By Bisola Adeyemo
The effects of toxic chemicals in plastic children’s toys and consumer products on human cells demonstrate that toys made from some recycled plastics are toxic to humans and can significantly contribute to the dioxin daily intake level for children who mouth their toys.
Being at the stage of developing and growing,
Kids are much more vulnerable to adverse health effects caused by environmental toxins like plastics.
Plastic is everywhere in the modern world with a massive impact on the environment, and the health effects of plastic, especially for kids.
Over the years, there have been many cases of news breaking about plastic toys and their containment of toxins in addition to the harmful ingredients that can be found in plastic.
Even if plastic toys are great for keeping kids busy and helping them to learn and play, the effects of their production and disposal are
environmentally problematic.
Plastics come in all shades of bad. Many of them are derived from fossil fuels, and the process causes significant greenhouse gas emissions. By some estimates, the emissions from the plastics industry could overtake those from coal by as soon as 2030. Plastics are also the scourge of the trash management system.
When the plastic is disposed of, a lot ends up polluting Earth’s ecosystems including the oceans.
They are notorious for ending up in waterways and other ecosystems, where they contaminate habitats, leach chemicals, and become part of the food chain.
In May 2020 A team of researchers from Arnika, BioDetection Systems, and International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) determined that toys made of black plastic, which is often derived from recycled e-waste plastics with flame retardant chemicals, are toxic to human cells.
The study reveals that children mouthing toys made from this plastic are at risk of dangerous health effects from the toxic material. It is the first study to establish the toxic effects of plastic toys made of recycled plastics on human cells.
The researchers analyzed that toys and toy components, made from black plastic are purchased in Argentina, Germany, the Czech Republic, India, Nigeria, and Portugal.
Black plastic often originates from highly toxic e-waste plastics containing toxic brominated flame-retardant chemicals.
The researchers found perilously high levels of flame retardants and dioxin in the sampled toys, in concentrations comparable to hazardous waste.
Making Toys Sustainable
One of the most impactful things toy manufacturers can do for sustainability is to focus on alternatives to plastic. For example, rubberwood is an option that can replace many plastic parts, and its production doesn’t burden the environment.
This type of wood comes from rubber trees that are at the tail end of their use for rubber production. Rubberwood is a mainstay in furniture and flooring production and can replace many plastic toy parts.
Hemp and bamboo fibers can also option are safe alternatives to plastic as these organic materials don’t contain toxic pesticides or dioxins. They also use far less energy than plastic to produce and often are biodegradable.