Harmful effects of using disposable cups

Due to their low price and convenience, most restaurants, eateries, beverage shops, and small convenience stores use disposable plastic cups.

To limit the use of disposable plastic cups, some restaurants have switched to using environmentally friendly products such as lunch boxes, biodegradable plastic bags, cardboard containers, bamboo spoons, etc.

The government also launched the “Say no to single-use plastic products” movement; many initiatives have been put forward to reduce environmental pollution such as using products of natural origin, bioplastics, paper products, encouraging people to bring their own containers when buying food... However, in reality, the cost of environmentally friendly materials is quite high, while single-use plastic products are “super cheap”. If purchased in large quantities, these items only cost from 300 - 500 VND/piece.

According to the investigation results of American and Canadian scientists, disposable plastic cups all over the world are produced from a type of plastic called Polystyrene which is white, light, and flexible. Thanks to these characteristics, Polystyrene is very popular, especially in the food processing industry.

But scientists also discovered that Polystyrene is a toxic substance, dangerous to the health of users and especially related to cancer.

Discussing the above issue, the research report of the US National Toxicology Program also said that Polystyrene when exposed to low or high temperatures can release extremely toxic Styrene. Styrene is a carcinogen, can destroy DNA in the human body (producing abnormal chromosomes causing birth defects), causing nervous system disorders (fatigue, stress, insomnia), affecting blood concentration (low platelet count, causing stroke), etc.

Styrene is very easy to penetrate the body and even small concentrations of toxicity can have negative consequences for health. To protect consumer health, a ban on the production and use of plastic cups made from Polystyrene has been issued in the US, Canada and many countries around the world.

According to domestic experts, although most people are aware of solid waste pollution in their living environment, many are not ready to use alternative materials to disposable cups and plastic items.

The increased use of disposable cups and plastic items in recent years has led to an increasing amount of plastic waste being released into the environment, while waste management, collection, and treatment have not been timely, so the burning of plastic waste and nylon bags is still very common. These materials, when burned in the environment, will create many types of toxic gases, including dioxin and furan, which are extremely toxic substances that can cause difficulty breathing, affect the endocrine system, reduce immunity, disrupt digestive function, and especially pose a risk of causing cancer.

Not to mention that disposable cups and plastic products are mainly recycled from used plastic products, some chemicals in these plastic products such as plasticizers, dyes, lead, cadmium... can leach into food, then be absorbed into the human body through use. These chemicals accumulate over time and can cause cancer, adversely affect brain development in children, change tissues, change chromosomes, cause miscarriages, cause birth defects, change hormones and many other consequences for human health.

According to VTC