There is growing concern among academics around the use of plastics, as microplastics are increasingly being discovered in the human body.
Microplastics, and even smaller nano-plastics, are tiny particles that are formed when plastics break down in the environment.
"They contain within them all the thousands of toxic chemicals that were in the original plastic," Boston College biology professor Dr Philip Landrigan told Breakfast.
"So when those particles get into food, into the air and then into the human body, especially the very small ones get into all the organs in the human body. They're like little Trojan horses."
Recent overseas research has found microplastics present in human testes and penises. However their impact once inside the body was still being uncovered.
"I think that what we're going to find is a lot of the damage microplastics do is in some measure due to the physical presence of the particles themselves, disrupting the architecture of the cells in the body. But a lot of the damage is going to be because of those chemicals, which don't stay in the particles but leech out."
One of the more comprehensive studies involved participants with microplastics present in fatty material taken from the main blood vessel in the neck, who were then monitored for three years. Researchers found these participants were four-and-a-half times more likely to have a heart attack, stroke, or die from any cause within that period.
"It's only one study," said Landrigan. "It doesn't prove cause and effect, but it's a worrisome finding."
One problem with plastics is what happens to them after use. Despite an emphasis on recycling programmes, most plastics can't be recycled.
According to Auckland Council, around 77% of plastics used in the city ends up in landfill while only 13% gets recycled. Globally, the United Nations puts that figure at under 10%.
Landrigan described plastics recycling as a "scam".
"There are a whole bunch of different plastics; polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polyurethane [and] you can't mix them together, they simply don't go together. Then on top of that, the plastics are full of thousands of toxic chemicals, and those chemicals carry through into any product that comes out of the recycling process, and they make the product unsuitable for all sorts of uses. You can't use them to wrap food, you can't use them for kids' toys, you can't put them in household goods."
Plastics production is linked to fossil fuels, with most plastics manufactured from chemicals derived from natural gas and petroleum.
"It's a vertically integrated industry. The same folks that drill the oil, and frack the gas, and mine the coal are the folks that make fossil fuels and make plastics," he said.
Landrigan said he is concerned pressure on the fossil fuel industry is resulting in those companies putting more emphasis on plastics and ramping up production.
But as more plastic is being made, the United Nations is working on a global treaty that aims to "addresses the full lifecycle of plastic, including its production, design and disposal".
"Clearly we're not going to get rid of all plastics," said Landrigan. "We need plastics in medicine, we need it in aerospace, we need it in engineering. But if we could bend the curve and stop the runaway production, particularly single use plastics, then the treaty will be a success."
While the UN debates plastics on a global scale, Landrigan said he believes individuals can act as well.
"Every parent is the CEO of their home, and they can control everything that comes into the house — what they buy and what they bring home — and choose to preferentially buy glass bottles instead of plastic, or metal instead of plastic."
He is optimistic the industry can "bend the curve".
"If there was a global cap on plastic production and countries around the world started creating incentives for new biodegradable plastics, in the same way they incentivise solar panels and wind farms, I suspect you'd see an explosion in new materials, in the same way we're seeing an explosion of green energy.
"So there is hope. But only if we work for it."
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