. M. Harrison, University of Birmingham, UK

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD:

S. J. de Mora, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK, G. Eduljee, SITA, UK, Z. Fleming, University of Leicester, UK, L. Heathwaite, Lancaster University, UK, S. Holgate, University of Southampton, UK, P. K. Hopke, Clarkson University, USA, P. S. Liss, University of East Anglia, UK, S. Pollard, Cranfield University, UK, A. Proctor, University of Arkansas, USA, X. Querol, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Spain, D. Taylor, WCA Environmental Ltd, UK, N. Voulvoulis, Imperial College London, UK.

TITLES IN THE SERIES:

1: Mining and its Environmental Impact

2: Waste Incineration and the Environment

3: Waste Treatment and Disposal

4: Volatile Organic Compounds in the Atmosphere

5: Agricultural Chemicals and the Environment

6: Chlorinated Organic Micropollutants

7: Contaminated Land and its Reclamation

8: Air Quality Management

9: Risk Assessment and Risk Management

10: Air Pollution and Health

11: Environmental Impact of Power Generation

12: Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals

13: Chemistry in the Marine Environment

14: Causes and Environmental Implications of Increased UV-B Radiation

15: Food Safety and Food Quality

16: Assessment and Reclamation of Contaminated Land

17: Global Environmental Change

18: Environmental and Health Impact of Solid Waste Management Activities

19: Sustainability and Environmental Impact of Renewable Energy Sources

20: Transport and the Environment

21: Sustainability in Agriculture

22: Chemicals in the Environment: Assessing and Managing Risk

23: Alternatives to Animal Testing

24: Nanotechnology

25: Biodiversity Under Threat

26: Environmental Forensics

27: Electronic Waste Management

28: Air Quality in Urban Environments

29: Carbon Capture

30: Ecosystem Services

31: Sustainable Water

32: Nuclear Power and the Environment

33: Marine Pollution and Human Health

34: Environmental Impacts of Modern Agriculture

35: Soils and Food Security

36: Chemical Alternatives Assessments

37: Waste as a Resource

38: Geoengineering of the Climate System

39: Fracking

40: Still Only One Earth: Progress in the 40 Years Since the First UN Conference on the Environment

41: Pharmaceuticals in the Environment

42: Airborne Particulate Matter

43: Agricultural Chemicals and the Environment: Issues and Potential Solutions, 2nd Edition

44: Environmental Impacts of Road Vehicles: Past, Present and Future

45: Coal in the 21st Century: Energy Needs, Chemicals and Environmental Controls

46: Energy Storage Options and Their Environmental Impact

47: Plastics and the Environment

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ISSUES IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

EDITORS: R.E. HESTER AND R.M. HARRISON

47

Plastics and the Environment

Issues in Environmental Science and Technology No. 47

Print ISBN: 978-1-78801-241-6

PDF ISBN: 978-1-78801-331-4

EPUB ISBN: 978-1-78801-660-5

Print ISSN: 1350-7583

Electronic ISSN: 1465-1874

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2019

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Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of research for non-commercial purposes or for private study, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003, this publication may not be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of The Royal Society of Chemistry or the copyright owner, or in the case of reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK, or in accordance with the terms of the licences issued by the appropriate Reproduction Rights Organization outside the UK. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the terms stated here should be sent to The Royal Society of Chemistry at the address printed on this page.

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Preface

At the time of writing, the topic of plastics in the environment is much in the news, with the general public being well aware of the concerns raised. In the UK, this high level of public interest appears to have arisen largely from a popular television programme reporting the dangers to marine life arising from plastics in the oceans. This programme highlighted the problems caused to marine mammals from ingestion of large plastic items, but the problem of plastics in the environment is much more extensive, as will be evident to the reader of this volume. Plastic debris may be seen on beaches around the world, and only around 9% of manufactured plastics are recycled. At the same time, it needs to be emphasised that there are very many benefits that society obtains from plastics, and that there are many different types of plastic. We hope that this book provides a balanced and realistic view of the role of plastics in everyday life while highlighting the environmental problems and possible ways of resolving these.

Plastics enter almost every facet of modern life and in the first chapter, Herve Millet and colleagues of Plastics Europe explains which plastics are in widespread use, some of their properties, and the beneficial aspects for society. This chapter gives essential background and context for the following chapters.

The most obvious form of plastic pollution of the environment is marine litter; in Chapter 2 Wai Chin Li and Hin Fung Tse review some of the worrying facts concerning pollution of the marine environment by larger items (litter). However, much of the concern for the environment has focussed on smaller items of millimetre dimensions or smaller, which are referred to as microplastics. In Chapter 3, Richard Thompson, an advisor to the UK government on this issue, reviews current knowledge and concerns. Some of the plastics in consumer products and some attrition products are significantly smaller than most microplastics and are of nanoscale dimensions and may give rise to particular environmental problems because of the special properties of nanoscale materials. João Pinto da Costa explores the current knowledge of nanoplastics in the environment in Chapter 4.

Most plastic materials are comprised of organic polymers. Many of the properties which make them most useful to society depend upon incorporation of plasticisers which give the flexibility that we expect from most plastic materials. Many of the chemicals used as plasticisers have known activity as endocrine disruptors and are therefore liable to have adverse effects on both wildlife and humans if exposures are at a sufficiently high level. In Chapter 5, Charles Tyler and co-authors explore the impacts on wildlife and, in Chapter 6, Tamara Galloway and co-authors report on a case study of human exposure to plasticisers.

One of the benefits of many plastics is that they can be recycled, although a surprisingly small percentage of currently used plastics are in fact recycled. In Chapter 7, Edward Kosior explores the potential of plastics for recycling, the uses for recycled plastics, which often have inferior properties to virgin material, and reviews some of the statistics for plastics recycling and re-use. In Chapter 8, Richard Thompson and Sabine Pahl give an overview and synthesis of the current societal use and concerns over plastics, indicating areas of current consensus, and point to future directions for policy and research.

Pollution by plastics is one of the most pressing and serious environmental issues currently facing society. It has been with us for a long time but there is now a widespread recognition of the need for decisive action. Such action needs to be underpinned by sound scientific knowledge and this volume provides an authoritative overview of the current state of such knowledge. We are confident that it will prove to be of value to scientists, and to students on courses relating to the environment, as well as to policymakers and members of the general public seeking reliable information on this important topic.

Ronald E. Hester

Roy M. Harrison

Contents

Editors

List of Contributors

The Nature of Plastics and Their Societal Usage

Hervé Millet, Patricia Vangheluwe, Christian Block, Arjen Sevenster, Leonor Garcia and Romanos Antonopoulos

1Plastics in a Nutshell

1.1 The History of Plastics

2How Is Plastic Made?

2.1 The Different Kinds of Plastics

3Usage of Plastics in Our Daily Lives

3.1 Packaging

3.2 Building and Construction

3.3 Transportation

3.4 Electrical and Electronic

3.5 Agriculture

3.6 Medical and Health

3.7 Sport, Leisure and Design

3.8 Renewable Energies

References

Plastic in Marine Litter

Li Wai Chin and Tse Hin Fung

1Introduction

2Plastic in Marine Litter

3Sources of Plastic

3.1 Sources of Macroplastics

3.2 Sources of Microplastics

4Occurrence of Plastics in the Marine Environment

4.1 Water Bodies

4.2 Beaches, Sediments and Shorelines

5Fate of Plastic Debris in the Marine Environment

6Physical Effects on Organisms

6.1 Plastic Ingestion

6.2 Plastic Entanglement

7Chemical Effects on Organisms

8Recommendations

9Conclusion

Acknowledgements

References

Microplastics in the Environment

Richard C. Thompson and Imogen E. Napper

1Introduction

2Size Classifications of Plastic

3Sources of Microplastics

4Distribution and Abundance

5Impacts

6Solutions

7Conclusions

References

Nanoplastics in the Environment

João Pinto da Costa

1Introduction

2Defining Nanoplastics and Ascertaining Their Sources

3Fate of Nanoplastics

4Effects of Nanoplastics

5Challenges

6Conclusions

Acknowledgements

References

Plasticisers and Their Impact on Wildlife

Charles R. Tyler, Aoife Parsons, Nicola J. Rogers, Anke Lange and A. Ross Brown

1Introduction

1.1 Plasticisers

2Environmental Exposures

2.1 Phthalates

2.2 Bisphenol A and PBDEs

3Effects in Wildlife

3.1 Phthalates

3.2 Bisphenol A and PBDEs

4Conclusions

References

Plastics Additives and Human Health: A Case Study of Bisphenol A (BPA)

T. S. Galloway, B. P. Lee, I. Burić, A. M. Steele, BPA Schools Study Consortium, A. L. Kocur, A. George Pandeth and L. W. Harries

1Introduction

1.1 Plastics and Their Additives

1.2 Migration of Chemical Substances Out of Plastics

1.3 Hazard Versus Risk

1.4 Human Biomonitoring

2A Case Study of BPA

2.1 BPA: an Endocrine Disrupting Chemical

2.2 Routes of Exposure and Potential Interventions

2.3 Genetic and Epigenetic Mechanisms of Effect

2.4 ESRRA and BPA

2.5 Expression of ESRRA In Vitro Following Exposure to BPA

2.6 Expression of ESRRA In Vivo Following Dietary Intervention to Reduce BPA Exposure

2.7 Are There Physiological Implications for Changes in the Expression of ESSRA Isoforms?

3Conclusions and Future Perspectives

Acknowledgements

References

Plastics Recycling

Edward Kosior, Jonathan Mitchell and Irene Crescenzi

1Plastic Production, Recycling and Other Methods of Disposal

2Challenges in the Recycling of Plastics

3Recycling Post-consumer High Density Polyethylene to Meet Food Grade Applications

4Recycling Post-consumer PP to Meet Food Grade Applications

5Black Plastics

6Fluorescent Markers for Sorting Packaging

References

Plastics, the Environment and Society: Current Consensus and Future Directions

Richard C. Thompson and Sabine Pahl

1Plastics as Materials

2Plastics as Waste and Litter

3Environmental Impacts of Plastics

4Socio-economic Impacts of Plastics

5Solutions and Remaining Challenges

References

Subject Index

Editors

Ronald E. Hester, BSc, DSc (London), PhD (Cornell), FRSC, CChem

Ronald E. Hester is now Emeritus Professor of Chemistry in the University of York. He was for short periods a research fellow in Cambridge and an assistant professor at Cornell before being appointed to a lectureship in chemistry in York in 1965. He was a full professor in York from 1983 to 2001. His more than 300 publications are mainly in the area of vibrational spectroscopy, latterly focusing on time-resolved studies of photoreaction intermediates and on biomolecular systems in solution. He is active in environmental chemistry and is a founder member and former chairman of the Environment Group of the Royal Society of Chemistry and editor of ‘Industry and the Environment in Perspective’ (RSC, 1983) and ‘Understanding Our Environment’ (RSC, 1986). As a member of the Council of the UK Science and Engineering Research Council and several of its sub-committees, panels and boards, he has been heavily involved in national science policy and administration. He was, from 1991 to 1993, a member of the UK Department of the Environment Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances and from 1995 to 2000 was a member of the Publications and Information Board of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Roy M. Harrison, OBE, FRS, BSc, PhD, DSc (Birmingham), FRSC, CChem, FRMetS, Hon FFPH, Hon FFOM, Hon MCIEH

Roy M. Harrison is Queen Elizabeth II Birmingham Centenary Professor of Environmental Health in the University of Birmingham. He was previously Lecturer in Environmental Sciences at the University of Lancaster and Reader and Director of the Institute of Aerosol Science at the University of Essex. His more than 500 publications are mainly in the field of environmental chemistry, although his current work includes studies of human health impacts of atmospheric pollutants as well as research into the chemistry of pollution phenomena. He is a past Chairman of the Environment Group of the Royal Society of Chemistry for whom he edited ‘Pollution: Causes, Effects and Control’ (RSC, 1983; Fifth Edition 2014). He has also edited An Introduction to Pollution Science, RSC, 2006 and Principles of Environmental Chemistry, RSC, 2007. He has a close interest in scientific and policy aspects of air pollution, having been Chairman of the Department of Environment Quality of Urban Air Review Group and the DETR Atmospheric Particles Expert Group. He is currently a member of the DEFRA Air Quality Expert Group, the Department of Health Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants, and Committee on Toxicity.

List of Contributors

Romanos Antonopoulos, PlasticsEurope, Avenue E. van Nieuwenhuyse 4/3, B-1160, Brussels.

Christian Block, PlasticsEurope, Avenue E. van Nieuwenhuyse 4/3, B-1160, Brussels.

BPA schools study consortium, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK, EX4 4AS.

A. Ross Brown, Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Geoffrey Pope Building, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK.

I. Burić, RNA-Mediated Disease Mechanisms group, Institute of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK, EX2 5DW.

Irene Crescenzi, Nextek Ltd 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR, UK.

João Pinto da Costa, CESAM and Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal. Email: jpintocosta@ua.pt; joao.pinto.da.costa@gmail.com

Tse Hin Fung, Department of Science and Environmental Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR.

T. S. Galloway, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK, EX4 4AS. Email: t.s.galloway@exeter.ac.uk

Leonor Garcia, PlasticsEurope, Avenue E. van Nieuwenhuyse 4/3, B-1160, Brussels.

L. W. Harries, RNA-Mediated Disease Mechanisms group, Institute of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK, EX2 5DW. Email: l.w.harries@exeter.ac.uk

A. L. Kocur, RNA-Mediated Disease Mechanisms group, Institute of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK, EX2 5DW.

Edward Kosior, Nextek Ltd, 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR, UK. E-mail: edkosior@nextek.org

Anke Lange, Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Geoffrey Pope Building, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK.

B. P. Lee, RNA-Mediated Disease Mechanisms group, Institute of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK, EX2 5DW.

Wai Chin Li, Department of Science and Environmental Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR. Email: waichin@eduhk.hk

Hervé Millet, PlasticsEurope, Avenue E. van Nieuwenhuyse 4/3, B-1160, Brussels. Email: herve.millet@plasticseurope.org

Jonathan Mitchell, Nextek Ltd, 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR, UK.

Imogen E. Napper, Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, UK.

Sabine Pahl, School of Psychology, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK. Email: sabine.pahl@plymouth.ac.uk

A. George Pandeth, RNA-Mediated Disease Mechanisms group, Institute of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK, EX2 5DW.

Aoife Parsons, Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Geoffrey Pope Building, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK.

Nicola J. Rogers, Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Geoffrey Pope Building, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK.

Arjen Sevenster, PlasticsEurope, Avenue E. van Nieuwenhuyse 4/3, B-1160, Brussels.

A. M. Steele, National Institute for Health Research Exeter Clinical Research Facility, Royal Devon and Exeter National Health Service Foundation Trust, and University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter, U.K.

Richard C. Thompson, Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, UK. Email: R.C.Thompson@plymouth.ac.uk

Charles R. Tyler, Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Geoffrey Pope Building, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK. E-mail: c.r.tyler@exeter.ac.uk

Patricia Vangheluwe, PlasticsEurope, Avenue E. van Nieuwenhuyse 4/3, B-1160, Brussels.

The Nature of Plastics and Their Societal Usage

HERVÉ MILLET¹, PATRICIA VANGHELUWE, CHRISTIAN BLOCK, ARJEN SEVENSTER, LEONOR GARCIA AND ROMANOS ANTONOPOULOS

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this chapter is to review the history of plastics, describe the different kinds of plastics, their applications and their benefits, giving several examples of plastics found in our daily lives. The current chapter also provides deep insight into the qualitative characteristics of plastics, while describing their chemical nature in simple terms.

1Plastics in a Nutshell

The term plastic is derived from the Greek words "plastikos, meaning fit for moulding and plastos meaning moulded". Both terms refer to the material's malleability or plasticity during manufacture, that allows it to be cast, pressed, or extruded into a variety of shapes; such as films, fibres, plates, tubes, bottles, boxes and much more.

In addition, the wide range of possibilities to change their chemical structure or formulations and therefore their final properties allow them to be used in numerous and various applications. We can find them packaging the food that we eat, in the houses we live in, the cars we drive, clothes we wear, the toys we play with and in the televisions we watch. Plastics contribute to our convenience, as well as providing several solutions in our everyday lives, and help to improve the environmental impact of products in many applications.

When it comes to their chemical nature, plastics are synthetic or semi-synthetic materials; they are organic materials, such as wood, paper or wool. Mostly derived from crude oil, they can also be produced from renewable raw materials.

In scientific terms, there are two main categories of plastic materials: thermoplastics and thermoset plastics. Thermoplastics can be heated up to form products, if these end products are re-heated the plastic will soften and melt again. Plastic bottles, films, cups, and fibres are some examples of thermoplastic products. On the other hand, thermoset plastics can be found in products such as electronic chips, dental fillings and the lenses of glasses, they will no longer melt after the setting process.

At the end of their useful life, plastic products can either be recycled back into new products or chemical raw materials or, where this is not possible or sustainable, used for energy recovery as a substitute for virgin fossil fuels.

1.1 The History of Plastics

For more than a century, plastics have been providing significant solutions for humans. The development of plastic materials started with the use of natural materials with plastic properties (e.g., chewing gum, shellac), they then evolved with the development of chemically modified natural materials (e.g. rubber, nitrocellulose, collagen, galalith). Finally, the wide range of completely synthetic materials that we would recognise as modern plastics started to be developed around 100 years ago. The first was discovered by Alexander Parkes in 1862 and is commonly known as celluloid today.¹

The development of plastic materials passed through various historical phases, becoming today the most widely used material globally. In particular, global plastics production ramped up from 1.5 million tonnes in 1950 to 335 million tonnes in 2016.²

1.1.1 19th Century: The First Polymers

Although it is largely known that plastics are a modern invention, ‘natural polymers’, such as amber, tortoiseshell and horn, are abound in nature. These materials have a similar structure to manufactured plastics and they were often used to replace glass (amber) in the 18th century.

The original breakthrough for the first semisynthetic plastics material – cellulose nitrate – occurred in the late 1850s and involved the modification of cellulose fibres with nitric acid.

Cellulose nitrate had many false starts and financial failures until a Briton, Alexander Parkes exhibited the so-called Parkesine as the first world's man-made plastic, in 1862. However, the failure of this product, due to its high manufacturing costs, led to the creation of Xylonite by Daniel Spill. This new material started finding success in the production of objects such as ornaments, knife handles, boxes and more flexible products such as cuffs and collars.

It was in 1869 that an American, John W. Hyatt, made a revolutionary discovery, a process to produce celluloid, a product that could be used as a substitute for natural substances such as tortoiseshell, horn, linen, and ivory. This product entered mass production in 1872.

1.1.2 20th Century: The Revolution of Plastics Starts

Up until the early 1900s, it was impossible to use cellulose nitrate at very high temperatures, because it was flammable. The development of cellulose acetate brought about a solution to this problem, as it started being used as a non-flammable ‘dope’ to stiffen and waterproof the fabric wings and fuselage of early airplanes and was later widely used as cinematographic ‘safety film’. In the meantime, casein