According to a study, we should immediately discard a certain type of cooking equipment. Experts have long advised us to exercise greater caution in the kitchen, as the way we wash our dishes and even the type of chopping board we use could potentially jeopardize our health. However, there is one tool that many of us keep in our kitchen drawers that we should absolutely get rid of, as some research shows it increases our risk of cancer. It turns out that recycling and making the most of obsolete items may harm our health.

In 2018, Andrew Turner, a biochemist from the University of Plymouth, presented informative research revealing that a particular product was most likely created from recycled electronic debris, as evidenced by its high amounts of flame retardants.

The substance’s manufacturing process involves a mixture of chemicals from discarded computer and television casings, treated with flame retardants to prevent fire. Optical scanners at recycling plants cannot identify this; therefore, TV and computer casings, along with the rest of the world’s garbage, are recycled with minimal rules and remolded into consumer items such as kitchen utensils. The substance in question is known as black plastic, and many low-cost cooking tools, such as spatulas, fish slices, and serving spoons, are manufactured from this recycled material, which can come into contact with food when cooked. Heat can lead to the migration of dangerous plastic chemicals from these utensils, and Turner pointed out that these utensils lack flame retardants, so it’s best to avoid using them in stir-fries. Other published studies suggest that flame retardants, which contain compounds that can disrupt your body’s hormonal system, may link to diabetes, thyroid illness, and potentially cancer. People with the highest blood levels of PBDEs, a type of flame retardant found in black plastic, had a 300 percent higher risk of dying from cancer than those with the lowest levels, according to separate health research.

The advocacy organization Toxic-Free Future published a separate study last month that found kitchen utensils contained the highest amount of flame retardants among all the evaluated consumer goods. According to Megan Liu, the science and policy manager at Toxic-Free Future and the study’s lead author, children’s toys score high on the list. “Using black plastic items increases the risk of contamination.” Though recycling all sorts of plastic may seem like the right thing to do, it may not be the best decision. “I personally have been throwing out my black plastic takeout containers,” Liu told me. She went further: “It’s scary to think that those might be reentering other products with the same flame retardants.” Replacing these black plastic utensils with steel or silicone utensils might save your life and prevent flame retardants from damaging your health.