How recycled plastic could be harmful?

Climate Emergency

There is a strong belief that recycled plastic is always good for the environment, and is safe to use. But increasing, increasing evidence shows that recycled plastic should be used with caution. Toxics Link, a Delhi based environmental research and advocacy organisation conducted a research to assess the toxic contaminants in recycled plastic products that were recycled in Delhi. As part of this study, 15 samples of recycled plastic products, including food contact materials and toys were tested.

In this episode, Suno India’s Sneha Richhariya spoke to Priti Mahesh who has authored this study. She talks about several issues related to recycling of plastic. Some of these are:

• The recycling of plastic waste in India is mostly done by the informal sector which uses unsound, improper recycling methods.
• All recycled plastic products are not necessarily safe to use. There are harmful contaminants in recycled plastic that could pose health risks. This is an understudied subject
• The laws and policy regarding plastic recycling in the country
• There is a need for enforcement and standardisation of plastic recycling in India

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