A report released by UNEP, the United Nations Environment Programme earlier this year offers an in-depth look at the chemicals used to make plastics and the issues these can cause in terms of adverse impacts on human health and the environment as well as on resource efficiency and circularity.
According to UNEP, because the health risks associated with the chemicals used to produce or found in plastics - and subsequently released into the environment - tend to be less visible than the waste plastic littering the environment, these fail to receive the attention they merit. This report, entitled “Chemicals in Plastics: A Technical Report” is an attempt to remedy that failure by providing a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge on chemicals in plastics.
‘Information on chemicals in plastics is rarely transmitted along the plastics life cycle and is therefore unavailable to regulatory authorities, consumers, and waste managers,’ the authors note adding that ‘This lack of information hampers risk assessments and product safety’. Chemicals of concern can be released from plastic along its entire life cycle, during not only the extraction of raw materials, production of polymers and manufacture of plastic products, but also the use of plastic products and at the end of their life, particularly when waste is not properly managed, finding their way to the air, water and soils.
The report also aims to support the negotiation process to develop the instrument on plastic pollution based on United Nations Environment Assembly resolution 5/14. It outlines a set of credible and publicly available scientific studies and initiatives focused on chemicals in plastics and the science-policy interface.
Chemicals in Plastics: A Technical Report reveals a number of startling findings, including that:
- more than 13,000 chemicals associated with plastics and plastic production have been identified across a range of applications;
- ten groups of chemicals are identified as major concerns due to their high toxicity and potential to migrate or be released from plastics, including specific flame retardants, certain UV stabilisers, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), among others;
- more than 3,200 of 7,000 substances associated with plastics have one or more hazardous properties of concern; and
- women and children are particularly susceptible to these toxic chemicals; exposures during foetal development and in children can cause, for example, neurodevelopmental / neurobehavioural related disorders; male fertility has also been negatively impacted.
Chemicals of concern have reportedly been found in plastics across a wide range of sectors and products value chains, including toys and other children's products, packaging (including food contact materials), electrical and electronic equipment, vehicles, synthetic textiles and related materials, furniture, building materials, medical devices, personal care and household products, and agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries. Extensive scientific data on the potential adverse impacts of about 7,000 substances associated with plastics show that more than 3,200 of them have one or more hazardous properties of concern.
These findings also have consequences for the circular economy. The use of chemicals of concern in plastics must be addressed, the authors write, as ‘not to hinder the future reuse, repurposing, and recycling of plastic products and polymer streams’. To do so, measures are needed not just to reduce the use of plastics, but also to better regulate the use of - hazardous - chemicals in plastics. More information of the use of chemicals in plastics must be available to stakeholders throughout the industry. ‘Knowledge gaps arise primarily due to a lack of transparency from industrial producers regarding the identities and quantities of chemicals used in different applications, which are typically held back as confidential business information. However, as stipulated in the Dubai Declaration on International Chemicals Management of 2006, “[...] information on chemicals relating to the health and safety of humans and the environment should not be regarded as confidential’, the report states.
The report also lists a number of actions to help reduce chemical-related impacts of plastic pollution:
- reduce plastic production and consumption, beginning with non-essential plastics;
- design and manufacture plastics that are free of chemicals of concern;
- avoid regrettable substitutions and shifting burdens, and conduct chemical alternatives assessments and life cycle assessments to identify substitutes;
- improve transparency along the entire plastics value chain;
- update regulatory testing guidelines; and
- develop robust regulatory waste management frameworks, giving specific attention to protecting the informal sector.
It stresses the the need for capacity building for:
- developing, implementing, and enforcing national legal frameworks and policies;
- identifying and implementing solutions and chemical substitutions, especially among small-and medium-sized enterprises;
- supply chain management, including on transparency and information sharing;
- conducting chemical hazard, exposure, and risk assessments;
- waste management capacity and technology; and
- local and international networks to support companies or sectors that cannot develop capacity themselves.
The report was developed by UNEP in cooperation with the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions. UNEP acknowledges the financial support from the Government of Norway, the Government of Sweden and the Government of Switzerland, for the development of the report.