Here’s a fact you might already know about our collective problem with plastic: the United States leads the world in generating and exporting plastic waste. Research published in 2020 found that in 2016, America generated more than 42 million metric tons of plastic waste, far outpacing every other country. Much of our plastic waste is exported overseas to poorer countries, where it ends up in the environment and, troublingly, other people’s backyards.
Here’s a fact you might not already know: when plastic waste in developing countries is incinerated as a form of waste management, the resulting pollution can contaminate local food sources, such as eggs. According to new research, nearly 90% of free-range egg samples studied in contaminated sites in developing countries had unsafe levels of certain toxic pollutants, and pollution from plastic waste incineration is a significant part of the problem.
Plastic waste incineration releases climate-warming greenhouse gases and thousands of hazardous chemicals, including dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Dioxins and PCBs are both persistent organic pollutants (POPs), which are synthetic chemicals that linger in the environment, taking years to biodegrade. They accumulate in the food chain and are linked to numerous adverse health impacts, like cancer, hormone problems, and disrupted brain development. Babies and children are especially vulnerable to the health effects of exposure to POPs.
In the new study, researchers monitored 113 chicken flocks across four continents in locations near potential sources of POP contamination. High levels of dioxins and PCBs were found in egg samples near waste incineration sites, including sites that burn plastic (such as plastic waste from electronic cables, which are often burned to recover the copper and other metals inside). Toxic ash from plastic incineration ends up on soil near waste facilities. Free-range chickens feed on contaminated soil, which is how chemicals like dioxins and PCBs end up in their eggs. Contaminated animal bedding is another way chickens can be exposed to POPs.
Given that eggs are a vital protein source for much of the world, this is particularly troubling: at one sample taken near an e-waste site in Ghana, a child eating a single egg would be exposed to more dioxins than the European Union’s established acceptable limit for five years. Overall, the vast majority (88%) of sampled eggs in the study exceeded the EU’s established guidelines for dioxins and PCBs. Even though the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants has regulated POPs like dioxins and PCBs since 2004, they clearly remain a disconcerting global health threat.
As someone who tries to be environmentally conscious, I have to admit I wince a little bit every time I learn more about the plastic problem. The sheer magnitude of the issue is overwhelming, and it can be easy to feel like there’s nothing we can do to tackle a problem of this size. But there are actions we can take. On a global scale, the new study’s authors recommend steps like enforcing the Stockholm Convention restrictions more strongly; reducing our overall plastic waste; enforcing strict limitations on plastic waste exporting, and encouraging other improved methods for managing plastic waste. In an interview with Environmental Health News, lead author Jindrich Petrlik emphasized the need for a comprehensive approach in a new global treaty on plastics, which began negotiations in early June.
Here in the US, we need to take seriously yet another international call to reduce the heavy burden of our exported plastic pollution. Legislation like the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act is a step in the right direction. We can also take steps to reduce toxic emissions from plastic incineration in our own country, like signing our new Moms Clean Air Force petition asking the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate plastic waste incineration facilities to protect our health.
Many of our current environmental crises feel daunting, but every bit of progress helps, and may reduce future suffering for people all over the world. For me, that’s reason enough to keep trying to break free from plastic.
Learn more about Moms’ work on waste incineration.
Tell EPA: Protect Our Communities From Plastics Incineration Pollution