In a Science Letters article published on November 3, 2023, Bethanie Carney Almroth from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and co-authors call for chemical simplification – the reduction of chemicals used in plastic production – and increased transparency as an essential step towards safer recycling.
Almroth and co-authors explain that the presence of hazardous chemicals in plastics complicates reuse and disposal and impedes plastic recycling. Recyclers cannot remove these chemicals from the plastics since they miss the tools and information on the substances included in the products. Consequently, recycling workers, consumers, and the environment alike are at risk due to exposure to these hazardous chemicals (see also the Food Packaging Forum’s factsheet on plastic recycling).
To approach this issue, the authors call for stricter regulation requiring plastic producers to transparently share the identity and levels of the (hazardous) chemicals they produce and use to enable monitoring. As further measures to limit hazardous chemicals, they propose chemical simplification, the phase-out of additives known to be harmful (FPF reported), and the identification, and limitation of non-intentionally added substances (NIAS). Only then could recycling “contribute to tackling the plastics pollution crisis.” Already in 2021, scientists proposed chemical simplification as a means to systematically tackle pollution by synthetic chemicals (FPF reported).
The scientists call for the United Nations (UN) global treaty to end plastic pollution (FPF reported) to include these “obligations to increase the safety, transparency, and traceability of the components” as being “one of many necessary steps toward safer recycling.”
In another commentary, the Minderoo Foundation shared their view on what the plastics treaty needs to include to be successful including a global plastic production cap, limits on single-use plastic production, an extended producer responsibility scheme, a ban on plastic combustion, and the disclosure of all plastic chemicals (FPF reported).
From the 13th to the 19th of November, 2023, the UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) is convening for the third time with the intent to draft a global plastics treaty by the end of 2024. The Zero Draft text published by the INC’s Secretariat in September is designed to guide the discussions ahead (FPF reported).
Reference
Almroth, B. C. et al. (2023). “Chemical simplification and tracking in plastics.” Nature Letters. DOI: 10.1126/science.adk9846
