Plastic, Plastic Everywhere

Everywhere you turn, you hear about cutting back on plastic usage, yet everything seems to be in plastic.

BPA, HDPE, PVC, PETE, these acronyms are on all plastics, but what do they mean?  Here's a brief primer on plastics (the 7 most commonly used):

PETE (#1 plastic) Polyethylene terephthalate ethylene. Use in water, soda pop, and shampoo bottles. Also in detergents & peanut butter containers. Widely recyclable.

HDPE (#2 plastic) High Density Polyethylene. Use in milk containers, water jugs, bleach bottles (although use of bleach is highly hazardous to you and the environment), cleaning products. Widely recyclable.

Never use PVC ( #3 plastic) Polyvinyl Chloride or Vinyl Chloride. Used in cling wrap, toys, water pipes. Avoid at all costs. Vinyl chloride is a human carcinogen ! Not recycled.

Avoid LDPE (#4 plastic)Low Density Polyethylene. Used in grocery store bags, plastic wrap and baby bottles. Safer than most plastics but not commonly recycled. Safer for food than others and less toxic to produce.

Avoid PP (# 5 plastic ) Polypropylene. Used in food containers, plastic squeeze bottles like ketchup and syrup.

Never use PS (#6 plastic) Polystyrene. Used in Styrofoam containers and opaque cutlery. Highly toxic to the nervous system and the brain. Is a suspected carcinogen. Also may have an effect on the liver, kidney, stomach and blood cells. Not recycled.

Avoid other(#7 plastic) usually polycarbonate. Used in plastic baby bottles, sippy cups, 5 gallon water bottles, sport bottles, and metal food can liners. This is the BPA leacher! Not recycled.

We know it's hard to eliminate plastic usage, but #3, #6 and #7 are the big offenders with orange juice and milk.  Next time you're shopping, check the numbers on the bottom and if they have them, try a brand that doesn't use those plastics.  Milk and Orange Juice is widely available in cartons now.

PETE and HDPE plastics are recyclable and basically for one time usage only.

Many re-usable sports bottles, sippy cups and baby bottles are now labeled "BPA free", read the labels.  For sports bottles, try to use these or stainless reusable bottles.

Lastly, never microwave in plastic or wash plastic in the dishwasher, the hot water breaks down the plastic increases the chemical leaching.

Every little step taken helps.  It helps you and it helps the Earth.


Information found on Little Green Blog