Be Wise with Plastics (September 2010)

Plastics seem to be everywhere these days as they are cost effective and convenient. After watching an episode recently on CNN on cookware and plastics with Sanjay Gupta, M.D. I have researched my cookware and plastic situation more closely.

The thing certainly is to reduce our plastics. Look for natural alternatives such as solid wood, bamboo, glass, stainless steel. Also look for items with less or no plastic packaging. If you do buy plastic try to purchase those which can be recycled (yogurt container)

The most common plastic containers have a resin code in a chasing arrow symbol which is often located at the bottom of the product. I will go through the types of plastics that we should try to minimize in our lives/diet.

3 PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride, aka Vinyl)

Common Uses: Condiment Bottles, Cling Wrap, teething rings, toys, shower curtains.

Concerns: Can leach lead and phthalates among other things. Can also off-gas toxic chemical

6 PS (Polystyrene, aka Styrofoam):

Common uses: Meat Trays, foam food containers & cups

Concerns: Can leach carcinogenic styrene and estrogenic alklphenols

7 Others, this is a catch-all category, which includes:

PC (Polycarbonate): Avoid-Can leach Bisphenol-A (BPA). It also includes ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), SAN Styrene Acrylonitrile, Acrylic, and Polyamide. These plastics can be a safer option because they are typically very durable and resistant to high heat resulting in less leaching. Their drawbacks are that they are not typically recyclable and some need additional safety research. New plant based, biodegradable plastics like PLA (Polylactic Acid) also fall into the #7 category.

There are other plastics that we can look at as well but the ones to toss in your Tupperware would most definitely include #3,#6, and #7.