While Europe wants to encourage the use of reusable and recyclable packaging rather than single-use plastic through a regulation proposed by the EU Parliament last November, the toxicity of recycled plastic is now in the spotlight after a series of health alerts.
The title of a recent report published by Greenpeace says it all: “Forever Toxic: The Science on Health Threats from Plastic Recycling.”
The reason: when the material is heated during the recycling process, new chemical compounds are created.
And therein lies the problem, since these can include benzene, a carcinogen, or flame retardants and endocrine disruptors. These contaminants can also be introduced through contact with cleaning solvents or pesticide containers, for example.
“Plastics are made with toxic chemicals, and these chemicals don’t simply go away when plastics are recycled. The science clearly shows that plastic recycling is a toxic endeavour, with threats to our health and the environment all along the recycling stream.
“Simply put, plastic poisons the circular economy and our bodies, and pollutes air, water, and food. We should not recycle plastics that contain toxic chemicals. Real solutions to the plastics crisis will require global controls on chemicals in plastics and significant reductions in plastic production,” explains Dr. Therese Karlsson, Science Advisor with the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN).
In fact, over 3,200 chemicals identified as hazardous to health have already been found in virgin plastic.
In addition, Cambridge University recently published the results of a study that raised even more questions about the use of recycled plastic. According to the paper, published online on the Cambridge University Press portal, and reported by the Guardian, some of the chemical compounds added or created during the recycling process are capable of migrating into food.
The scientific publication refers to the presence of benzene, a carcinogen for the human organism, but also styrene, which could be just as carcinogenic, as well as bisphenol A, a synthetic chemical banned in plastic bottles and packaging containing food for babies and infants since September 2018 in the EU.
These conclusions concern PET (polyethylene terephthalate) in particular, since little data is available for other types of recycled plastic.