Demand for recycled plastics in packaging rises, health risk concerns also heat up

A recent series of reports and studies has raised new questions about the health risks of plastics, which could complicate discussions about the role of plastics in food and beverage packaging and increasing the use of recycled content.

Chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA) found in plastic bottles, food can linings, and other products have been a focus of public concern for years. Now, multiple reports from organizations such as Bloomberg Philanthropies and Greenpeace are raising new concerns about the health risks of broader plastic exposure to humans. In the United States, some complaints also involve the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) handling of reviews of the chemical composition of recycled and virgin plastics.

A report released by the United Nations Environment Programme in May investigated the latest scientific evidence on chemicals in plastics and found that of the 7,000 substances associated with plastics, nearly half contain one or more hazardous properties linked to adverse health effects.

Another recent analysis conducted by the Boston College Global Observatory on Planetary Health, in collaboration with Australia's Minderoo Foundation and the Monaco Scientific Centre, concluded that "current patterns of plastic production, use, and disposal are unsustainable and cause significant damage to human health, the environment, and the economy, while deepening social inequities." The authors noted that many manufacturing and plastic processing facilities—and the pollution they generate—are located in low-income areas.

Environmental and health advocates are calling for more reuse systems and an overall reduction in plastic use. These and other assessments emphasize the need to significantly increase recycling rates and expand the types of recyclable plastics.

According to the UN Environment Programme report, after measures such as "eliminating problematic and unnecessary plastics" are taken, increased recycling rates could reduce plastic pollution by an additional 20% by 2040. A separate 2022 report by the recycling advocacy group Reloop called for strengthening closed-loop recycling and increasing collection rates for beverage packaging to 90%.

But sources say these goals could be hampered by insufficient supplies of recycled materials. Some worry that new health-related packaging regulations based on recent studies could exacerbate shortages of recycled plastics. Even as demand for recycled plastics rises, manufacturers may find it increasingly difficult to secure adequate supply—at least under current polymer, design, and recycling process conditions.

Push for new regulations

As scientific evidence accumulates on the potential health effects of virgin and recycled plastics, advocates and some experts are pushing for stronger policies and regulations. UN Environment Programme officials say they hope the plastic chemical issues detailed in the report will inform discussions on the upcoming global plastics treaty expected next year. Negotiators held their latest meeting in Paris this month and will meet again later this year.

"Concern around the world about plastics and their health impacts is very significant," said Megan Wolff, policy director at Beyond Plastics, noting that the debate over plastics and recycled packaging has reached a critical moment.

Plastics used in recycled food and beverage packaging are already regulated, but health advocates argue that stricter limits are needed on individual substances and combinations of chemicals. Although companies voluntarily report individual substances used in food-grade plastics under FDA guidelines, experts say little is known about the specific details of certain packaging components and interactions between substances.

"It's actually very difficult to break down that chemical mixture because we don't know what was originally in there," said Michael Shaver, a chemist and professor of polymer science at the University of Manchester in the UK.

The United States (which accounts for 18% of global plastic demand according to international data) and the European Union both require that materials used in packaging with recycled content meet food-grade standards. This requirement aims to ensure that only food-grade virgin plastics enter new food-grade packaging. But a recent German study found that PET is the only polymer that meets EU requirements for recycling and reuse in food-grade containers. Under EU circular economy goals, all plastic packaging must be recyclable by 2030.

When analyzing recycled plastic samples, the research team found that the packaging contained more toxic substances than packaging made from virgin polymers—additives intended to improve the quality of recycled plastics. The team concluded that to safely recycle more types of polymers, the industry needs to improve collection systems and cleaning processes, and adopt more sensitive detection methods to identify substances in recycled materials.

Kara Pochiro, vice president of communications at the Association of Plastic Recyclers in the United States, declined to comment on the potential impact of heightened health concerns on the ability to meet demand. She said generally that the organization supports efforts to increase collection rates and improve design, pointing to the organization's position paper on expanding recycling.

"When products are both designed to be recyclable and actually placed in recycling bins and collected, we can better meet the demand for recycled content," she said in an email.

So far, U.S. regulators have not imposed further restrictions on specific substances. Paul Honigfort, director of the FDA's Division of Food Contact Substances, said in an email that the agency "actively monitors new scientific information related to recycled plastics in food contact applications" and reviews industry recycling processes and provides input when requested. "When existing information indicates that additional data are needed, the FDA also conducts its own research related to food packaging." For example, the agency has conducted studies on phthalates used as plasticizers in food packaging.

The agency's guidance on the use of recycled plastics in food packaging (most recently updated in 2021) states that only trace amounts of toxic contaminants may remain during post-consumer recycling. Due to the low concentrations of chemical residues in recycled polymers, the guidance describes the risk of acute consumer exposure as "extremely low." While manufacturers are encouraged to submit information on their recycling processes to the FDA, it is not mandatory.

Experts say efforts to strengthen BPA safety measures illustrate the high bar for regulating these chemicals. After research reports warned that the chemical could affect the immune system and reproductive function, the FDA conducted a series of reviews since 2008, ultimately concluding that BPA remains safe for use in food packaging.

The agency is currently evaluating a petition filed in 2022 by a coalition of advocacy groups, which argues that new research—including a 2022 epidemiological study in Europe that linked in-utero BPA exposure to an increased risk of asthma in young girls—warrants a re-examination of the substance.

Impact on recycling

One barrier to using cleaner recycled content in plastic packaging is contamination in the first step of the recycling process—collection. Because food-grade and non-food-grade materials are placed in the same bin, recyclable packaging can be contaminated by various substances such as motor oil, food residue, and more.

As a result, not all packaging that enters collection bins can be remade into food and beverage containers, said Jane Dell, founder of the advocacy group "The Last Beach Cleanup" and a materials engineer.

"Apart from a few bottle deposit return programs, it's impossible to separate post-consumer, household-consumed plastics," she said. Under bottle deposit programs, consumers receive a small refund for returning containers through various systems. Because these systems cover only a more limited category of plastics, the possibility of contamination is minimal.

Other challenges to expanding the use of recycled packaging lie in the recycling process itself. Because polymers and additives degrade during recycling, new additives must be blended in to meet quality and durability standards for recycled products. But the UN Environment Programme report notes that degraded additives remain in the material and may be released when recycled products are used.

The report notes that the toxicity of many of these "non-intentionally added substances" is not yet clear and requires further research. But studies conducted so far suggest that some may pose health risks. "Various hazardous chemicals found in products currently in use can contaminate recycled plastics," the report concluded.

A 2020 study by researchers at the University of Alicante in Spain analyzed the composition of recycled LDPE and HDPE and found 134 substances, including volatile and semi-volatile compounds in the polymers, additives, and contaminants from other items. The team also found chemicals from residual original additives in the feedstock plastics that had broken down during the recycling process.

The authors wrote that certain additives and degradation products in LDPE "could raise safety concerns if reused in high-value applications." They concluded that establishing separate waste collection systems to prevent contamination and using fewer types of additives in plastic manufacturing could help overcome these issues.

Plastic's role in the circular economy

Certain nonprofits and industries are increasingly embracing the concept of a "circular economy for plastics," which addresses the plastic problem at every stage of the lifecycle—while balancing health and environmental concerns.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation calls for building a circular economy for plastics by eliminating unnecessary items, keeping plastic items already produced in circulation, and designing new materials, methods, and management practices to ensure that plastics on the market are reusable, recyclable, or compostable. For example, the EU Plastics Strategy aims to establish a circular economy for plastics across the EU, and various U.S. states are also developing various regulations.

But achieving a circular economy for plastics requires a significant increase in the supply of recycled plastics, and studies show supply is insufficient. As public pressure mounts, some manufacturers and researchers have been exploring various methods to meet growing demand for recycled content while potentially handling more complex plastic streams.

In addition to traditional mechanical recycling processes, chemical recycling is gaining more attention, with supporters saying it can repurpose hard-to-recycle plastics. The process involves breaking plastics down into their chemical components through pyrolysis, gasification, chemical depolymerization, or other methods.

Although only a small fraction of plastics are currently processed through these energy-intensive technologies, that share could grow with large-scale investment and supportive regulations. Industry groups such as the American Chemistry Council say the technology is especially important for "films and flexible packaging, multilayer bags, tubes, and other mixed plastics." However, chemical recycling also has its own issues to overcome. Multiple studies show the process produces toxic substances such as volatile organic compounds, including benzene and toluene.

The UN Environment Programme report calls for regulatory restrictions on chemical recycling "to minimize human exposure and environmental pollution," and there is less research on the potential health issues of using feedstock from these systems for food-grade packaging. UNEP recommends that chemical recycling is best suited for plastics that cannot be recycled by other means due to multilayer structures or contaminated mixtures.

"If hard-to-recycle plastics weren't produced in the first place, there would be no need for chemical recycling," said Wolff of Beyond Plastics. "We need to reduce our use of these plastics and instead shift to more circular plastics."

Shaver said careful sorting and cleaning of plastics by consumers or processors would go a long way toward safely increasing recycling rates amid surging demand, although both add costs.

He added that greater transparency from the industry on additives and resin composition would also help. "More information from packaging producers would really drive change because you could sort better and be able to produce higher-quality products. I think this is a real opportunity to build commitment around transparency."

Researchers at the University of Alicante wrote in their study that information on the exact composition of post-consumer plastics and their potential health risks "will be crucial for developing innovative purification technologies."

Meanwhile, Shaver said plastics are not going away, so industry, scientists, and policymakers need to step up efforts to limit their harm. "We depend on plastics," he said. "We don't have alternative materials that won't bring greater unintended consequences."

Sarah Dunlop, a public health expert at the Minderoo Foundation and co-author of the Minderoo-Monaco report, added that rethinking plastic packaging with health and the environment at the forefront requires a level of collaboration among these groups that has not yet been achieved.

"We have to get them to the table and work together," she said.