Impacts of Plastics to Human Health and the Sustainable Solutions

Plastic waste scattered along Kenjeran Beach, Surabaya, captured in September 2024.

With its numerous uses in everything from building to packing, plastic has become a vital part of modern society. Manufacturers all over the world choose it because of its affordability, adaptability, and durability. Plastic's ease, nevertheless, has a high price in terms of health and the environment. Plastic items frequently degrade into tiny pieces known as microplastics which are the particles smaller than 5 mm when they are thrown away. The use of plastic has been linked to negative impacts on human health, including disruption of the endocrine system and the effects on the respiratory system; to tackle these issues, it is essential to implement stricter regulations on plastic production and consumption and enhance water treatment systems to reduce microplastic contamination.

Firstly, the impact of plastic usage on human health is the disruption of the endocrine system. Many plastics contain chemical additives that are used to enhance the flexibility, durability and transparency of plastics. The hazardous chemicals in plastics, including endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) will disturb the body’s hormone system. An endocrine system is necessary for the growth, development, and maintenance of multicellular organisms. Darbre (2020) explains that chemicals such as phthalate esters and Bisphenol A (BPA), which are used in plastic materials, can disrupt the function of hormones. These endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can disrupt the hormone action in the way of synthesis and transportation including the metabolism, excretion of hormones, and binding to the target cells. In addition, the majority of plastic compounds can penetrate packaged goods due to their lack of covalent bonding with the polymer matrix. Chemical migration, described as the mass transfer of chemical substances from a higher concentration region which is the food-contact side to a lower-concentration region, usually the food until equilibrium is reached. The hazardous substances that the plastic packaging contains are monomers such as Bisphenol A and styrene, and phthalates which act as plasticizer additives, so chemicals that leak into food from the food contact materials (FCMs) become accessible for human exposure and disturb the endocrine activity in humans. Scientific studies discover that the chemical particles including the monomers used as additives in the manufacture of plastics will seep into the plastic products and plastic packaging is more susceptible to chemical migration compared to other packaging materials. Studies also indicate that the safety of pregnant mothers and children is mostly affected by monomers, which have been identified as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) (Muzeza et al., 2023). Thus, the disturbance of the endocrine system is one of the effects of plastic use on human health.

Another impact of plastic usage on human health is its effects on the respiratory system. Tens of thousands to millions of microplastic (MPs) and nanoplastic (NPs) particles, or several milligrams per day, are thought to be ingested by humans per year. These microplastics or nanoplastics particles may cause damage to mitochondria in human respiratory cells due to oxidative stress. The mitochondrial Na/K transmembrane channels are stimulated and cause the opening by the high levels of oxidative stress in the cytosol. The "(ROS)-induced ROS-release" (RIRR) mechanism increases membrane channel ionic flux in mitochondria and may cause the mitochondrial membrane potential to collapse. Reactive oxygen species are also released through the mechanism. The particle size of the MPs and NPs is one of the reasons to cause damage to the mitochondrial membrane as the NPs can accumulate directly inside the mitochondria while the MPs through the indirect pathways. Thus, studies indicate that the smaller the particles, the more severe the damage to mitochondria (Hu & Palić, 2020). Furthermore, plastic fibers were found in pulmonary tissue in a human biomonitoring research indicating that MPs in the air may settle or build up in the lungs. Long-term exposure and accumulation of microplastics may lead to the development and progression of lung diseases. Research indicates that reactions such as cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and inflammatory response in the lung will cause damage to lung tissue due to MPs. Moreover, studies also report that prolonged exposure to MPs causes lung disorders, such as asthma and pneumoconiosis illnesses. Respiratory illnesses in workers at synthetic factories are linked to workplace exposure to airborne MPs (Kannan & Vimalkumar, 2021). Hence, the detrimental effects of the utilisation of plastic on human health include as well the respiratory system.

There is no denying that plastic pollution is a major global issue. Thus, stricter laws governing the production and use of plastic are the first step toward solving the plastic flood. Governments have the authority to enact laws restricting the use of single-use plastics, outlawing the use of microbeads in cosmetics, and encouraging extended producer responsibility (EPR) initiatives that hold producers responsible for the whole life of their products. De Souza (2019) explains that these regulatory frameworks align with SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). She emphasized that single-use plastic applications for which readily available sustainable alternatives are should be removed from the market, as should the production of plastic that cannot be recycled in the first place. Additionally, if feasible, reusable local initiatives have to be expanded and encouraged. Therefore, implementing more stringent regulations on the manufacturing and application of plastic is the first step in addressing the plastic crisis.

Next, the second way to enhance water treatment systems to reduce microplastic contamination and ensure cleaner water. The World Health Organization has recognized the presence and potential hazards of (micro)plastics in municipal and bottled drinking water. Microplastics pose serious health risks to humans by contaminating water sources and compromising the quality of drinking water easily (Walker, 2021). Hence, enhancing wastewater treatment plants and creating filtering technologies can help drastically lower the amount of microplastic pollution in water sources, thereby safeguarding aquatic ecosystems and human health. By guaranteeing that everyone has access to safe, clean water that is devoid of dangerous pollutants, this initiative supports SDG 3 (good health and well-being) and is in line with SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation). By combining these approaches, we can address the microplastic issue from all angles, fostering more sustainable environments and healthier societies.

In summary, plastic has a significant and worrisome influence on human health, especially when it comes to the disturbance of the endocrine system and the detrimental effects on the respiratory system. Microplastics created as a result of the growing amount of plastic trash present serious health dangers since they can enter our bodies through food and drink and cause long-term health problems. Stricter laws on plastic manufacture and consumption must be put in place in order to properly address these issues and stop plastic waste at its source. Protecting the public's health also requires improving water treatment systems to remove microplastics. By doing these crucial actions, we can lessen the negative consequences of plastic and move toward a more sustainable, healthy future for everybody. Solving the plastic problem is essential for preserving human health and wellbeing as well as the environment.

Sources:

1. De Souza, L. C. (2019). SDG 12–initiatives to reduce the production and consumption of plastics. The Civil Society Report of Spotlight on Sustainable Development. https://www.2030spotlight.org/en/book/1883/chapter/sdg-12-initiatives-reduce-production-and-consumption-plastics

2. Darbre, P. D. (2020). Chemical components of plastics as endocrine disruptors: Overviewan commentary. Birth defects research, 112(17), 1300-1307. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdr2.1778

3. Hu, M., & Palić, D. (2020). Micro-and nano-plastics activation of oxidative and inflammatory adverse outcome pathways. Redox biology, 37, 101620. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2020.101620

4. Kannan, K., & Vimalkumar, K. (2021). A review of human exposure to microplastics and insights into microplastics as obesogens. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 12, 724989. https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffendo.2021.724989

5. Muzeza, C., Ngole-Jeme, V., & Msagati, T. A. M. (2023). The Mechanisms of Plastic Food-Packaging Monomers’ Migration into Food Matrix and the Implications on Human Health. Foods, 12(18), 3364. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12183364

6. Walker, T. R. (2021). (Micro) plastics and the UN sustainable development goals. Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry, 30, 100497. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsc.2021.100497