Reducing surface and bulk contamination in plastic

A method to extract contaminates from a first plastic to produce a purer plastic comprising:

• a. providing a first plastic comprising individual contaminants, each individual contaminant having a concentration;
• b. extracting said individual contaminates from said first plastic at a temperature and a pressure, using ethyl acetate, in extraction stages, wherein the total extraction time is less than about 6 hours, to produce a purer plastic comprising individual contaminates, each having a concentration;
• wherein said extraction is flooded leaching wherein said temperature is between about 20 and 90 C;
• wherein said extraction stages are conducted at an ethyl acetate a to first plastic mass ratio;
• wherein said ethyl acetate to first plastic mass ratio per stage at any time is greater than about 5:1 but less than 100:1;
• wherein said pressure is between about atmospheric and 1,000 atm;
• wherein said first plastic individual contaminants comprise at least one of 4-tertpentylphenol, bisphenol A, OCDD, PCB 118, and 2-ethylhexyl phthalate;
• wherein each individual contaminants concentration in said purer plastic is reduced compared to each individual contaminants concentration in said first plastic;
• and wherein the average of said reductions of said concentrations of said first plastic contaminants to said purer plastic contaminants is at least about 55% or LOQ;
• and
• wherein ethyl acetate should not significantly dissolve the first plastic at the temperature and pressure of the process.