Alarming fact: There are more than 16,000 chemicals in plastic

More than 16,000 chemicals exist in plastic products, from food packaging, children's toys to medical equipment.

The above scary number was given in a recent report, sponsored by the Norwegian Research Council, which is 3,000 more than the previous estimate of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).

According to a recent report, in plastic products, from food packaging, children's toys to medical equipment. there are more than 16,000 toxic chemicals - (Illustration: AFP).

According to Ms. Jane Muncke - executive director of the non-profit Swiss Food Packaging Forum, to completely solve the problem of plastic pollution, the world needs to really consider the entire life cycle of plastic and solve the problem. Solve the chemical problem.

She said researchers have found hundreds, even thousands, of chemicals from plastic in the human body, and some of them are linked to health problems due to the fact that chemicals in plastic can seeps into water and food.

Notably, a quarter of the chemicals identified had no basic information about their chemical nature and only 6% of the chemicals found in plastics were regulated internationally.

Mentioning the impact of plastic pollution on human health, such as causing reproductive problems and cardiovascular disease, the report emphasizes that simply solving the plastic waste problem is not enough to protect people. people.

Instead, there is a need for more transparency about the chemicals – including additives, processing aids and impurities – that go into plastics, including recycled products.

Mr. Martin Wagner, report leader and environmentalist at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, said that manufacturers do not really know how many chemicals are in their products. Therefore, according to him, without mandatory regulations, there will be no incentive to force businesses to disclose the chemicals contained in plastic.

400 million tons of plastic waste/year

The report is published as government negotiators struggle to develop the first global treaty to tackle the growing problem of plastic pollution, with annual plastic waste reaching 400 million. ton.

Negotiations on an anti-plastic waste treaty are expected to continue next month in Ottawa (Canada) with the goal of completing the treaty at a December conference in Busan (South Korea).