Pandemic waiting to erupt from plastic packaging, warns global movement

GEORGE TOWN – An international movement against the use of plastics has warned that a pandemic could emerge from a virus said to be present in discarded food packaging.

The Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives in Asia Pacific, #breakfreefromplastic movement, Greeners Action in Hong Kong, Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia and plastic pollution solutions provider Upstream said the virus is initially dormant, and able to mutate and discharge toxins into the environment when plastic packaging is left abandoned for long periods.

“The dramatic rise in the use of single-use plastics in the food service industry during the Covid-19 pandemic has been fuelled by the narrative that single-use plastics prevent virus transmission,” said Upstream policy director Miriam Gordon.

She was speaking at a webinar titled “The Unwrapped Project: Exposing the health risks of plastics + food packaging chemicals” with selected media in the region.

Covid-19 spreads via aerosolised droplets, but the notion that one will not catch the disease by touching contaminated surfaces, including plastics, is not backed by scientific evidence, she said.

Upstream’s paper, titled “The Unwrapped Project”, shows there can be more than 4,000 chemicals present in plastic packaging.

Of these chemicals, 906 are likely present in plastics, with 68 particularly hazardous to the environment and 63 to humans.

Gordon said of samples taken from 19 locations worldwide, 93% from bottled water contained microplastics, with an average of 10.4 plastic particles per litre.

Microplastics can move across the gut into the circulatory system, accumulating in major organs, and travel through the lymph system, ending up in the liver and spleen. 

When inhaled, these materials, depending on shape and size, can travel through the respiratory system, becoming lodged in the lungs, and possibly translocating to other parts of the body.

“In (the fight against Covid-19), we encourage people to bring their own food boxes when ordering takeaways,” said Greeners Action senior project officer Michelle Chung.

“The risk of contracting (Covid-19) comes from respiratory contact. Using plastics does not mean you are better protected against the virus.”

She also spoke of the push to discourage consumers and businesses from using plastics, which are fast filling up landfills. – The Vibes, April 11, 2021