Better Plastics
BACKGROUND ON THE ISSUE
Is your water bottle killing you? First, came the news about the toxic baby bottles and, now, Nalgene and Camelbak and all of my once favorite sports bottle companies are phasing out their polycarbonate lines (all the while denying their products have anything wrong with them). What this tells me is that consumers are getting educated and what they are learning is scaring them into demanding safer products.
Our lives, however, are filled with plastics. Which ones should we avoid? How bad are they? And what are our alternatives? Here is a quick and dirty guide.
THE CHEMICALS IN PLASTICS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY
Bisphenol A (BPA) mimics the hormone estrogen and may interfere with ovulation and reproduction as well as brain-cell development.
Where do you find it: BPA is a plasticizer that is found in (and leaches out of) products such as polycarbonate water bottles, baby bottles, canned soups, beans, and other foods as well as softdrinks. Nearly all can liners contain BPA. Regular use, such as dishwashing and heating, increases the chance that BPA is leaching out of your water bottle or food storage container.
Phthalates—including DEHP, DBP, BBP, DINP, and DIDP, and DNOP— have estrogen mimicking properties and are linked to cancer and diseases of the kidneys, liver, and other organs. The CDC recently did a study that found 75% of participants had detectible levels of phthalates in their bodies. Babies born to mothers who were exposed during pregnancy can be born with birth defects and development delays.
Where do you find it: Phthalates are used in many plastic kids items, in vinyl boots (and all other vinyl), but they are also found outside of plastics and are contained in many of your cosmetics, skincare products, and frangrances.
Polyvinyl chloride, a.k.a. PVC or vinyl, is a truly ugly plastic, one of the worst for environmental and human health as it contains lead AND releases the super-toxin, dioxin, when produced or destroyed. PVC also contains and can leach phthalates.
PVC is used in many building supplies such as plumbing, and is commonly found in kids toys (such as Barbie and inside Beanie Babies), rain coats and boots, cling-wraps (such as used on meat), and bottles of cooking oil.
WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM THE PLASTIC RECYCLING CODES
So you’ve gotten rid of your plastic water bottles, what about those plastic yoghurt containers, plastic ziplock bags, and plastic Tupperware containers that are crowding our cupboards, are they safe? Here is a guide to help you more easily determine what is what and which one to choose.
| RECYCLING CODE |
GENERAL SAFETY STATUS |
| #1 polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE)
|
Proceed with caution |
| #2 high density polyethylene (HDPE) | Considered Safe |
| #3 polyvinyl chloride (V or PVC)
|
Bad plastic |
| #4 low density polyethylene (LDPE) | Considered Safe |
| #5 polypropylene (PP) | Considered Safe |
| #6 polystyrene (PS) | Bad plastic |
| #7 other (usually polycarbonate) | Bad plastic (usually) |
| PLA (polylactide) | Good plastic |
PLA plastics are made from renewable resources, e.g., corn, potatoes or sugar cane. The starch is converted into polylactide acid (PLA). These plant-based plastics can’t be recycled but they can be composted either in a municipal composter or in your backyard compost heap.
#7 plastics are often polycarbonate and thus linked to BPA, #3 plastics are made from vinyl or PVC, and #6 polysterene can leach styrene, which is another possible carcinogen and hormone disrupter.
Recent research has called into question #1 plastics too. These bottles are porous and thus absorb flavors and bacteria. Also, The National Geographic greenguide website, says “In one Italian study, the amount of DEHP, an endocrine-disrupting phthalate and a probable human carcinogen, in bottled spring water was found to increase after 9 months of storage in a PET bottle.”
THE GOAL
So what is the take-home lesson behind plastics? It is, after all, the most widely-used material in the U.S. The obvious goal is to entirely eliminate our plastic use, but it is hard to imagine life without an iPod, a car, or fleece. So, instead, we can aim to minimize the use of plastics, particularly when our own health is most directly at risk (such as with water bottles, food cans, and cosmetics.)
REAL WORLD OPTIONS
- Get a good, reusable water bottle for yourself that is safe. Once source is www.thesaferlanding.com which has only the safest adult and kids bottles.
- Avoid buying bottled water. It is shipped over many miles in plastic, sits in the sun, and often is more contaminated than tap water. (Even those big jugs of water that are used in coolers are usually made from #7 plastic, linked to BPA.)
- Choose #2, #4, and #5 plastics over the others, avoid dishwashing or heating.
- Set your kitchen up to need less plastic. Buy a wrap-n-mat which cuts down on a need for plastic bags and buy a bag dryer which makes hand washing and reusing plastic baggies easy. (These bags are made from polyethelene and do not contain dioxin, plasticizers, or BPA.)
- Avoid canned food items, especially highly acidic items like tomatoes.
- Visit the cosmeticsdabase.com to find safer skincare products and cosmetics free from phthalates.
