Health Benefits of Reuse

Disposables are toxic. Most single-use food and beverage packaging has negative impacts on human health throughout its lifecycle:

  • Plastic production, manufacturing, and shipping are all polluting, resource-intensive processes. Inhaling associated emissions presents a significant health risk for surrounding communities.
  • Eating and drinking out of plastic can also be risky. Chemicals in plastics threaten endocrine, reproductive, and respiratory health. Some plastics contain carcinogenic chemicals like Bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates.
  • Plastic containers leach harmful micro- and nanoplastics into food and beverages during storage and use, such as microwaving or refrigeration .
  • Many “green” alternatives like compostable containers have barrier coatings that make them liquid- and grease-resistant – but also toxic. These impermeable coatings can harm human health as carcinogenic and endocrine-disrupting “forever chemicals” leach into consumers’ food and drinks.
  • After being used once and thrown away, disposable plastic packaging degrades into microplastics that spread throughout the environment. Microplastics are now ubiquitous in our soil, food, air, and water. Microplastics can be inhaled, ingested, absorbed through skin contact, and even passed on to our children. Microplastics can cause inflammation, cell damage, cardiovascular disease, and an increased risk of cancer. Microplastics can also cross the blood-brain barrier, possibly impacting neurological function.
  • For coastal communities and the seafood industry, ingestion of microplastics is a major concern. For example, emerging research in oyster aquaculture shows that more than 94% of oysters harvested globally contain microplastics.
Graphic showing microplastics and nanoplastics released into liquid when microwaved in polypropylene container
Hussain et al. (2023)1

Reuse works. Communities across the U.S. and the globe have already successfully implemented reusable food packaging systems. Check out these reusable packaging models and real-life case studies.

You can help reduce plastic pollution in your community and avoid toxic chemicals. Choose reuse!

economic benefits of reuse
environmental benefits of reuse
community benefits of reuse
  1. Hussain, K. A., Romanova, S., Okur, İ., Zhang, D., Kuebler, J., Huang, X., Wang, Q., Fernandez-Ballester, L., Lu, Y. F., Schubert, M., & Li, Y. (2023). Assessing the Release of Microplastics and Nanoplastics from Plastic Containers and Reusable Food Pouches: Implications for Human Health. Environmental Science & Technology, 57(26), 9782–9792. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c01942
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