Why You May Want To Avoid Black Plastic

If you have any kitchen supplies or toys made from black plastic, you may want to think twice about having them in your home. As far back as 2018, a study published in Environmental International sounded the alarm that black plastic may contain harmful chemicals. Recent studies continue to confirm concerns. Black plastic is used in many of our everyday products that end up either in our mouths or coming in contact with our food. Popular items include cutlery, takeout containers, food trays, drink stirrers, and cooking utensils. Toys made from this type of plastic are also worrisome since children love to put everything in their mouths. 

 Ironically, the health concerns about black plastic stem from the recycling process. Unfortunately, it is not easy to recycle because it gets its color from carbon black, a type of industrial pigment additive used for its durability and deep shade. The black pigment is not easily identified by the infrared sensors used in most plastic sorting facilities to separate out different types of plastic materials. This means that black plastic usually gets sorted as regular waste and ends up in a landfill instead of being recycled as intended.

Black Plastic often made from e-waste

Because it can’t be recycled, new black plastic needs to be created from other sources to meet consumer demand. Many of these products end up being made from the plastic parts of electronic and electrical equipment waste (e-waste). The problem is that electronics typically contain toxic substances like the flame retardant bromine, antimony, and heavy metals like lead, cadmium, and mercury.

Recycling plastic from e-waste is now introducing harmful chemicals into our consumer products.  In order to find out how widespread the e-waste problem is, researchers involved in the study tested the levels of various chemicals in more than 600 black plastic products. Shockingly, both bromine and lead were found extensively in non-electrical black consumer products. In fact, many of the products contained concentrations of bromine and lead that exceeded legal limits. This is troubling since exposure to bromine has been linked to cancer, diabetes, developmental disorders, reproductive issues, and thyroid problems. Lead also has well-documented health risks such as hindering physical and mental development. We certainly don’t want to be putting these chemicals in our mouths! 

Plaine Products Swapped to White Pumps

In 2020, once we learned about the concerns around black plastic, Plaine Products made the decision to move to all white pumps, both for safety concerns and to help grow the market for alternatives. 

Here are some other tips to rid black plastic from your life and stay safe:

• Wherever possible, opt for materials like wood, ceramic, cast iron, steel, and glass in your kitchen.
• Replace plastic cooking utensils like spoons and spatulas with those made from wood or bamboo.
• Ditch the single-use plastic plates and utensils. 
• Avoid takeout venues that use black plastic containers. Look for places that use cardboard and paper instead. Try educating the restaurant staff about the risks of using black plastic to encourage them to make the switch, or ask if you can bring your own containers to take the food home.
• Never microwave your food in plastic containers.

So, what should you do with all of that black plastic sitting around your house? Until we have a better way, the Plastic Pollution Coalition recommends that you just throw out these items in the garbage.