The crisis of plastic pollution threatens both the health of the planet and human health and recycling is proposed as one of the solutions to address it. However, as plastics contain thousands of chemical additives and other substances that may be toxic, which are almost never declared, dangerous chemicals may end up with recycled products.

Only one pellet recycled plastic may contain above 80 different chemicals And a new study by the universities of Gothenburg and Leipzig emphasizes that recycled polyethylene plastic can have an impact on the hormonal system and lipid metabolism.

The study

The researchers bought beads of recycled polyethylene plastic (PE) from various parts of the world and let them soak in water for 48 hours. Subsequently, the Zebra fish larvae were exposed to the water for five days. The results show Increasing the expression of genes associated with lipid metabolism, fat formation and endocrine regulation In the larvae.

“The impact we have measured show that these reports have the potential to change the physiology and health of the fish,” notes Azora Kening Kardgar, lead author of the study and researcher Ecotoxicology at the University of Gothenburg.

Previous research has shown similar effects on humans from exposure to toxic chemicals of plastics, including threats to reproductive health and obesity. Some chemicals used as additives in plastics are known to disrupt hormones, with possible impact on fertility, children’s development, connections to certain cancers and metabolic disorders, including obesity and diabetes.

“We never have full knowledge of what chemicals will end up with an object of recycled plastic. There is also a significant risk of mixing of chemical mixing of chemicals, which make recycled plastic toxic, “said Bethany Carney Almott, a professor at the University of Gothenburg and a lead researcher.

The researchers also carried out Analysis of chemicals released by plastic pellets in water. They found many different chemicals, but the mixture was different between different samples of these pellets. Even chemicals were found that are not used as plastics additives, including pesticides, medicinal products and biocides, which may have contaminated plastics in their first use.

In August, the final negotiating meeting, in Geneva, is planned by representatives of states from around the world at the UN Intergovernmental Committee for the Environment Program with the aim of drafting a global plastic treaty.

The authors of the study emphasize that decision -making bodies must include provisions on the prohibition or reduction of dangerous chemicals in plastics and to increase transparency and reporting along the plastic value chains. They point out that plastics cannot be recycled in a safe and sustainable manner if the dangerous chemicals are not treated.