CosPaTox Research Published: A Practical Approach to Testing Recycled Plastics to Support Safety Assessments
CosPaTox Research Published: A Practical Approach to Testing Recycled Plastics to Support Safety Assessments
We are pleased to announce the publication of “Determination of Practical and Conservative Extraction Conditions for Recycled High-Density Polyethylene (rHDPE)” in the journal Separations on 15 October 2026. Developed through the work of the CosPaTox Consortium, the study provides scientific evidence supporting the approach taken in the CosPaTox guideline and DIN SPEC 91521 regarding the screening of recycled plastics for releasable chemical substances.
Assessing recycled plastics requires an understanding of chemicals they contain and their potential release into the packaged product. Testing is commonly performed on finished packaging or packaging materials, such as bottles and plastic films. This new study demonstrates that practically relevant results can be obtained by testing directly on recycled plastic pellets instead, saving substantial effort in sample preparation. The released substances were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Results from pellets were then compared with those from bottles made from the same recycled materials.
The findings of the study support pellet testing both as a useful and generally even somewhat conservative screening approach as for most identified substances, testing on pellets led to results comparable to or higher than those obtained on finished bottle samples. For the materials investigated, every instance where bottle testing identified a substance above the relevant safety assessment threshold was also flagged by pellet testing.
The researchers also examined how different solvents / product simulants, temperatures and contact times affected the release of chemicals from the recycled high-density polyethylene pellets, identifying the conditions that provide a balance between necessary rigor of the assessment and productivity.
The findings of this CosPaTox-support study can help companies assess recycled materials more readily, saving time and avoiding the effort of manufacturing final packaging samples specifically for initial screening. The described analysis using GC-MS supports a broader safety assessment, which generally requires additional analyses and consideration of the specific intended use.
By making these findings publicly available, CosPaTox helps companies put its recommendations into practice and assess recycled materials more readily and more quickly. We gratefully acknowledge the authors and contributing members whose expertise and commitment made this study possible.