Plastic | Children's Environmental Health Collaborative

The problem

Plastics enter children’s environments throughout their lifecycle of production, use, and waste. Since 1950, plastic production has increased more than 200-fold, and without stronger policies, plastics production and use are projected to increase by another 70% from 2020 to 2040. At the same time, an estimated 57% of plastic pollution is openly burned each year.

On one hand, lightweight and flexible plastics have been used to bring piped drinking water to children, extend the life of foodstuffs, produce electronics and facilitate global vaccination campaigns. Some of these uses lack accessible and affordable alternatives. On the other hand, children are facing hazards from open dumping and burning of plastic waste, pollution from production, impacts on livelihoods and flooding, widespread use of known toxic chemicals, and gaps in knowledge and regulation.

Only 21%

of plastics today are designed to be recyclable. Microplastics have been documented in breast milk, amniotic fluid and placenta .

The greatest burden is concentrated among those who are already vulnerable. Plastic waste ends up landfilled, incinerated, or openly dumped or burned in children’s communities. Children as young as 5 years of age work in the sorting, dismantling and recycling of e-waste. Moreover, international flows of plastic waste are an issue of environmental justice and a threat to children’s health and rights.

Plastics production emits toxic petrochemicals that can reach nearby “fenceline” communities. Plastic waste impacts flood risks as well as livelihoods that depend on ocean health and agriculture, although our understanding of the effects on children is incomplete.

Children are surrounded by unnecessary or problematic plastics and hazardous chemicals. Over time and through use, many plastic products gradually break down into particles and chemicals, which can be absorbed by children’s bodies. Evidence has shown that common children’s products contain hazardous plastic chemicals – such as phthalates, bisphenols (such as bisphenol A, BPA), per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), flame retardants, styrene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), crumb tyre infill on playgrounds, and more.

The complexity and growing, widespread use of plastics, combined with limited monitoring of health effects, have created large gaps in knowledge and regulation. Better chemical transparency, post-market monitoring, and research based on the precautionary principle are needed.

Children's unique vulnerability

Our knowledge of the lifelong and intergenerational effects of exposure to this chemical cocktail remains limited. Children are more exposed to plastics in early life at the same time as essential development of the neurobehavioral, immune, metabolic, cardiovascular, and other important body systems.

Compared to adults, children absorb more pollutants relative to their size and are less able to eliminate them from their bodies, while they also have more years of life ahead of them during which disease and disability may develop. Children’s dependence on caregivers and their susceptibility to killer infectious diseases like malaria make them uniquely vulnerable to flooding and family livelihood disruptions. Movement towards a circular economy should address children’s unique vulnerabilities.

Health impacts on children

Across pregnancy, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, plastic-related exposures have contributed to negative health effects. In a major 2024 umbrella review, at least one adverse human health impact was associated with every plastic chemical group studied (e.g., phthalates, bisphenols, flame retardants, and others). At least 30 chemicals present in food contact materials have been found in samples directly related to infants (i.e., breast milk, umbilical cord, and placenta).

Plastic chemicals can be transferred through the placenta during pregnancy. In addition, microplastics have been documented in breast milk, amniotic fluid and placenta as well as child lung fluid, stool and meconium. Considerable research has focused on endocrine-disrupting chemicals from plastics, which are especially hazardous during early life development because hormone signaling directs important processes in the body, including development of the brain, reproductive system, and immune system.

Among other findings, research has identified an increased risk of miscarriage linked to a woman’s higher exposure to certain phthalates during pregnancy. The impact of prenatal plastic exposure appears as early as birth. Decreased birth weight is linked with higher exposure to certain phthalates, certain flame retardants, and certain PFAS chemicals.

Neurodevelopmental disorders, behavioral change, and diminished cognitive function (reduced IQ) in childhood have all been linked to exposures to plastic-associated chemicals. What’s more, neurotoxic metals like lead and cadmium are added to some plastics as pigments or heat stabilizers, although this is regulated in some regions.

Plastic-associated chemicals are linked to poorer lung development, respiratory conditions, and allergy, such as prenatal exposure to phthalate BBP linked to asthma in children. Increased levels of this phthalate in indoor air and children’s urine are linked to PVC, a common flooring material.

Our house is located along the Brantas River, a drinking water source for more than 5 million people. My family drinks and uses water from this river, as do my schoolmates. But the Brantas River has become a dumping ground for wastewater from plastic recycling industries.