Like the better-known chemical BPA, BPS is an endocrine disruptor linked to breast cancer and reproductive toxicity.
I remember hearing about basically this literally a decade years ago. Nothing’s been done about it since then. Nothing will be done about it now. Not unless we make a fuss about it at which point they’ll pretend to give a shit about us and make grand gestures towards transitioning away from receipts made from hazardous materials. Meanwhile, they’ll continue to knowingly expose us to some other hazardous material for the next decade until some independent research team uncovers how it’s slowly poisoning everybody who comes into contact with it. And thus the cycle continues.
Under capitalism, there is no incentive to do anything for the benefit of humankind when it comes into conflict with the ultimate goal of accumulating as much wealth for yourself as humanly possible. It will always corrupt.
“Oh, you don’t need to get a receipt if you give us your email address instead…”
I just don’t imagine a scenario where I’d need to prove I bought a donut.
Banned in Germany since 2020; 2025 banned across Europe. So not a capitalism problem per se, more like an government problem
This is untrue, your confusing capitalism and short sighted greed. Capitalism’s major issue is that very often the ship is being steered by somebody chasing next quarter’s profits and abandoning anything further into the future.
Henry Ford famously paid his workers $5 a day in 1914 primarily to reduce high labor turnover and improve worker productivity. This wage increase was a significant shift from the previous average rate of $2.34, and it was also intended to make the Model T more affordable for his own workers. Here’s a more detailed look at the reasons behind Ford’s $5-a-day wage: Reduced Turnover: Ford had a crippling labor turnover rate of 370%. By offering a higher wage, he aimed to attract and retain workers, minimizing the cost and disruption of constantly hiring and training new employees. Increased Productivity: Ford believed that paying workers a higher wage would motivate them to work harder and more efficiently. Improved Morale: The higher wage was intended to improve workers’ morale and reduce the distractions caused by financial worries. Making Cars Affordable: A key factor was the desire to make the Model T affordable for the workers who were producing it. By making their wages high enough to purchase a car, Ford hoped to stimulate demand and create a larger market for his product. “Profit-Sharing” and “Fordism”: Ford initially presented the wage increase as a “profit-sharing” plan, arguing that workers deserved a greater share of the company’s success. This concept became known as “Fordism,” which combined large-scale production with higher wages.
The only positive example of capitalism you could find is over 100 years old.
And they chose Henry Ford of all people, the man responsible for the modern assembly line (capitalist alienation at its most extreme) and an actual Nazi.
I think you’re forgetting the part where the Dodge brothers sued Ford for this and the courts ruled in favor of the brothers Dodge. Saying that companies must act in the sole benefit of their shareholders.
Imagine defending capitalism in the year of Our Lord 2025
Imagine not understanding the system you hate isn’t capitalism but cronyism and protectionism in the year of our Lord 2025. The government shouldn’t subsidize business and let megacorps not pay tax while also giving them endless subsidies in return for political favor. If your company can’t compete it should fail.
From a Kirkland, Washington, USA health hazards sheet that I found in a quick search:
TIPS TO REDUCE EXPOSURES TO BISPHENOLS IN RECEIPTS:
- DO NOT compost or recycle receipts and other thermal paper. BPA & BPS residues from receipts will contaminate recycled paper.
- Minimize receipt collection by declining receipts at gas pumps, ATMs and other machines when possible.
- Never give a child a receipt to hold or play with.
- After handling a receipt, wash hands before preparing and eating food.
- Do not use alcohol-based hand cleaners after handling receipts. A recent study showed that these products can increase the skin’s BPA absorption.
- Take advantage of store services that email or archive paperless purchase records.
- Store receipts separately in an envelope in a wallet or purse.
HAZARDS FOUND IN LABORATORY TESTS INCLUDE:
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Early Puberty
- Cardiovascular system disorders
- Abnormal reproductive system development
- Hormone abnormalities in children
- Susceptibility to various cancers
- Resistance to chemotherapy
- Diminished intellectual capacity
Above that it mentions:
HAZARDS FOUND IN LABORATORY TESTS INCLUDE:
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Early Puberty
- Cardiovascular system disorders
- Abnormal reproductive system development
- Hormone abnormalities in children
- Susceptibility to various cancers
- Resistance to chemotherapy
- Diminished intellectual capacity
Great, so receipts are going to be like our version of the leaded gasoline and mercury of past generations? 🫠
It’s plastics in general, but yeah. It’s already in your brain, and you’re accumulating more every year.
As I understand it, plastics themselves have no known negative impact on human health - it’s the additives in the plastics that are a problem. But I don’t think the BPA hazards listed above can be fairly generalized to all microplastics.
EDIT:
from the hazards sheet:
HEALTH HAZARDS IN THERMAL PAPER WITH BISPHENOLS (BPA & BPS)
So BPA and BPS, and they’re talking about thermal paper with those in particular.
I guess this has more details about BPA hazards: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_effects_of_Bisphenol_A
The U.S. FDA states “BPA is safe at the current levels occurring in foods” based on extensive research, including two more studies issued by the agency in early 2014.[2] The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reviewed new scientific information on BPA in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2015: EFSA’s experts concluded on each occasion that they could not identify any new evidence which would lead them to revise their opinion that the known level of exposure to BPA is safe; however, the EFSA does recognize some uncertainties, and will continue to investigate them.
As usual, it’s highly contextual when something is a hazard and to what extent it is.
Scientists also used to not think plastics crossed the blood-brain barrier until they started finding it in cadaver brains, you know? The list of things we understand about how plastics react to the body and its chemical processes is probably a much shorter list than the one of things we don’t understand about plastics.
Yup, though this isn’t an argument for why plastics are certainly dangerous. It doesn’t really matter, there are many reasons plastics are a problem, even if we don’t have that smoking gun yet on how actual plastic is hazardous. BPA, BPS, PVC, and other additives are already horrible, the reliance on plastics are part of what is destroying the earth’s climate, and these materials are not recyclable or re-usable, it’s an environmental disaster on a scale we have never seen, etc.
As I understand it, plastics themselves have no known negative impact on human health - it’s the additives in the plastics that are a problem.
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What are these additive-free plastics you’re suggesting exist? Should we make sure the microplastics lodged in our brain are only of the free-range, organic, and crafted with love variety?
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There have already been preliminary studies linking higher concentrations of microplastics with poor medical outcomes with more damning reports coming out very frequently. In the meantime, maybe let’s not pretend that whatever absence of evidence you perceive is evidence of absence.
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Having no known negative impact certainly doesn’t mean they have a known positive impact. So it’s likely good to try to avoid them as much as you can.
I know it sucks because it’s yet another tough to impossible problem to tackle alongside everything else, but that’s just a Monday.
yeah, this is probably a bit like when people thought smoking wasn’t bad for you.
The higher concentration of microplastics are correlation studies, they don’t establish a causal link (which would be huge news and the discovery of a century). For example, the correlation could just be due to the poorer lifestyles of those who consume more microplastics (for example, they’re more common in processed and fast foods, which tend to be less healthy, for example and may also just be more common in people with lower economic status who then have less access to healthcare and more likely to die younger for a variety of reasons). The point is that they don’t have the smoking gun, yet.
We should just be clear about where we are at with the evidence, I’m not saying we shouldn’t be concerned or the lack of evidence is somehow exonerating or that we should be confident this isn’t a public health concern - I am very much concerned.
And of course there are lots of other reasons to avoid plastics, including its impact on the ecology and agriculture. It’s terrifying that China for example will just till plastic sheeting into the soil rather than bother to pull it up (and perhaps concerning plastic sheeting is used as a mulch in the first place, both in China and other countries like the U.S.).
I don’t know what to tell you about additives, they absolutely do make plastics without some of the known-to-be-hazardous additives, though I’m not saying that has in any way been adopted across the board or has solved the problem (I don’t know enough about that to be honest, but I’m cynical industrialists are going to give a shit).
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So THAT’S why I’m fat and have a small dick!
Retail workers getting fucked again
Food service workers as well.
Oh that’s cool, not like my job requires me to constantly handle reciepts or anything smh
Can you wear gloves?
Maybe, i’ll have to ask
If they say no call OSHA and say your employer is denying you the right to PPE.
Show them this article, lawsuits aren’t cheap.
and i thought the prices were making me dizzy
Obligatory Mitch Hedberg:
I don’t need a receipt for a doughnut. I’ll just give you the money, and you give me the doughnut. End of transaction! We don’t need to bring ink and paper into this! I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d have to prove that I bought a doughnut. Some skeptical friend…‘Don’t even act like I didn’t get that doughnut! I’ve got the documentation right here! Oh, wait, it’s back home, in the file. Under d…for doughnut.’
Obligatory Patrice O’Neal retort:
“I do a lot of stuff to protect myself. I keep my receipts. I collect receipts 'cause that’s a trail of where you been, man. Everywhere I go I get a receipt. And I never go more than a half hour without buying something cause you could kill somebody in a half hour, and then you need an alibi.”
My company’s accountant: if there is no receipt, you had no doughnut, you get no reimbursement.
I mean, yes, but that breaks down when you start thinking about a donut, two croissants, a cheese scone, and 3 coffees, 2 regular, 1 large, one with regular milk, one with almond milk, and one black, for me and the two friends in the office who then need to think about reimbursement
Nice try big data. U aren’t getting my email that easily!
Propaganda works
Want your receipt?
Fuck no! That shits toxic!
Was I not supposed to roll joints with this stuff when I was 18?
I thought BPA and derivatives such as BPS were banned at the federal level. I remember hearing these claims back in 2010. There was a whole campaign with plastic bottles and “BPA-free” marketing.
Yet it’s still used today? Absolutely insane.
Now if I get some weird cancer one day I’ll probably link it to that one joint I hit that was rolled in thermal paper :/
Holding a receipt for 10 seconds? Damn. And is there any tell for BPS-reduced or BPS free receipt paper?
I have receipts all over my place, though I organized them all recently. But now I know to handle them with gloves on next time.
The problem is with receipts on thermal paper, not those printed with normal ink, so [edit:
manysome] receipts are not an issueany more.If you want to tell the difference, you could try applying heat (like a hair dryer or iron) over the receipts and see which ones change color (usually turning grey or black where heated).
Once you find a few, you’ll likely get a feel for which ones are likely to be thermal paper just by looking and you can practice extra care with those. (Tip: they are usually the ones that appear a bit glossy.)
I haven’t seen a receipt printed with normal ink in decades. They’re all thermal now.
The problem is with receipts on thermal paper, not those printed with normal ink, so many receipts are not an issue any more.
Um, you’ve got it backwards, most receipts are now thermally printed. The ink printed receipts are the “outdated” ones.
reason being: thermal receipt printers have higher uptime with lower maintenance costs, they print faster, and use no consumable other than the paper.
at my office we don’t print many receipts, but we use plain paper (letter, half letter or photo paper sized–as appropriate) loaded into a normal inkjet printer that uses cheap (~ $2 ea) knockoff ink cartridges that get recycled (we hope, anyway, when we drop them off at a collection point).
Most receipts use thermal paper that i’ve seen. You can rub one with a coin quickly and that brings up marks on many.
My question is that is it all thermal paper is problematic or some but there’s no telling the difference except to avoid all of that type?
This is a real 1950s, we’ve sprayed things with carcinogens and poison type problem that there needs to be regulation on. The problem is that usually comes from a lawsuit.
Gee wiz, does nothing we come in contact with poison us at this point? Good luck getting the Chud Administration to do anything. They would probably tell them to add more poison.
