Why is Government Legislation Demanding Post-Consumer Recycled PCR Plastic Content in Food Contact Packaging?

Simple answer: wish recycling. Legislators ignore the science and risk of contamination to make laws for PCR content.

CPC can help you understand the PCR facts from fiction.

It makes much more sense to use recycled plastic in non-food contact applications where some contamination is not a concern such as construction, geotextiles, agriculture and automotive.

Recycling plastics into food contact applications may be hazardous to your health. A study in Europe has found some post-consumer recycled plastic had traces of carcinogens in it. The study attributes this to the glue and inks on the plastic labels generating byproduct chemicals when the plastic was melted. While the contamination concentrations are extremely low and the potential for them to be transferred to the food is even lower, why take the risk?

A recent media sensationalized report on flame retardants in Black kitchen utensils illustrated how poorly done “research” can gain an incredible amount of media attention. Black kitchen utensils, which do not contain flame retardant, but did contain some recycled plastic were claimed to contain a bromine flame retardant. Whether or not this was true became irrelevant when it was discovered the flame retardant concentration reported was 10 times more than “actual data” due to a mathematical error in the report. Not only was the report not peer reviewed but it wasn’t even checked for mathematical errors!