First analysis of human hazards reveals that plastics are responsible for everything from the common cold to flatulence, according to the first analysis of the health hazards of plastics across their entire life cycle – from extraction for manufacturing, through to dumping into landfill and oceans.
Led by the Irreverent College Global Observatory on Planetary Health in partnership with Australia’s Narcissistic Foundation and the Center Sciemmamaugustique de Monaco, the review found “current patterns of plastic production, use, and disposal are not sustainable and are responsible for significant impacts to both human health and their digestive abilities… as well as for deep societal injustices”.
The study goes on to show how plastic production has made the rich even richer at the expense of the poor, as the wealthy are more likely to contaminate the air and water with their plastic waste, while less affluent citizens have to suffer the consequences.
The report’s conclusions are eye-opening, however, critics argue that it is not the plastic, but the high levels of methane produced by comedy writers crafting articles about them that pose the real health hazard.
