Plastics Part II

By Margaret Scott

As we established last week, plastics are bad news. Not only do they threaten to overfill our landfills, they can also cause harm to our bodies even before they are discarded. Each resin identification number, located on the bottom of the item, indicates the chemical makeup of the plastic. Although the chemical aspect of plastics is exceedingly complicated, the identification numbers are a simple way to determine which plastics are known to be harmful and which are relatively safe to use.

Resin identification numbers run one through seven, with each number representing a particular chemical grouping. The exception is seven, which represents “other.” To simplify things, it is helpful to know that the numbers, 2(HDPE), 4(LDPE), and 5(PP) are the safest (and among the easiest to recycle) of plastics. The more dangerous plastics include 3(PS), 6(PVC), and 7(OTHER).

The Daily Green has a great article that offers a brief explanation of chemical components as well as the type of bottle or container that for which each numbered plastic is typically used.

In the past year or so, a great deal of publicity has arisen around the potential dangers of the hard plastic that is typically used for baby bottles or the ever popular Nalgene water bottle. As this plastic breaks down, whether while it is being heated or during exposure to the sun, harmful chemicals are released into the liquid it contains. Although little is known about the definitive after effects of the “leaching” process, it nonetheless serves to be cautious.

Mainly, the chemical known as Bisphenol-A is considered to be the most dangerous. Researches believe that BPA is a hormone disrupter that can be particularly harmful during fetal or childhood development or ultimately become carcinogenic after elongated exposure.

To put your money where your mouth is, there are some simple alternatives to these bottles. For baby bottles, glass bottles are a cleaner, more easily recycled alternative. For water bottles, aluminum or stainless steel are safe, durable materials.

Alternative water bottles:

▪ Nalgene Choice

▪ Sigg

▪ Klean Kanteen

For more information on plastic safety:

▪ New HomeMaker: The New HomeMaker features an article describing the potential dangers and uses of plastic bottles of all types.

Photo by Toni F.