Will Your Plastic Be Part of a Safe and Sustainable Economy? You’ll need to pay attention to the additives.

As citizens and governments wake up to the plastic pollution problem, they’re turning to businesses to solve it. Reusable containers and packaging eliminate the need for single-use plastic and should be pursued as a primary solution. 

Recognizing that plastic packaging isn’t going away overnight and consumer behavior change takes time, the same brands and retailers that are pursuing reuse and refill strategies are also actively searching for ways to reduce packaging waste through recycling and use of recycled content.

As companies work to transition to a more sustainable, circular plastic economy, toxic additives are a barrier as their presence in waste is not labeled. They risk being recycled into new products, where they could pose significant threats to human health and the environment. Overcoming this challenge is  a critical part of achieving circularity in plastics, which is itself key to tackling multiple problems presented by plastic products and waste. Making plastic packaging less toxic to people coincides with making it less polluting to the natural world. Let us explain  how.

Why Plastics Producers Need to Pay More Attention to Additives 

Plastic additives are chemicals that are added to base polymers, like polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), to make them function in specific applications. Additives include plasticizers that make polymers more flexible, stabilizers and antioxidants that prevent degradation by light, heat, or oxygen in the air, as well as colorants. Many groups of plastic additives have been shown to be toxic, including specific: phthalate plasticizers, brominated flame retardants (BFRs), UV stabilizers, bisphenols and per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). The hazards posed by such additives vary. For example: some impact endocrine (hormone) systems, where they can impact metabolism, reproduction and growth; others are persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic; and some are toxic to marine environments. 

Risks Associated with Plastic Additives 

When incorporated into plastics, additives might be considered to be benign, but studies have indicated that these chemicals do leach out - leading to exposures, for example BPA in liquid food applications - and phthalates and BFRs in house dust. Considering the full product life-cycle, these toxic additives are a barrier as companies work to transition to a more sustainable, circular plastic economy,, since  their presence in waste is not labeled. Due to this, they risk being recycled into new products where they could pose significant threats to human health and the environment. Overcoming this challenge will be a critical part of achieving circularity in plastics, which is  key to tackling multiple problems presented by plastic products and waste. 

International Action

In March, 175 countries signed a UN resolution to negotiate a legally-binding global treaty to end plastic pollution by 2024. The resolution addresses the full lifecycle of plastic, including its production, design and disposal. The UN notes that a shift to a circular economy can reduce the volume of plastics entering oceans by over 80% by 2040; reduce virgin plastic production by 55%; save governments US$70 billion by 2040; reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25%; and create 700,000 additional jobs – mainly in the global south. 

International Impact

Recent studies by the International Pollution Elimination Network revealed the extent of the problem across a number of markets where members of the NGO bought and tested both recycled plastic pellets and consumer products made with recycled plastics for the presence of toxic additives. The work revealed global risks, including the disproportionate way countries with developing and emerging economies are impacted, as they do not have the information or resources to manage plastics waste. The group also studied the impacts of plastics throughout their lifecycle, documenting problems from production through to disposal. Digging deeper into the opportunity for plastic packaging recycling, a recent report from ChemSec, What Goes Around, notes that while there is a substantial buy-in to the principles of circular plastics, recycling levels remain low. It adds that one of the roadblocks, that remains surprisingly unaddressed, is the issue of chemicals of concern in current material flows. The report says, as long as toxic chemicals are included in material flows, a truly sustainable circular economy will not be achieved. Further, it notes that mechanical recycling will remain the main recycling technology for the foreseeable future, which makes establishing non-toxic waste streams the key to scaling up the circular economy. 

Packaging Should be Free of Hazardous Chemicals 

More than 500 businesses and organizations have backed a common vision of a circular economy for plastics known as the Global Commitment - a collaboration between the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the UN Environment Programme. The Foundation’s Vision of a Circular Economy for Plastic includes a provision that all plastic packaging should be free of hazardous chemicals, and the health, safety and rights of all people involved should be respected. 

Find Safer Alternatives

All stakeholders need to make concerted efforts to avoid hazardous chemicals in plastics recycling, starting by increasing information accessibility. One of the driving forces behind the ChemFORWARD–Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) partnership is to offer plastic producers free access to a chemical additive safety tool. 

A tool to help plastics manufacturers identify safer additives is now freely accessible. The Plastic Additive Optimization Tool will help accelerate the development of safer plastics that will contribute to the reduction of plastic waste and improve the quality of the recycled feedstock. This tool enables users to check the chemical hazard profile of over 1100 different additives used in plastics and  includes information on over 160 safer additive alternatives. This enables users to make robust decisions when determining substitutions for chemicals with known hazards. 

The Plastic Additive Optimization Tool supports your concurrent chemical management strategies by enabling you to:

Screen chemicals against regulatory and authoritative lists to prioritize and eliminate chemicals with  high hazards. You will immediately reduce business and regulatory risk. 

Access comprehensive information on human and environmental hazards to make informed substitutions. This step will ensure that you avoid a regrettable substitution and expensive redesign down the road.

Prefer chemicals that are fully assessed, have low hazards (A and B ChemFORWARD hazard bands), and are optimized across the life cycle for all products and processes. Your products will then be better optimized for safe and circular systems.

The Safe + Circular Plastic Additives Optimization Tool will support the rapid elimination of chemicals of concern and the optimization of plastic feedstocks with safer alternatives to accelerate circularity.