If you go to your kitchen and check your items, you will probably find a black spatula. I certainly did, and boy do I have some bad news for you. According to a study published in The Atlantic, your black plastic spatula and other black-colored plastic utensils can be harmful to you and your family.
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The study performed by Andrew Turner, a University of Plymouth biochemist, revealed that these black plastic items contain chemicals that can cause an assortment of issues. These chemicals are flame retardants, and some are Endocrine disruptors (EDCs). As their name implies, these can affect the human body's hormones. This could lead to developing diseases such as cancer, diabetes, or thyroid disease.
The EDCs are reported to be extremely prone to dislodging from the polymer. This means that they can transfer easily to the environment. Most commonly, cooking oil can eventually be filled with EDCs, making it extra harmful to whoever ends up consuming it.
A Black Plastic Issue
Turner published a paper in 2018 that talked about how black plastic products are commonly made using electronic waste. This waste includes a significant amount of flame retardants or EDCs. According to Turner's research, the black pigment in these products is not detected in recycling facilities, meaning that they ultimately end up in landfills.
That said, Megan Liu, Toxic-Free Future's science and policy manager, thinks that black plastic items should be thrown out for good. Moreover, people shouldn't even attempt to recycle them at all.
"I personally have been throwing out my black plastic takeout containers," Liu told The Atlantic. "It's scary to think that those might be reentering other products with the same flame retardants." According to Liu's testing and research, the amount of flame retardants in each unique black plastic item can greatly vary.
Replacing your black-plastic kitchen utensils with steel or silicon options could certainly help with your EDCs exposure. However, you should probably also take a look at what your children may be playing with. Toys that have black plastic can also be filled with flame retardants carrying EDCs, which can be very dangerous for the little ones. In general, try to avoid black plastic as much as you can.
