To eliminate the harmful effects of plastic on human health using research evidence, international collaboration and advocacy to drive changes in how plastic is made, used and managed.
Plastic is everywhere. It is incredibly useful and has transformed our lives, but poses a serious threat to human health.
Plastic pollution threatens not only the environment, but also our health and that of future generations. This page is part of our Plastics and the Environment series, a set of online resources on the plastics crisis, its impact on people and the environment, and international cooperation to address this global problem. They include resources and news from organizations in Geneva and beyond, including UN-system organizations and other IOs, governmental authorities, civil society organizations, academic institutions and journals, and renowned newspapers.
Microplastics – tiny particles of plastic under 5mm in length – are known to be in our air, soil, rivers, oceans, plants and animals. They are from degraded plastic products, textiles, tyre abrasion, industry, agriculture and general waste. Microplastics are also intentionally added to products, for example cosmetics.
We know that microplastics get into our gut and lungs, but we don’t yet know how far they penetrate our blood and organs nor what impacts they have on human health. Concerningly, neither do we know how far the smaller virus-sized nanoparticles penetrate our bodies because we do not have suitable techniques to measure them. What we do know is that plastic is devastating our oceans, freshwater and land ecosystems that are essential for all life.
We are united with Minderoo Foundation’s No Plastic Waste team to inform businesses, governments and consumers to end plastic pollution. We encourage innovations that create alternatives to plastic or fundamentally re-design it to contain safe additives and degrade into natural products.
The videos of the event are now available on our Youtube channel. Hear from the speakers about the connection between plastic particles, plastic additives and human health, environmental justice, and meet the next generation of heroes with promising solutions to the problem. As always, we brought together all stakeholders involved, from scientists and policymakers to politicians, citizens, influencers, NGOs, industry and innovators to collaboratively create a Healthy Future for All.
The world is facing a plastics crisis. Plastic pollution is found all around the globe. Plastics are negatively affecting people and the environment at each stage of their lifecycle – extraction of fossil fuel, production, manufacturing, use, recycling, and disposal. The impacts are felt in a wide range of areas, including on biodiversity, climate change, human health and human rights. This page focuses on the impacts of plastics and the chemicals they contain on human health.
Humans are exposed to a large variety of toxic chemicals and microplastics through inhalation, ingestion, and direct skin contact, all along the plastic lifecycle. According to WWF, an average person could be ingesting approximately 5 grams of plastic every week. While the health impacts of plastics is still a rather new research area, scientific results to-date do indicate plastic causes diseases, disability and premature death at very stage of its life cycle. The toxic chemical additives and pollutants found in plastics threaten human health on a global scale. Scientifically-proven health effects include causing cancer or changing hormone activity (known as endocrine disruption), which can lead to reproductive, growth, and cognitive impairment. Many of the toxic chemical additives have several other known health impacts, persist in the environment, and bioaccumulate in exposed organisms. Research also revealed that microplastics can harm our health, and act as vessels for pathogens to enter our system, increasing the spread of diseases.
Humans are exposed to a large variety of toxic chemicals and microplastics through inhalation, ingestion, and direct skin contact, all along the plastic lifecycle. According to WWF, an average person could be ingesting approximately 5 grams of plastic every week. While the health impacts of plastics is still a rather new research area, scientific results to-date do indicate plastic causes diseases, disability and premature death at very stage of its life cycle. The toxic chemical additives and pollutants found in plastics threaten human health on a global scale. Scientifically-proven health effects include causing cancer or changing hormone activity (known as endocrine disruption), which can lead to reproductive, growth, and cognitive impairment. Many of the toxic chemical additives have several other known health impacts, persist in the environment, and bioaccumulate in exposed organisms. Research also revealed that microplastics can harm our health, and act as vessels for pathogens to enter our ystem, increasing the spread of diseases.
While scientific gaps remain on exact numbers, there is no doubt that humans are exposed to plastics through daily life products, plastic-based medical supplies, as well as through the food chain and airborne plastic pollution. Workers in the extraction, manufacture, transportation and waste sector and local communities where these activities are conducted are further exposed. Through these various pathways, we are exposed to microplastics and the chemical additives they contain. Recent studies have found microplastics in human blood, lungs, and placenta. As 99% of plastics are created from chemicals of fossil origin, oil-associated toxicological short and long term health hazards from respiratory symptomps to adverse neurological effects, including stress and generalized anxiety disorder are part of the plastic value-chain.
Further reading…
PLASTIC HEALTH SUMMIT 2021 : ONE HEALTH
Plastics and Human Health | Plastics and the Environment Series
The second edition of the Plastic Health Summit took place on October 21st 2021 in Amsterdam. The focus was about One Health. Because for us, there’s no doubt about it: environmental health and human health are inextricably linked.
The videos of the event are now available on our Youtube channel. Hear from the speakers about the connection between plastic particles, plastic additives and human health, environmental justice, and meet the next generation of heroes with promising solutions to the problem. As always, we brought together all stakeholders involved, from scientists and policymakers to politicians, citizens, influencers, NGOs, industry and innovators to collaboratively create a Healthy Future for All.
Further reading…
Beyond Recycling: Reckoning with Plastics in a Circular Economy
Plastic and Human Health: A Lifecycle Approach to Plastic Pollution
With more and more alarm bells ringing about the suspected health risks that plastic poses, new scientific research is needed now more than ever. That’s why the Plastic Soup Foundation has created a new research and advocacy alliance: the Plastic Health Coalition. With this coalition, various national and international environmental and research organisations have joined forces to encourage, enhance, and disseminate scientific research into the health effects of plastic.
This website is a public knowledge platform for anyone interested in learning more about the potential health impacts of (micro- and nano) plastics and their additives. The latest scientific findings are presented, as well as the latest (inter) national news on plastic and health. You can find news items on our ticker tape on the homepage.
Microplastics are plastic particles that are 5 millimetres or less in size. Some forms of plastic are even a million times smaller than a millimetre: these are nanoplastics. Microplastics have been found everywhere in our environment, from the deepest ocean trenches, to both poles, and on top of the Himalayas. However, microplastics can also be found much closer to home. As microplastics are released from our sofas, carpets, curtains, and other synthetic textiles, they are omnipresent in virtually every household. Microplastics have also been found in many consumer products such as seafood, honey, beer, water, salt, fruits and vegetables.
Despite being one of the most pervasive materials on the planet, plastic and its impact on human health remain poorly understood. Yet exposure to plastic is expanding into new areas of the environment and food chain as existing plastic products fragment into smaller particles and concentrate toxic chemicals. As plastic production increases, this exposure will only grow.