In recent years, bioplastics have come to the market as an alternative to traditional plastic. Traditional plastic is made of oil. The production of plastic is not sustainable, and it can contain compounds we know are dangerous if ingested.
Bioplastic has some obvious advantages: it is usually made from recycled material or plant cellulose, it can be biodegradable – or even both.
However, a new study shows it is not non-toxic.
Bioplastics are in reality just as toxic as other plastics, based on an article published in Environment International.
“Bio-based and biodegradable plastic are not any safer than other plastics,” says Lisa Zimmermann from Goethe Universität in Frankfurt. She is the lead author of the recent article.
Zimmermann points out that bioplastic products based on starch and cellulose contained the most chemicals. They also triggered stronger toxic reactions under laboratory conditions.
“Three out of four of these plastic products contain substances that we know are dangerous under laboratory conditions, the same as for conventional plastic,” says Martin Wagner, associate professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s Department of Biology.
This group has only led the work on the largest survey so far compounds in bioplastics and plastics made from plant based substances.
They’ve looked at poisonous substances in these types of plastic. The substances can be directly toxic to cells in the lab, or they can function as hormones that then can disturb the body’s equilibrium.
The analysis includes 43 distinct plastic goods, including disposable cutlery, chocolate packaging newspaper, drinking bottles and wine corks.
“Eighty per cent of the products contained more than 1000 different chemicals. Some of them as many as 20 000 chemicals,” says Wagner.
It goes without saying that it is almost impossible to keep tabs on absolutely all the possible damaging effects of so many distinct materials.
Even seemingly similar goods have their own unique chemical composition. A plastic tote made of bio-polyethylene can contain completely different substances than a wine cork made from the same material.
“Making general statements about certain materials becomes almost impossible,” says Wagner.
At present, the consequences that bioplastics has for the environment and for people’s health are still uncertain. We don’t understand to what extent that the materials in vinyl are transferable to humans.
Nor do we know whether the alternatives to bioplastics are better for us and the environment, since so many thingss come into play. The choices may involve polluting production techniques and limited opportunities for recycling, or food production must give a way to acquire the materials for the alternative products. More research is necessary.
Related Journal Article: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412020320213?via%3Dihub