Step One: Separating the Good from the Bad

Now, I'm sure experts would probably say that there are no "good plastics" but for the purposes of trying to incorporate my BPA-reduced lifestyle into the context of the real world, I've decided to start by minimizing my exposure to the kinds of plastics that likely contain polycarbonate.

Here's a quick run-down of the different categories and which ones you should try to avoid:

ALWAYS AVOID

Plastic #3

This one's a really, really bad one. Otherwise known as PVC or Polyvinyl chloride, #3 is a potentially carcinogenic, non-recyclable material that will sit in landfills forever leaching chemical into the air, water and soil. Flip over your shampoo bottle, your mouthwash or salad dressing container and check for PVC. And then throw it away.

Plastic #6

Expanded Polystyrene Foam, aka 'styrofoam take out containers'. While it may be easy to avoid ordering takeout in #6, it might be harder to avoid buying a CD or DVD, which likely contains it, or in saying "No, thank you" to the plastic take out coffee cup, which I noticed this week falls within this dangerous category.

Plastic #7

According to the Environmental Working Group, polycarbonate plastic food containers often are marked on the bottom with the letters "PC" recycling label #7. Although not all #7 labeled products are polycarbonate this is a reasonable guideline for a category of plastics to avoid.

Metal Cans

Perhaps the most dangerous category of packaging to avoid is metal cans (including soda cans), which almost always contain BPA's. Even many metal water bottles marketed as an alternative to plastic Nalgene bottles are lined with a plastic coating that contains BPA.

Check out this nice write up Treehugger.com did on the risk of BPA's in canned food:

According to the FDA, 17% of the American diet comes out of cans, and many of those have an epoxy liner made with Bisphenol A, a chemical which can mimic human estrogen and which is linked to breast cancer and early puberty in women. While the leaching of BPA from Nalgene water bottles and other polycarbonate bottles is a concern, the danger from canned food may be greater. The Environmental Working Group tested canned food bought across America and found BPA in more than half of them, at levels they call "200 times the government's traditional safe level of exposure for industrial chemicals." There are no standards for BPA; it is allowed to be put in anything, and billions of pounds are produced each year. (They also had a good graphic, which you can see here: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/04/bpa-danger-from-cans.php)


'SAFER' CHOICES

#5

Polyproplene, or #5 is a somewhat safer choice. A lighter-weight plastic resin commonly used in dairy and deli packaging, some companies have chosen this lighter plastic because it has a lower environmental impact to produce and transport.

An article I found on www.thegoodhuman.com explains that companies such as Stonyfield Farm, use #5 containers because a one-quart container made from #5 uses 30 percent less plastic than a #2 cup. And since it takes less material to make a thinner container, the article states, it reduces the amount of resin that needs to be manufactured. Stonyfield estimates that the use of #5 over #2 prevents the manufacture and disposal of more than 100 tons of plastic per year.

#1,#2, #4

Polyethylene Terephthalate (PETE) #1, high density polyethylene (HDPE) #2, and #4 are supposedly safe. I'll do some more poking into this category and get back to you with more information on what the experts say.