Recycling is a core defense against plastic pollution, but that does not mean it is a perfect solution.
In fact, a team led by researchers from the University of Gothenburg found some real concerns lurking within recycled plastics. Addressing them is crucial to fulfill the potential of recycling, according to the school’s press release.
What’s happening?
To understand global plastic waste better, the scientists collected samples of recycled polyethylene plastic from various parts of the world. They let them soak in water for two days, and when they analyzed the water afterward, they found over 80 different chemicals leached from the plastic.
Some were expected ingredients, but others were not supposed to be there, like pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and other toxic substances. These harmful compounds are often added to plastic but are not declared. Some may have also tainted the plastic during its life before it was recycled, the press release explained.
Sounds nasty? Unfortunately, there’s more.
The aim of the new study was to explore the consequences of ingesting all of those chemicals on living organisms. The researchers put zebrafish larvae in the contaminated water for five days. That brief exposure was all it took to disrupt the organisms’ hormones and metabolism, per the university.
“This is the main obstacle with the idea of recycling plastic,” Bethanie Carney Almroth, professor at the University of Gothenburg and project lead, said in a statement. “We never have full knowledge of what chemicals will end up in an item.”
Why is contaminated recycling important?
The prevalence of plastic products in everyday human life was already a concern. Prior research shows that as they slowly break down, they wind up in the environment and our bodies, where they pose serious health risks.
The research team’s findings offer more evidence of why this plastic is so dangerous, even after it has been recycled. Much like the zebrafish in the study, exposure to the toxic chemicals they found also poses risks to humans’ hormones, reproductive health, and metabolism, per the press release.
“This work clearly demonstrates the need to address toxic chemicals in plastics materials and products, across their life cycle,” Almroth affirmed in the statement.
What’s being done to clean up plastic recycling?
A global plastics treaty is in the works as a result of United Nations efforts. The presence of toxic chemicals in plastics and the lack of transparency in production lines are priorities in the negotiations.
However, you do not need to wait for regulators and politicians to start minimizing your plastic use. Making easy switches from single-use products to reusable ones can save money and help you avoid some of the scary things that end up hiding in plastics.
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