Latest news with #plastic
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Scientists Sound Alarm Over Plastic-Eating Bacteria in Hospitals
A powerful bacterial superbug is making headlines for its unique and alarming ability to feed on plastic found in medical devices. Researchers at Brunel University of London have discovered that Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a drug-resistant bacterium linked to over 559,000 deaths globally each year, has developed a disturbing survival mechanism. The bug not only resists treatment but can also 'digest' polycaprolactone, a type of plastic used in common medical tools like sutures, catheters, implants, and wound dressings. According to a groundbreaking study published in Cell, this adaptation helps the bacterium cling to hospital environments, creating tougher biofilms that resist antibiotics and standard cleaning protocols. 'Plastics, including plastic surfaces, could potentially be food for these bacteria,' said study leader Ronan McCarthy. 'Pathogens with this ability could survive for longer in the hospital environment.' The discovery is a chilling reminder that pathogens are constantly evolving to thrive in unexpected ways. In this case, Pseudomonas aeruginosa isn't just surviving—it's actively undermining medical devices designed to save lives. The plastic-eating enzyme it produces could weaken critical tools like ventilators, drug-delivery patches, and surgical meshes, making them less effective and harder to sterilize. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) already lists P. aeruginosa as a major contributor to infections such as pneumonia and urinary tract infections, particularly among patients with compromised immune systems or those recovering from more research is needed to determine the full extent of this superbug's capabilities, SciTech Daily reported that McCarthy emphasized the urgency: 'Plastic is everywhere in modern medicine, and it turns out some pathogens have adapted to degrade it. We need to understand the impact this has on patient safety.' With its ability to withstand antibiotics and thrive on plastics in hospitals, Pseudomonas aeruginosa poses a dual threat. One that could reshape infection control strategies and force a rethink of how medical tools are designed and Sound Alarm Over Plastic-Eating Bacteria in Hospitals first appeared on Men's Journal on May 26, 2025
Health Line
21-05-2025
- General
- Health Line
Numbers on Plastic: What They Mean and If They're Safe for Food
While it's generally OK to store food in plastic containers labeled with a 1, 2, 4, or 5, you should try to use glass. Plastic marked with a 3, 6, and 7 should be used minimally around food to limit potential health impacts. Look closely at plastic products, such as water bottles, takeout containers, and food trays, and you'll see numbers within a small triangle ranging from one to seven. These numbers are anything but random. The number itself denotes what type of plastic the container is made from, and if it's recyclable. Certain numbers have also been linked to health issues. The table below summarizes the seven most common groups of plastics and their household uses. For comprehensive recycling information, check locally. Number Type of plastic Used for Is it recyclable? 1 polyethylene terephthalate (PET) • some food containers • bottled drinks generally yes 2 high density polyethylene (HDPE) • milk and juice jugs • shampoo bottles • dish soap and laundry detergent containers • some plastic bags generally yes 3 polyvinyl chloride (PVC) • some food containers • cling wrap • vinyl flooring, piping, and roofing • shower curtains check locally 4 low density polyethylene (LDPE) • shopping, grocery, and garbage bags • food wrapping, such as for bread and frozen goods generally no 5 polypropylene (PP) • dairy product containers • medicine bottles • food containers • bottle caps check locally 6 polystyrene (PS) • disposable cutlery • styrofoam • food and takeout containers • egg cartons • home insulation generally no 7 mixed (other) • lids • electronics • some baby bottles • water bottles generally no Which plastics are not safe to use with food? Though many of the plastics in the table above may be used to store or hold food and drink, it's not always safe to heat or reuse them. As a general rule of thumb, you should try to avoid cooking, heating, and reheating food in plastic — even if it is 'microwave safe.' Glass is a better option for reheating and storage, while cast iron, stainless steel, and ceramic are better for cooking. What are the potential health impacts of certain plastics? Plastics No. 1, 2, 4, and 5 have no known health issues, according to Sea Studios Foundation. In fact, these are the only plastic containers considered generally safe for food storage. But you should still try to avoid the frequent use of plastic around food. When possible, try to replace plastic with glass to help minimize your exposure to potentially harmful chemicals and environmental contamination. No. 3 plastics (PVC) The manufacturing, disposal, and destruction of No. 3 plastics create harmful byproducts, such as: lead di(2-ethylhexyl)adipate (DEHA) dioxins ethylene chloride vinyl chloride Exposure to harmful amounts of these byproducts may cause: decreased birth weight learning and behavioral problems in children suppressed immune function hormone disruption cancer birth defects genetic changes No. 6 plastics (PS) Styrene is a chemical that can leach from polystyrene. Long term exposure to harmful amounts of styrene may affect: the respiratory, nervous, and gastrointestinal systems hearing kidney function cancer No. 7 plastics (mixed) Because No. 7 plastics cover a wide range, the health effects depend on the chemical makeup of a product. Bisphenol A (BPA) is included in this category. According to a 2023 mouse study, it is a potential endocrine disruptor with potentially harmful effects on the immune, gastrointestinal, and nervous systems. Takeaway If you store or prepare food in or around plastic, you should use those labeled with a 1, 2, 4, or 5 over those labeled with a 3, 6, or 7. But try to use plastic around food minimally. High or frequent exposure of food to any plastic may be linked to health problems. As a general rule of thumb, you should not heat food in plastic and aim to replace all plastic items in the kitchen, such as storage containers, cups, and plates, with glass to minimize your exposure and potential health risks.
Telegraph
16-05-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Plastics are poisoning your body – and the effects are terrifying
The products are used for just a few seconds; their materials will last for hundreds of years. What does that mean for humankind? The journalist Saabira Chaudhuri answers this question in Consumed, the story of plastic packaging. The brief for her engaging book sounds narrow, but it touches on all manner of related topics, from the science of polymers to the sociology of marketing. Plastic was once seen as the environmental choice. In the 1860s, with the advent of snooker-balls and combs made of celluloid, who knows how many elephant and tortoise lives were saved? And since 20th-century plastic packaging was both lighter and stronger than paper – which is also, it's true, more polluting and resource-intensive than many of us realise – what wasn't to like? The assumption grew, incorrectly, that plastics were environmentally inert. As a result, the post-Second World War era saw wild enthusiasm for the use-and-discard lifestyle. In November 1963, Lloyd Stouffer, editor of Modern Plastics magazine, addressed hundreds at a conference in Chicago: 'The happy day has arrived when nobody any longer considers the plastics package too good to throw away.' They certainly didn't. McDonald's rolled out polystyrene clamshell containers across America in the 1970s, and, Chaudhuri relates, up to four billion of them were going to landfill every year. McDonald's claimed they would 'help aerate the soil'. The idea was self-serving, but not ridiculous: the prevailing assumption was that landfills worked as giant composters. But landfill waste doesn't decompose so much as become mummified. Plastic, over the decades, spread inexorably across the globe, into the oceans as well as on land. There was a backlash in the 1980s, but it petered out. A stronger instance began in 2015, and was led by, among other things, a viral YouTube video of a turtle found off the coast of Costa Rica with a plastic straw lodged in his nose. Other videos, more testimony and more anger followed. Plastic became inexorably linked in the public mind, across the globe, with destruction. This material, so casually thrown away, was killing the natural world. Rather than moving beyond disposability, however, manufacturers simply tried to make plastics recyclable (or at least compostable). The problem, as Chaudhuri explains, is that it's extremely difficult to recycle plastic; and commercial logic reduced much of that effort to little more than a giant marketing campaign for the supposedly virtuous companies using plastics – what she brands 'a get-out-of-jail-free card in a situation otherwise riddled with reputational risk'. Recycling wouldn't, in any event, address a more fundamental difficulty. Microplastics – plastic particles ranging from 0.001 to 5,000 micrometres across – first turned up in salt, honey, teabags and beer. In recent years, Chaudhuri explains, they have been detected in 'human blood, breast milk, placentas, lungs, testes and the brain'. You, dear reader, almost certainly have microplastics in your body. In 2024, the New England Journal of Medicine linked them to an increased risk of strokes and heart attacks. The humble plastic sachet – developed in India to serve a market underserved by refuse collectors and low on running water – provides Chaudhuri with what, to my mind, is her most striking chapter. You've probably used these single-use plastics yourself, maybe countless times: at takeaways, at restaurants, at bars. They have an astonishing range of uses, especially outside the West. 'In 2021,' Chaudhuri relates, 'nearly 41 billion shampoo packages were sold in India. Of these, 99 per cent were sachets.' They're so cheap that they undercut bulk purchases; so tiny that no recycler can make anything from gathering them; so smeared with product that no recycling process could handle them anyway. Beyond their tiny delivery of fluid, they have no redeeming qualities. Consumed is an engaging book, written in an efficient style and bolstered by a wide range of interviews. Chaudhuri, a former reporter for the Wall Street Journal, brings a critical but never censorious light to bear on the machinations of a wide cast: businesspeople, regulators, campaigners and occasional oddballs. For, at its heart, this is a story about plastic's pioneers and detractors, propelled to unexpected successes and stymied by unforeseen problems – and a corporate class who steeped the world in chemicals causing untold damage to us all.
Washington Post
14-05-2025
- Science
- Washington Post
Plastic may be warming the planet more than we thought
Scientists have long known that making plastic warms the planet. But plastic may be heating the Earth even more than we realized, according to a report released Wednesday. The Plastics & Climate Project, a nonprofit research group that studies how plastic contributes to climate change, analyzed hundreds of published research papers to identify aspects that are missing from most climate models.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump-era tariffs linked to plastic rise, UK firms at risk
UK manufacturers may face rising compliance risks under new packaging waste regulations, as shifting global trade policies linked to US tariffs prompt a move towards increased plastic use, according to a leading environmental compliance firm. The warning from Manchester-based Ecoveritas follows recent developments in US trade policy, where despite some tariff relaxations, the ongoing global impact of former President Donald Trump's trade measures continues to influence supply chain decisions. Major producers are reportedly reconsidering their packaging materials, potentially increasing plastic usage in response to tariffs on steel and aluminium. Global brands including Coca-Cola have begun to move away from aluminium cans in favour of plastic alternatives, a shift attributed in part to tariffs on metal imports. While such changes originate overseas, UK companies could be affected indirectly by handling imported goods or altering their own supply chains in response to global trends. Ecoveritas has emphasised that businesses in the UK must pay close attention to the new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) rules, introduced this year, which place greater accountability on firms for the packaging waste they generate. The firm warns that increasing reliance on plastic packaging could inadvertently raise compliance costs under these stricter regulations. Under the EPR scheme, all UK businesses with annual turnover exceeding £1 million and handling more than 25 tonnes of packaging are now responsible for funding the recycling of their packaging waste. They are also required to track, report and submit detailed data on packaging usage. Estimates suggest these changes could result in up to £130 million in additional costs for large retailers alone. Ecoveritas notes that failure to accurately report packaging data could lead to significant financial penalties, with even minor miscalculations potentially costing businesses hundreds of thousands of pounds. Andrew McCaffery, Chief Strategy Officer at Ecoveritas, cautioned that the current trade landscape is adding new complexity to packaging decisions. 'The headlines tend to focus on material price increases, but it is crucial that firms don't lose sight of the rules they must adhere to when it comes to packaging and waste,' he said. He added that while the shift in packaging materials may be beyond the control of many UK companies, they must still ensure compliance with domestic environmental regulations. McCaffery encouraged firms to reassess their approach to packaging waste, stating that 'there is an opportunity for businesses of all sizes to become more sustainable and minimise compliance risks.' The warning highlights the ongoing challenges facing UK manufacturers in adapting to global supply chain changes, particularly in areas linked to plastic packaging, recycling regulations and extended producer responsibility. "Trump-era tariffs linked to plastic rise, UK firms at risk" was originally created and published by Packaging Gateway, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
