Recycled Plastics May Pose Greater Risk

Recycled Plastics May Pose Greater Risks Experts warn that plastics that become more dangerous due to toxic chemicals they contain after the recycling process may cause various diseases, particularly cancer. According to United Nations data, 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide annually, and 13 million tons of plastic are dumped into oceans. While 1 million plastic bottles are sold per minute, 17 million barrels of oil are consumed annually for plastic production. Due to plastics that take hundreds of years to decompose in nature, 100,000 marine animals die each year. Plastic particles are found in 90 percent of bottled water and 83 percent of tap water. Plastics account for 10 percent of human-generated waste, with single-use plastics comprising 50 percent of all plastics. In a study conducted by a group of scientists led by Professor Bethanie Carney Almroth from Göteborg University on pellets from plastic recycling facilities in 13 countries across Africa, South America, Asia and Eastern Europe, more than 600 toxic chemicals were detected on these pellets. The 491 organic and 170 volatile compounds found in the pellets were classified into categories including pesticides, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals and plastic additives. While 25 percent of more than 13,000 chemicals in plastics are classified as harmful, it was concluded that plastics absorb other chemicals during use and therefore no plastic would be classified in a safe category. The study found that toxic chemicals in plastics complicate the recycling and disposal of plastics, and therefore recycled plastics should not be reused in any application.

"Substances in plastics combine with other chemicals to create toxic effects"

Prof. Dr. İlhan Talınlı, Member of TEMA Foundation Science Board and retired faculty member of the Environmental Engineering Department at Istanbul Technical University Faculty of Engineering, stated that during the production of plastic, a polymeric material, solvents, stabilizers and additives classified as chemicals are used. Saying that all substances in plastic, even if not individually, create toxic effects when combined with other chemicals, Talınlı explained: "The chemicals inside plastic become more dangerous through recycling. This depends on the processing done in the recycling process. Let's say you collect polyethylene terephthalates separately from other waste. The industry collecting them reproduces only the pellets of polyethylene terephthalate, but if they use solvents to recover and add different substances during this process, it will pollute their own industry and the new plastic they produce will no longer be, for example, a water bottle but will be dangerous for children as a toy. Even if these chemicals acquire the properties of recycled plastics, they are more dangerous in terms of use compared to virgin plastics." he said. Talınlı stated that recycling is an insufficient solution to prevent plastic waste, and continuing to use plastic with the logic of recycling is a misconception. Recommending the limitation of plastic production and transitioning to environmentally friendly wind and solar energy systems by stopping oil imports, Talınlı noted: "All plastic chemicals are dangerous. When you bury these plastics in soil, they do not dissolve for 100-200 years. On top of this, starches were added to 5 percent of plastics to make them biodegradable, but 95 percent remained. When the same plastic chemicals in liquid form mix with water, they contaminate groundwater, and from there these chemicals contaminate water because they are not biodegradable—they are persistent chemicals. Groundwater and surface water, rainwater, rivers, lakes, increasingly pollute the environment and can display toxic and carcinogenic properties."

"The half-life of some chemicals in the body is 7 years"

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cavit Işık Yavuz, faculty member of the Department of Public Health, Internal Medical Sciences Division, Faculty of Medicine at Hacettepe University, stated that some methods used in disposing of plastic waste, which pose a threat to all living organisms, lead to air, water and soil pollution and affect human health directly and indirectly. Noting that harmful chemicals in microplastics pass through the food chain and substances such as dioxins and furans released into the air during the burning of plastic waste that can cause cancer can be transmitted to humans through respiration, Yavuz said: "Their half-life in the body is 7 years. Plastics pose a risk both due to waste burdens and because we use them in many different areas in our daily lives, and some of the chemical substances used in the structure of plastic in food and beverage containers transfer to these foods and beverages, and in this way we also absorb chemicals."

Emphasizing that plastics begin to show their harmful effects on the human body in the long term, Yavuz provided the following information:

"Because it is related to the hormone system, we may see disorders in blood sugar regulation in the body that may arise from diabetes or metabolic disorders. Reproductive system problems related to hormones may occur. It can lead to various developmental problems in infants and children, these can be developmental problems related to both nerve and hormone systems. Again, there are concerns regarding the increase in types of cancer in which these hormones play a role, because some cancers are also related to hormones. At the same time, there is a view that these hormone-disrupting chemicals may also create a basis for obesity."

"Chemicals in plastics exposed to heat contaminate food"

Yavuz emphasized that chemicals from the bisphenol group in plastics made of polycarbonate can be found in water coolers, metal beverage containers, and plastic containers for storing food and beverages, and that these substances in plastics exposed to heat can easily contaminate water or food. He also noted that food should not be heated in plastic containers and these containers should not be washed in dishwashers.

Yavuz made the following recommendations:

"First and foremost, we should not use plastic products unless necessary. Let's try to keep children and infants away from food and beverages sold in plastics. When preparing food, trying to use glass, metal or porcelain, and trying to heat packaged products not in their packaging but preferably in glass or porcelain is also an important matter." Source