Recycled plastics can harm hormone systems, metabolism: Study

A groundbreaking study shows recycled plastics release harmful chemicals that disrupt hormones and metabolism. Researchers found zebrafish exposed to plastic-leached water developed metabolic and endocrine issues. The findings raise alarms about similar risks to human health, including fertility and obesity. Scientists urge caution as global leaders prepare for UN plastic treaty negotiations.

"These exposures have the potential to change the physiology and health of the fish." — Azora Konig Kardgar, University of Gothenburg

A new study on Monday warned that a single pellet of recycled plastic can contain over 80 different chemicals, adding that recycled polyethylene plastic can leach chemicals into water causing impacts in the hormone systems and lipid metabolism.

Key Points

1 Recycled plastic pellets contain 80+ undisclosed chemicals

2 Zebrafish exposed to leached water showed metabolic disruptions

3 Hormone-altering additives linked to obesity and infertility

4 Scientists warn of toxic risks in recycled plastic products

The plastic pollution crisis has reached global levels, threatening both planetary and human health, and recycling is proposed as one of the solutions to the plastics pollution crisis.

However, as plastics contain thousands of chemical additives and other substances that can be toxic, and these are almost never declared, hazardous chemicals can indiscriminately end up in recycled products, said researchers from University of Gothenburg and Leipzig.

In a new study published in Journal of Hazardous Materials, researchers bought plastic pellets recycled from polyethylene plastic from different parts of the world and let the pellets soak in water for 48 hours.

After which zebrafish larvae were exposed to the water for five days. The experimental results show increases in gene expression relating to lipid metabolism, adipogenesis, and endocrine regulation in the larvae.

“These short leaching times and exposure times are yet another indicator of the risks that chemicals in plastics pose to living organisms. The impacts that we measured show that these exposures have the potential to change the physiology and health of the fish,” says Azora Konig Kardgar, lead author and researcher in ecotoxicology at the University of Gothenburg.

Previous research has shown similar effects to humans, including threats to reproductive health and obesity, from exposure to toxic chemicals in plastics.

Some chemicals used as additives in plastics and substances that contaminate plastics are known to disturb hormones, with potential impacts on fertility, child development, links to certain cancers, and metabolic disorders including obesity and diabetes.

“This is the main obstacle with the idea of recycling plastic. We never have full knowledge of what chemicals will end up in an item made of recycled plastic. And there is also a significant risk of chemical mixing events occurring, which render the recycled plastic toxic,” said Bethanie Carney Almroth, professor at the University of Gothenburg and principal investigator on the project.

Representatives from the nations of the world are preparing to head to Geneva, Switzerland, in August, for what is planned to be the final negotiating meeting for a Global Plastics Treaty at the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee under the United Nations Environmental Program.

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