Bioplastics are an alternative to traditional plastics as they are not made from oil. They are engineered to be biodegradable which makes most people think that they are less harmful. However, a new study reveals that it is as toxic as traditional plastics.
The production of plastics is a nightmare to the environment as it threatens the health of the people and the planet. Besides, its disposal is not also better because the absence of a recycling system leads the plastic to landfills and waste incinerators that release further pollutants.
As public awareness grows with regards to the harmful effects of plastics, big corporations have put resources into developing bioplastics as an alternative. But what makes it as harmful as traditional plastics?
Bioplastics Are Not Safer Than Traditional Plastics
Bioplastics are plastics that are made from recycled material or plant cellulose and be biodegradable. But the new study published in the journal Environment International, reveals that it is not safer to use.
The researchers examined 43 different types of bioplastics and single-use plastics, like cutlery, wrappers, soda bottles, and wine corks. Their observation suggests that 80% of the products contain over 1,000-20,000 various chemicals.
Although not all chemicals are necessarily bad, the toxicity levels found in those materials are slightly higher on bioplastics than on traditional plastics, Gizmodo reported. Also, they found that bioplastics contain chemicals that are harmful to the endocrine system as nearly as likely as the traditional plastics.
According to associate professor Martin Wagner of the NTNU's Department of Biology, three out of four bioplastics contain chemicals that are dangerous under laboratory conditions which is the same as the traditional plastics.
In that sense, bioplastics are not safer to use. The researchers said that the only benefits humans get from bioplastics are that they are not made from oil.
Moreover, previous studies show that bioplastics do not actually breakdown although it was advertised as a biodegradable product.
According to John Hocevar, an ocean campaign director of Greenpeace USA, the new research adds more weight to his concerns on using bioplastics as an alternative and asks that when introducing new materials, the chemicals being used should be "disclosed, tested, and regulated."
Read also: P&G Aims to Halve Its Use of Virgin Petroleum Plastics by 2030: Here's How It Plans to Do So
Other Plastic Alternatives May Not Be Better as Well
Nowadays, it seems impossible to keep track of all possible harmful effects of so many materials. Those that were previously thought better and safer than their conventional counterparts may be as harmful as them.
Bioplastics which seem o be less toxic are found to be as toxic as the traditional plastic because it contains similar harmful chemicals, SciTech Daily reported.
"Making general statements about certain materials becomes almost impossible," says Wagner.
That also goes to the alternatives of plastics which experts still do not know if they also pose the same threats to the environment and human health.
The alternatives might also contribute to the pollution because of how they are produced and the limited opportunities to recycle or the food production which gives way to possible more pollution that is why more research is needed to say that alternatives are safer than their conventional counterparts.
