Recycled plastics: dangerous for the environment and your health
Questions about the environment weigh heavily on people’s minds these days. Reports of new disasters flood the radio waves. This year, the United States had been hit by a record 905 tornadoes on May 11, 2008. Statistics reveal that the United States averaged a total of 1,270 tornadoes per year over the past ten years.
The American bee is disappearing and is expected to become extinct.
It is not just our external environment that concerns us. Recently published findings on treated wastewater revealed contamination from antibiotics, contraceptives and chemicals used in the manufacture of plastics.
Meanwhile, health conditions we can’t explain, like ADHD, autism, and fibromyalgia, are on the rise. It is natural for us to wonder whether environmental factors are at play here.
A major soft drink manufacturer recently jumped on the “green train” by advertising its recycled plastic clothing line with the rPET® label. Their merchandise includes T-shirts, tote bags, hats, wallets and notebooks made from used plastic bottles that would otherwise go to landfills.
“It’s a great use of recycled materials,” promoted a company spokesperson.
The industry giant is not alone in its green product offering. In 2007, 328 new green products were launched, compared to just five in 2002.
How environmentally friendly are recycled plastics?
Timothy J. Krupnik, writing for the Recycling Department at the Berkeley Center for Ecology, explained that plastics are made from ethylene, which is a natural gas. Ethylene is released during the oil refining process. In this sense, plastics are derived directly from crude oil, which is a non-renewable resource. The gas is mixed with other additives, many of them toxic, to produce the product.
PET bottles, for example, use lead barriers in the bottle structure. Due to the many chemicals that are added to these products, the production of plastic is an extremely toxic process. Compared to glass, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) production releases 100 times more toxic chemicals into the atmosphere.
Plastic recycling requires significant amounts of energy, compared to glass. Glass can be reprocessed “as is” repeatedly from its original shape. The same is not the case with PET, due to the many compounds it contains.
If the soda giant really wanted to go “green,” going back to glass containers would be a better option.
By now, we’ve all heard about the dangers of heating plastics. The dioxin leech has been a common topic on talk shows for several years.
But consider plasticizers, a group of chemicals used to soften plastic, shape it, and make it less rigid. Plasticizers contain phthalates, a toxic chemical and known endocrine disruptor. Your endocrine system helps regulate your nervous, reproductive, and immune systems.
Phthalates (collectively monoethyl phthalate, monobutyl phthalate, monobenzyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, and benzyl butyl phthalate) can be ingested by the body when plastic products are used as drinking or food storage containers.
Carbonated beverages, fatty foods, and products heated in plastic cause these chemicals to leak from the container into the food or beverage product itself. When these chemicals migrate into the endocrine system, they mimic the body’s natural hormones. This confuses the endocrine system and leads to serious health disorders.
The University of North Carolina, Asheville, studied the ingestion of phthalates in modeling clay in 2004. The study found that phthalates enter the body both through heating (fumes) and through residues on the skin, which should make you wonder if recycled clothing made from plastics is safe. That same year, the European Union banned the use of plastic softeners in all toys and products for children under three years of age.
Until now, studies on the absorption of these chemicals in the human body have focused on inhalation and consumption. We don’t know if body heat, for example, is enough to release harmful chemicals or if phthalates can be absorbed through the skin. We know that the temperature of the water in a shower is enough to release toxins in vinyl shower curtains.
Consider what you don’t know before deciding to use a product.
Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization operating in San Francisco, advises consumers:
o Use personal care products, detergents, cleaners and other products that do not contain “fragrance” in the ingredient list; “fragrance” commonly includes phthalate DEP.
o Avoid cooking or microwaving in plastic.
o Use a non-vinyl shower curtain.
o Use paints and other hobby products in well-ventilated areas.
o Give children wooden toys and other toys that do not contain phthalates, and do not allow children to chew on soft plastic toys.
o Healthcare workers and patients can urge their medical facilities to reduce or eliminate the use of products containing phthalates.
o Avoid products made of flexible PVC or vinyl plastic. Some examples of these products include PVC lawn furniture, vinyl raincoats, flexible PVC building materials, vinyl shower curtains, and children’s or pet toys made of PVC.