IPEN

PRESS RELEASE

(Gothenburg, Sweden): A ground-breaking study analyzing the effects of toxic chemicals in plastic children’s toys and consumer products on human cells demonstrates that toys made from some recycled plastics are toxic to humans and can significantly contribute to the dioxin daily intake level for children who mouth their toys. The levels of toxic chemicals revealed in all the samples studied were comparable to levels found in hazardous wastes, such as the ash from waste incinerators.

A team of researchers from Arnika, BioDetection Systems, and International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) determined that toys made of black plastic, which is often derived from recycled e-waste plastics with flame retardant chemicals, are toxic to human cells. The study reveals that children mouthing toys made from this plastic are at risk of dangerous health effects from the toxic material. It is the first study to establish the toxic effects of plastic toys made of recycled plastics on human cells.

For decades plastic producers have been manufacturing a lie about the recyclability of plastics to justify a toxic and unsustainable industry. The industry manipulation is revealed in an important documentary, Plastic Wars, a Frontline investigation from PBS and NPR. IPEN leader Yuyun Ismawati is featured in the exposé guiding the film crew through communities where a tsunami of plastic waste has been dumped in Indonesia. The images of plastic waste inundating streets and looming over people’s homes is the tip of the iceberg. International shipments of plastic waste from countries in the global north, including the US, EU, Australia and others, shipped and dumped in in the global south, are poisoning food sources and creating dangerous public health hazard. The recent report Plastic Waste Poison’s Indonesia’s Food Chain demonstrates how toxic plastics inundate food sources and imperil human health and the environment.