Plastics & Leaching
Posted by ranifp on Jun 01, 2007 · Member since Apr 2007 · 8 posts
I've been telling my roommate for ages not to refill his water bottles over and over and over due to leaching and he just started doing research and is now ready to accept that I was correct in warning him after all. :-\
Now he's started asking about baby bottles and every other plastic under the sun.I've told him I try to get glass containers for storage and avoid Tupperware but does anyone know of a comprehensive site that we can get more information on plastics and non-leaching materials?
Whether plastics are ok ("acceptable") or not ok to use with food depends on the number on the plastic (look for a number with three arrows around it, but some don't have it). It also depends on what you are doing with it.
I say short term storage of non-oily, cold food in the "better" kind of plastic (like #5) is acceptable, but heating oily food in a plastic container in the microwave in a #1 plastic container is definitely a big no-no for me.
I try to stay away from plastics around food, it's a good choice and there are alternatives to most kitchen plastics.
This is a copy/paste from some website, but I can't remember which one:
#1, PETE or PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) — Used for clear beverage bottles. Widely recyclable; generaly considered safe, with some precautions.
#2, HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene) — Used for colored or cloudy bottles and jugs, yogurt containers, and other tubs. Widely recyclable, but consumers need to verify with local recyclers whether tubs and bottles (which are made differently and can’t be recycled together) need to be separated. Generally considered safe, with some precautions.
#3, PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) — Used in some cling wrap and bottles, as well as pipes and other construction materials. Not widely recyclable; recommended to avoid because it can leach toxins into food and is an environmental problem throughout its lifecycle.
#4, LDPE (Low-Density Polyethylene) — Used for garbage bags, food storage bags, and some cling wrap and bottles. Not widely recyclable; generally considered safe, with some precautions.
#5, PP (Polypropylene) — Used in butter tubs, some baby bottles, and other rigid containers. Not widely recycled; generally considered safe.
#6, PS (Polystyrene) — Used in foam trays, takeout containers, coolers, egg cartons, and packing peanuts. Not widely recyclable, although many packing and shipping stores accept packing peanuts for reuse. Recommended to avoid because styrene may leach into food and beverages.
#7, Other (Includes Polycarbonate and mixed materials) — Used in five-gallon water bottles, some baby bottles, and some liners of metal cans. Not widely recyclable; recommended to avoid because bisphenol-A can leach from polycarbonate into food and beverages.
I also attached a PDF file I found somewhere on the net about plastics.
You can go on http://www.grist.org and search the "Ask Umbra" column for plastics, she wrote some comprehensive responses about plastic and health to incoming reader questions.
I do store in plastic because it's light, takes up less room, and is more forgiving when dropped on my tile kitchen floor, but I do not microwave in plastic. I even have a tote that lives in my bottom file drawer at work. In it I keep a Corelle plate, a ceramic bowl with a cover, and a set of stainless utensils. At lunch, I grab my lunch box and tote and trot off to the staff lounge to eat. It's really rather amusing because I have so many little containers of food, the tote, the lunch box, the utensils, a cloth napkin, and a cloth dish towel. I take up just about the whole table and my cohorts just nuke a tv dinner-type meal that takes up no room at all--but they are nuking their food in plastic which is worrisome. Then they just dump the container in the trash. No one seems to care or think anything about it. :P
I do store in plastic because it's light, takes up less room, and is more forgiving when dropped on my tile kitchen floor, but I do not microwave in plastic. I even have a tote that lives in my bottom file drawer at work. In it I keep a Corelle plate, a ceramic bowl with a cover, and a set of stainless utensils. At lunch, I grab my lunch box and tote and trot off to the staff lounge to eat. It's really rather amusing because I have so many little containers of food, the tote, the lunch box, the utensils, a cloth napkin, and a cloth dish towel. I take up just about the whole table and my cohorts just nuke a tv dinner-type meal that takes up no room at all--but they are nuking their food in plastic which is worrisome. Then they just dump the container in the trash. No one seems to care or think anything about it. :P
And doesn't it feel nice to "treat yourself" to a real plate and all that?? After you get used to it, it may be easier! I bet it makes lunch seem so much nicer that way!! Too bad all your coworkers can't do something like that! You could have a dinner party type lunch that way! How nice that would be instea dof rushing out for fast food at the break!
Thanks for posting all those plastic specs VegAnna!
Different kinds = worse than others! But even those mentioned as "generally safe" in your list I have heard bad things about.
ALSO some children's toys are made with these types of plastic (even the really bad ones!) and kids chew on them! So be careful about those too!!
bookmama- that is so cute! i also don't get the tv dinner kinds of meals. i can't imagine that they would fill you up if you ate one AND they have the most horrible food in them! beyond being nonvegan, most are definitely not healthy at all. i have yet to get a lunch tote at school but i've been bringing food in glass storageware and nuking in those.
on a side note, i just wanted to let you know that i was surprised by how old you were when i looked at your profile the first time! i always saw your picture and thought you were MUCH younger! same can be said for some others on here.... look much younger than they are! (unless you are all pulling my leg and posting really old pics)
Nope, c'est moi! That picture is the one I put up when I first created my profile in October. I reckon it was taken a month or two before that. Hmmm, guess it'll soon be a year old, though. Thanks for the compliment!
Thanks VegAnna for the info and link!
And bookmama, that sounds like me at work! I always use a ceramic plate and "real" utensils. Not only do I not want to just throw everything away after one use (argh), but I can't stand the feel of plastic utensils.
Here's a good, easy to read article about plastics and leaching:
http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/114/bpa
I was so sad when I first found out about this because I discovered that Nalgene bottles are made from the the worst plastic possible! How awesome to think I've been poisoning myself all these years by drinking from Nalgene bottles left in hot cars... I threw mine away and got a stainless steel Kleen Kanteen from REI to replace it. Apparently there are also potential problems with aluminum, so I avoided that in replacing my plastic. I have also been slowly replacing most of my plastic tupperware with glass. Ikea makes a really affordable glass tupperware. It's usally $5.99 per container, but I have several times bought it on sale for $3.99.
Kleen Kanteen:
http://www.rei.com/product/738271
Ikea glass tupperware:
http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=15570&catalogId=10103&storeId=12&productId=68063&langId=-1&categoryId=16036&chosenPartNumber=20100249
I was so sad when I first found out about this because I discovered that Nalgene bottles are made from the the worst plastic possible! How awesome to think I've been poisoning myself all these years by drinking from Nalgene bottles left in hot cars... I threw mine away and got a stainless steel Kleen Kanteen from REI to replace it. Apparently there are also potential problems with aluminum, so I avoided that in replacing my plastic.
SIGG bottles are supposed to be fine because they have a coating on the inside but I don't trust the coating and don't want to have to worry about the bottle once it's 20 years old :P
I have heard good things about the Kleen Kanteen. There are only two things that have kept me from buying one so far: I'm really poor right now, and they are made in China. I think one day I will get myself one though. They are the best portable thing to drink out of except for glass, which can break.
After finding out what plastic nalgene is made of (or NOT knowing for that matter, because #7 plastic could be anything) and that Nalgene the company makes equipment for animal experiments, I didn't want my nalgene bottle anymore. I still have it lying around. I never really liked it anyway because I can taste when water has been stored in plastic, yuck!