Scientists warn allowing children to play with hand-me-down plastic toys could pose a risk to health

In a new study conducted by the University of Gothenburg, scientists have found that letting children play with hand-me-down plastic toys could constitute a health risk.

For the study, researchers at the university tested a large number of old toys and dress-up items made of plastic.

After a detailed analysis, they found that 84 per cent of the items were found to contain toxins that can disrupt growth and development and reproductive capacities in children.

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The research, published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances, shows that these toxins are an obstacle to the circular economy in the future involving reuse and recycling.

According to Professor Bethanie Carney Almroth, the study's lead author, the hazardous chemicals that were discovered included phthalates and short-chain chlorinated paraffins used as plasticisers and flame retardants in toys.

When Professor Bethanie Carney Almroth compared new and old toys she found out that the latter had concentrations of phthalates totalling more than 40 per cent of the weight of the toy.

Explaining that the study indicates that reuse and recycling are not always automatically a good thing, Environmental Economist at the University of Gothenburg Daniel Slunge said ''The transition to a more circular economy requires bans and other policy measures that get rid of hazardous chemicals from plastic and other materials.''

''Although the Toy Safety Directive has been crucial in reducing the incidence of hazardous chemicals in toys, it has only been applicable to new toys, not old ones,'' he added.

It comes after the European Parliament adopted a Circular Economy Action Plan to discourage wasteful behaviour that drains the Earth's finite resources.

In an attempt to protect the health and safety of children, the EU legislation regulated the permissible quantities of a number of chemical substances found in toys.

Under the Toy Safety Directive, the permissible limit values for new toys are 0.15 per cent by weight for short-chain chlorinated paraffins and 0.1 per cent by weight for phthalates.

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