TOXIC PLASTICS: A HEALTH THREAT TO THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

The impact of plastics on human health has so far been largely underestimated. Yet, taking a broader approach, plastics have negative impacts on human health at each step of their lifecycle, arising from both exposure to plastic particles themselves and associated chemicals.¹

Despite the evidence that only a small fraction of plastics is actually recycled, most decision-makers and consumers believe that, in general, plastics are being recycled, and can be recycled, and that plastic waste has a positive economic value. However, only a small percentage of plastics are recycled, and when recycled these plastics can pose hazardous threats and economic burdens on national governments and consumers. Plastic materials include a wide range of toxic chemicals that are added to them to make them useful for specific functions, and when recycled these plastics may end up in toys and other consumer goods that could threaten people’s health.²

The world production of plastics is expected to increase to 1.1 billion tons by 2050,³ thus making this industry a significant source of chemical pollution to our water, soil, air, food chain, and the wider environment. Countries from emerging economies are of particular importance as their consumption of materials is increasing. Raw materials consumption across BRIICS countries (i.e., Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia, China, and South Africa) almost tripled between 1995 and 2017 even if per-capita material consumption still remains lower than for OECD countries.⁴ Thus, attention