Experts advise home cooks to throw away a potentially harmful household item: the black plastic spatula.
Andrew Turner, a biochemist at the University of Plymouth, shared the reasons behind this in a study published by The Atlantic this week.
the study described the possible dangers that can be found in a product made of black plastic.
Turner explained that black plastic spatulas and other items made of the same material contain chemicals typically found in the outer casings that protect the interior mechanisms of computers and televisions.
Because optical sensors at recycling facilities do not detect the material, black plastic is often rejected from household waste streams and ends up in various products, including spatulas.
Experts Advise Homeowners to Throw Out Black Plastic Spatulas
The other worrying issue regarding black plastic is flame retardants, chemicals that make products less flammable or slow the spread of fire.
These chemicals can spread quickly through the environment and could even cause black cookware to “migrate into hot cooking oil,” according to the study.
They are also known as endocrine disruptors (EDCs), chemicals that can interfere with the body’s hormones.
They can mimic, block or interfere with hormones responsible for certain biological processes.
Scientific studies have also linked EDCs to problems such as thyroid disease, diabetes, and cancer.
A study published in October 2024 by researchers at Toxic-Free Future and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam found that, of all the consumer products they tested, cookware had some of the highest levels of flame retardants.
Black plastic squeegees contain chemicals normally found on outer casings that protect the inner mechanisms of computers.
Megan Liu, director of science and policy at Toxic-Free Future and co-author of the October 2024 study, purchased 200 black plastic products for the research.
He noted that buyers would not be able to tell which products were made from recycled e-waste, calling it “a minefield.”
The study showed that black plastic spatulas and other utensils are not the only kitchen essentials to consider throwing away.
The black plastic sushi trays actually had the highest level of flame retardant of all the objects in the study.
The children’s toys also contained a high level of flame retardants.
“When black plastic items are used, there is a risk that they will be contaminated,” Liu told The Atlantic.
With these flame retardants in children’s toys, harmful chemicals could be found in saliva, dust, and eventually the air.
Liu and co-authors of the October 2024 study found that most of the flame retardant compounds in their tests should no longer be in various products.
The brominated flame retardants in the study have recently been removed from American and European products, including electronics.
Massachusetts banned 11 flame retardants in 2021 and New York recently passed a bill restricting organohalogen flame retardants in electronic housings.
Washington state also plans to enforce a similar ban on flame retardants, which will take effect in 2025.
These chemicals can spread quickly through the environment and could even cause black cookware to “migrate into hot cooking oil.”
U.S. state laws and regulations have not prevented harmful compounds from returning to products.
The sushi tray featured in Liu’s study contained 11,900 parts per million of the flame retardant decaBDE, what she called a “really alarming” level of a chemical banned in several US states.
The chemical, also known as BDE-209, had been removed from production well before 2022.
“You send your e-waste overseas and you just have no idea what happens to it,” Turner told The Atlantic.
“I think it’s supposed to be handled safely and disposed of properly. But, you know, it comes back in the form of things we don’t want.
Experts say steel or silicone spatulas are much safer
To properly dispose of black plastic spatulas, Liu told homeowners to throw them in the trash instead of recycling them.
“I personally have been throwing away my black plastic takeout containers,” Liu told The Atlantic.
Based on studies and the fact that flame retardants are making a comeback in the U.S., the chemicals could continue to find their way into products like black kitchen spatulas and children’s toys.
Until then, replacing black plastic spatulas with a steel or silicone option would be the healthiest way to go.