Plastic is toxic, and it’s in our homes – and increasingly, in our bodies, too. Our homes are filled with common household items made of plastic, which have been found to release microplastics into the food we eat and the air we breathe. Join us for the Plastic House Challenge to uncover the most common household sources of plastic that we inhale, ingest, and absorb into our bodies, which are known to make people sick. Take action today to protect your health and the planet.
We’re surveying thousands of people across the country about their exposure to plastic, collecting the data, then including it in our upcoming report on plastic and health.
Join usPlastics, chemicals, and health
What exactly does science tell us about how the chemicals used to make plastics impact human health?
- Toxic ingredients: There are over 16,000 chemicals used and present in plastic, and many remain untested and may be toxic to human health. At least 4,200 (or 26%) of these are highly hazardous to human health. Chemicals in plastics have been linked to a range of serious health issues, including endocrine disruption, cancers, reproductive disorders, metabolic changes, obesity, premature birth, early puberty, neurological issues, immune dysfunction, respiratory problems, diabetes, heart disease, and learning disabilities.
- Lack of transparency: Regulations requiring transparency on the use of chemicals, even in food and beverage packaging, are essentially nonexistent. Only a handful of the thousands of chemicals used in food packaging have undergone rigorous testing, and at least 175 chemicals used in food packaging are known to be hazardous. Only 6% of all plastic chemicals are regulated internationally.
- Documented impacts: Researchers have found microplastics in human blood, feces, lungs, breast milk, placentas, hearts, stomachs, and brains. While we don’t yet know the exact long-term impact of these microplastics on human health, we know enough to warrant action and precautionary measures to protect people from harm. As for the toxic chemicals present in microplastics, we definitely know more than enough to sound the alarm for public health.
But wait, how do plastics get into our bodies?
Daily contact with common plastic consumer products expose the general public to their toxic chemical additives and microplastics via three main pathways: direct absorption of plastic chemicals through the skin, ingestion of microplastics and plastic chemicals in contaminated food and beverages (including drinking water), and inhalation of microplastics in the air. While workers in the plastic industry and communities residing near plastic-making facilities experience higher rates of health issues directly related to plastic, we are ALL exposed to microplastics and plastic chemicals on a daily basis. In fact, a lot of our exposure actually takes place inside our homes! This is due to the prevalence of plastic used to package and prepare the food in our kitchens, manufacture the textiles in our clothes and carpets, and bedding, and make up the personal care products and cosmetics in our bathrooms. Women and children are particularly susceptible to these toxic chemicals, as exposures can have severe and long-lasting adverse effects, such as neurodevelopmental/neurobehavioural related disorders.
Kitchen
Refrigerators and pantries are full of plastic food packaging, which are known to shed microplastics and plastic chemicals into the food and beverages they contain. This leaching is worsened with time, heat, and acidity/high-fat content of foods. Over 12,200 chemicals are used to produce food contact materials (FCM), of which 600 have been identified as toxic, and another 3,500 lack publicly available toxicity data. FCMs are a significant source of human exposure to chemicals of concern through ingestion of contaminated foods and beverages.
(Source: Food Packaging Forum)
Bathroom
Personal care products and cosmetics are primarily packaged in plastics that can shed microplastics into the soaps, creams, shampoos, etc, they contain. Furthermore, the products themselves are manufactured to contain hazardous chemicals found in a variety of plastic,s such as phthalates, PFAS, and parabens. This can lead to harmful chemicals entering our bodies through absorption directly through the skin. In addition, makeup and personal care products with fragrance usually contain phthalates, a class of chemicals found in a variety of plastics that are known endocrine disruptors. (Source: Environmental Working Group, Toxic-Free Future)
Bedroom
Textiles are increasingly being manufactured using synthetic materials like polyester (a type of plastic), replacing natural fibers such as cotton and linen. This results in more plastic fabrics in our clothing, bedding, and household items like carpets, upholstery, and curtains. These items release microplastic fibers into the air, accumulating in household dust in high concentrations. Exposure to micro and nano plastic particles through inhalation is thought to be considerably higher than through ingestion. Once inhaled, synthetic fibers can penetrate the lungs, liver, heart, kidneys, brain, and even the fetus. (Source: Plastic Soup Foundation)
You can start by joining us for the Plastic House Challenge — a citizen science initiative to empower concerned individuals and to expose the hard facts on how much plastic Americans face in daily life.
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