Plastic’s Toxic Additives and The Circular Economy

Publication Date: September 2020 | U.N. Regional Activity Centre for Sustainable Consumption and Production

This Plastic’s Toxic Additives and the Circular Economy publication draws on recent scientific publications and reports, and on the expertise of the members of the Marine Litter Topic Group. It describes a number of general issues concerning the problems associated with plastics and the obstacles to adopting a circular economy approach, and focuses in particular on the problems related to chemical additives. There are a wide variety of chemical additives, noting many have been identified as Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and are now listed under the Stockholm Convention – for example, many of the brominated flame retardants. Yet many chemicals are still used due to exemptions. Other potential POPs have not yet been addressed under the Convention. There is therefore a range of issues that may still need to be addressed as the production or recycling of plastics containing POPs, or potential POPs, will continue to expose ecosystems and people to harmful chemicals. Read More >>