{"id":9453,"date":"2024-11-19T22:26:13","date_gmt":"2024-11-19T22:26:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www-prod.greenpeace.org\/usa\/?page_id=9453"},"modified":"2026-05-05T12:33:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T12:33:24","slug":"plastics-and-health","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/plastics-and-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Plastics and health"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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The impacts of plastic on human health<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

99% of plastics are made from fossil fuels, and they are harmful at every stage of the plastics lifecycle \u2014 from production, to use, to disposal. Plastics are made with over 16,000 chemicals, with more than 4,000 known to be harmful to human health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sign the petition<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n
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The plastics problem<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

 Recycling plastics can even increase the concentration of these toxic chemicals, making it both an ineffective and dangerous solution. 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Microplastics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Plastics do not break down. Instead, microplastics, tiny pieces of plastic, are created as plastics shed and degrade \u2014 and they end up everywhere: <\/em> in the air, waterways, agricultural soils, rivers, and oceans. Bottles, bags, and other plastic junk gradually break into smaller and smaller pieces, which though invisible to the naked eye, cause serious damage to the ecosystems in which they are found.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over two-thirds of the plastic in our oceans sinks to the seafloor, creating an ever-growing wasteland all along the water column beneath the waves. Awareness of ocean plastic pollution has grown, but concern has also expanded to its impact on other ecosystems and wildlife, food and water supplies, and human health. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

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The harmful chemicals in plastics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Microplastics have been found in human blood, feces, lungs, breast milk, placentas, hearts, and stomachs. While the full impact on human health is still unclear, we do know that many of the chemicals in plastics are known to be harmful to our health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plastics contain harmful chemicals like phthalates, forever chemicals (PFAS), bisphenols, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and benzotriazoles, which are linked to serious health issues, including hormone disruption, cancer, reproductive problems, metabolic changes, obesity, premature births, neurological disorders, and learning disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plastic pollution impacts everyone, but low-income communities living near production, disposal, and incineration sites bear the heaviest burden. They experience higher exposure to toxins and more severe health impacts. This pattern is seen worldwide, as marginalized communities are disproportionately impacted by the plastics industry \u2014 from incinerators and landfills to petrochemical facilities and polluted waterways, and excessive single-use plastic packaging pushed onto them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though a myriad of brands contribute to the ongoing plastic crisis, right now, big brands such as The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, Nestl\u00e9, and Unilever are among the world\u2019s worst plastic polluters. Their continued addiction to this harmful material is fueling climate chaos and jeopardizing communities in the name of profits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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Learn more about…<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Plastics campaigners beam a message calling for a strong global plastics treaty onto the face of Parliament days before delegates gather for the next round of negotiations in Paris. \nActivists from Greenpeace UK project a message challenging environment secretary Therese Coffey to act now to end the scourge of plastic pollution. The projection is one of a series expected in countries across the world ahead of the conference.<\/figcaption>
\u00a9 Ollie Harrop \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The Global Plastics Treaty<\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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A piece of plastic floating in a mat of sargassum. Sargassum provides a haven for all sorts of wildlife and is an important carbon sink.
\u00a9 Deirdre Leowinata \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The myths of recycling<\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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Latest news and stories<\/h2>\n
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