Toxic chemicals ‘a big, big problem,’ chemists warn, as countries try to strike plastic pollution deal
The more than 10,000 chemicals used to make plastics are a "big, big problem," chemist Zhanyun Wang warns. Photo by Nicole Holman/Climate Visuals
By Marc Fawcett-Atkinson
When Zhanyun Wang was a kid, his mother told him to avoid the sweet-smelling gases that sometimes drifted across his neighbourhood near Shanghai from nearby plastic factories. Anything that smelled "really nice," the now-researcher at the University of Zurich explained, was "probably very toxic."
Most plastic products contain a cocktail of chemicals — many of them toxic — designed to give them traits like water resistance or flexibility. These chemicals make it nearly impossible to safely recycle most plastic products and can pose a serious threat to human health if they leach into food or the environment.
Faced with growing concern about the environmental impacts of plastic pollution, countries attending the United Nations Environment Assembly earlier this year decided to create an international plastics treaty. Canada has pitched itself as a major supporter for stronger international rules, joining a coalition of roughly 30 countries calling for a strict treaty regulating everything from plastic production to disposal.