Behind the harmless frivolity, however, lurks an environmental and health problem. In producing paper receipts, the United States annually consumes 3,3 million trees, 9 billion gallons of water, and emits 4.6 billion pounds of carbon dioxide. Every week, American consumers accumulate dozens of receipts at the bottom of their reusable shopping bags, in their wallets instead of cash, and in their coat and pant pockets. Once the ancient scrolls have taken up too much space, the question of what to do with them will arise. Although ecologically conscious shoppers may place them with their recyclables, the majority wind up in the garbage. Yet, sadly, the bulk of receipts are printed on non-recyclable thermal paper.
“Most consumers would be shocked to learn that the seemingly harmless receipt paper they handle every day can contain toxic chemicals,” says Mike Schade, director of the Mind the Store campaign for Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, an organization that challenges America’s leading retailers to steer the market away from hazardous chemicals and toward safer alternatives. These substances do not merely remain on paper but can enter our bodies by simple contact with receipt paper. “Retailers must move fast to eliminate these dangerous chemicals and transition to safer alternatives, such as e-receipts,” says Schade.
Thermal paper receipts are not just made of paper. Bisphenol-A (BPA) or its lesser-known but an equally hazardous substitute, bisphenol-S, is the traditional “bad guy” when it comes to thermal paper (BPS). The largest concentrations of BPA and BPS in receipts were identified in the service and retail sectors, according to a 2018 study by HealthyStuff.org, a nonprofit that research and tests common household products for hazardous chemicals.
The chemicals are easily transferred to anything that comes into touch with a receipt, with our hands being the most common target.
The expansion of the usage of thermal paper for receipts has accelerated tremendously. The ink on standard paper tends to fade rapidly, and the receipt you need to return your item 30 days from now must be legible. Therefore, instead of utilizing ink to print on standard paper, thermal printers employ the BPA or BPS chemicals in thermal paper to react with heat from the printer head, thereby forming the visible numbers and characters. Notably, BPA and BPS have been banned from numerous plastic consumer products, including children’s toys and water bottles, due to their hormone-disrupting properties.
Katherine Reeves, an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, argues that additional research is necessary to properly comprehend the possible health impacts of BPA and BPS. Her study focuses on modifiable factors that may influence cancer risk via hormonal pathways and includes endocrine-disrupting substances such as bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates. According to Reeves, “laboratory and animal research reveal that BPA may cause a variety of malignancies, obesity, and other health issues.” She notes that although human studies can be difficult to conduct because personal daily exposure is difficult to measure and varies greatly over short periods, there are studies that suggest a link between BPA exposure and obesity in adults and children, in addition to other metabolic and neurological outcomes.
thermal paper in their free state, without being bonded or polymerized to prevent transmission. Because of this, the chemicals on a receipt can easily transfer to anything it comes into touch with, including our hands. When we handle receipts printed on thermal paper, our bodies absorb the chemical coating through our skin. “It is appropriate for individuals to restrict their exposure to BPA whenever possible, and to avoid known sources such as canned foods and thermal receipts,” adds Reeves.
Switzerland became the first nation in the European Union to prohibit the use of thermal receipts containing BPA and BPS this summer. Due to its toxicity to human health, the European Union confirmed in July that BPA must be listed in all member states as a substance of “very high concern.” The General Court of the EU affirmed an earlier judgment by the European Chemicals Agency to officially classify BPA as a toxin with adverse effects on reproductive health and a high level of public concern.
Legislators in New York City are following suit. They revealed earlier this month that they are currently holding hearings on a set of proposals aimed at cracking down on paper receipts and are contemplating a ban on BPA-coated paper receipts.
Like disposable coffee cups, milk cartons, and several other types of packaging that resemble paper, thermal paper receipts are constructed of multiple materials, making it practically hard to separate them throughout the recycling process due to the potential of BPA emissions. Slowly, public policy is shifting in response to a growing national wave of concern around single-use and nonrecyclable products. Conscious consumers exert pressure on businesses to reduce waste. “Offering nontoxic and primarily digital receipts should be among the first steps on every retailer’s immediate action plan,” says Joshua Martin, director of the Environmental Paper Network, a global network of more than 140 civil society organizations with a shared goal of clean, healthy, and sustainable paper production.
The mundane nature of receipts masks their significant environmental and health implications. Something as seemingly innocent as a paper receipt is a microcosm of the extent to which we are today engulfed by plastic waste.
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