Crunchy Tuesday : Plastics, pt.2

There have been many studies on the safety of plastic and these three types have been found to have negative health effects. (you can read part one here)

Also known as PVC, or polyvinyl chloride. Used in plastic pipes, plastic furniture, some water bottles, some salad dressing and laundry detergent containers.


Polyvinyl chloride plastics actually have many toxic chemicals in them, including Phthalates which make them more flexible. PVC is commonly used in home building materials, baby toys and teethers, food containers, and shower curtains. The World Health Organization has an agency for Research on Cancer has actually recognized the vinyl chloride used in making PVC to be a known carcinogen.



Known as PS, or polystyrene. Used in packing peanuts, plastic tableware and fast food take-home containers.


Compounds that leach from styrofoam containers can interfere with hormone production and it is also a possible carcinogen.



All 'other' plastics are listed under this recycle code. These include products like tupperware, food containers, and water bottles.


Recent studies have suggested that chemicals (endocrine disrupters) in these poly-carbonate plastics, may be leaching out into food and beverage conatiners. One of these is BPA, which binds itself to estrogen receptors in the body. You may have heard about BPA in reference to baby bottles as there has been much controversy in the area in the last few years.

Honestly, it's hard to know who to believe. Plastic manufacturers and some consumer groups have said that even if the BPA leaches out of the bottle, that the amount is well below any dangerous level. It seems to me though, that sometime in the future we'll be seeing this chemical taken out of products. To many moms are uneasy using them and some other countries have actually banned them all ready.

My thinking is, if there is a better (and maybe safer) alternative, I'll go that route. Another blog, ZRecommends, has a great article on which baby products contain BPA and which don't. Especially useful since the manufacturers aren't labeling them for us when we buy them. Also check out all of their bpa posts here.

Web MD's advice for the safe use of bottles and sippy cups:
1. Avoid using old, scratched, or cloudy bottles
2. Avoid number 7 plastics and choose number 1, 2, and number 4 plastics
3. Use glass baby bottles.
4. Do not use plastic bottles in the microwave or dishwasher.

Some more basic advice on using plastic safely:

• Don't store your take-out food in the restaurants containers. When you get home, transfer them into one of your own.
  
• If your storage containers are scratched and old toss them out.
• Don't heat food in plastic containers, especially fatty foods.

Honestly, I still use plastic in my house. I don't want to, but really, who can afford to replace it all at once. I'm slowly moving towards replacing all of my Tupperware with glass storage containers. It's slow going, but hopefully one day it will be done.