I’m afraid of leaching plastics
Published 11:10 am Thursday, September 6, 2007
Going green isn’t easy. In fact, for me, it’s a bumpy, awkward road often littered with hypocrisy and confusion.
Lately, it’s plastics, which are products of the petroleum industry, that are blowing my eco-challenged mind.
Earlier this summer, in an effort to highlight the growing mountain of unrecycled plastic bottles, I recently urged readers to try drinking tap water from reusable Nalgene bottles — instead of buying bottled water and throwing away God-knows-how-many empties.
But then I read this story about the dangers of bisphenol A, a chemical and “endocrine disruptor” that could potentially leach out of certain types of plastic containers, including reusable baby bottles and sports bottles, including polycarbonates such as Nalgene.
And that’s not the end of the serious questions about the safety of plastics, including reheating food in supposedly microwave-safe plastic containers, which I do, well, almost every day.
Great.
To make matters worse, some plastics, especially No. 3 (PVC or vinyl), come to us in a fog of serious ecological drawbacks during manufacturing.
Slowly switching to glass containers and water bottles is probably the next step for me. It would reduce waste and, presumably, protect my body from leaching chemicals.
But, I’m spoiled.
Not only do I have a freakish plastic-container fetish – the sizes! the shapes! the convenience! – but plastic is also wonderfully durable and lightweight, especially when toting my lunch, plus an endless array of fruits and vegetables, to work.
Fortunately, there is some help: Today’s edition of the Ideal Bite and a recent trend story from The Washington Post, discuss all sorts of options, including a monogrammed glass carafe from Williams-Sonoma (which would seem awfully prissy at work) and a reusable Wrap-N-Mat sandwich and snack wrapper to save on plastic bags and containers.
The Wrap-N-Mat is made of PEVA, a chlorine-free PVC alternative, ultimately made of — wait for it — plastic.
Want to know more? Get the skinny on all things plastic, including the new breeds of bioplastics synthesized from corn, soy, sugar cane and other crops, by reading Co-op America’s take on greener paths for plastics.
Let me know what you think and what you’ve done to reduce plastics in your home.
I’d be happy to hear from you!
