Plastics!

There are many arguments out there about why plastic is bad. While researching I came across some propaganda from the plastics company stating that if you considered the life of plastic it was actually a more environmentally responsible product. As if.

What I really found in my research was that plastic IS bad for you, imagine that. The best plastic is no plastic, but then we come back to the argument of convenience vs. green. How many of us can really avoid plastics all together? It seems nearly impossible, everything has plastic in it, on it, around it....

Chemicals used to formulate plastic migrate. Migration, when used in regards to plastics, is the movement of free toxins from plastics into the substance they contain. Let's say you make a healthy organic salad and place it in a plastic container, now all the free toxins are corrupting your no-longer organic veggies. The plastic industry, as well as the government agencies that supposedly regulate it, say that the amount of toxins released from the plastic chemicals is such a small dose that they are safe. The problem with this, is that the size of the dose is irrelevant because some of them are more toxic in smaller doses. At what age and stage of life you are in when exposed is also important, pre-pubescent children, embryos, ovums, and sperm are all affected at low doses. They cause endocrine disruptors. Then you take into account synergy. Synergy

occurs between the chemicals and now you have a volatile, toxic super chemical whose effects are rarely monitored.

What to do, what to do? We just figure out what chemicals are in which plastic, and how they interact with each other, and avoid the bad ones, easy. Wrong. The chemicals in each plastic are considered trademarks of the companies that produce them, therefore do not have to be divulged.

So like I said, all plastic is bad.

If you choose to use plastic and most of us will have to, try to avoid #3. That's the one they call, PVC or polyvinyl chloride. It's like the king of the bad plastics, also try to avoid #'s 6 and 7. The 'safer' option, at least for foods are #'s 1,2,4, and 5. The truly safe option is to only use glass containers. And remember no matter how many dirty dishes you have piled in the sink, make one more. NEVER heat up your food in a plastic container, always grab a plate to reheat.

***For more information check out these sites***

Slideshow of plastics and their numbers, for a visual realization of what plastic is where.

This brochure describes in detail information on all the numbers.

Then check out this no-plastic fanatic, for some great ideas on how to get plastic out of your life.

I have to say after exploring information for this post, I have found myself checking all plastics, and even trying to avoid them in favor of glass and metals. Let me know how you got rid of plastic in your life, I'd love to utilize the tips.