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Plastics are widely used to store and package foods and beverages,
Uses include disposable and reusable containers, plastic wraps,
cutlery, water bottles. Plastic is convenient, lightweight,
unbreakable and relatively inexpensive. However, there are both
environmental and health risks from the widespread use of plastic.
Most plastics are made from petroleum, a non-renewable and mostly
imported resources. Plastic packaging also creates unnecessary
wastes. Although plastic is lightweight, it is bulky, so it
takes up a large volume of landfill space. Use of plastics in
cooking and food storage can carry health risks, especially
when hormone-disrupting chemicals from some plastics leach into
foods and beverages. Plastic manufacturing and incineration
creates air and water pollution and expose workers to toxic
chemicals.
The Best and the Worst
Greenpeace has a helpful list of what plastics are the best
and worst, and why. Biopolymers are the best, followed by polyolefins
(PE/PP/HDPE) second, PET third, ABS / polycarbonate / polyurethane
/ polystyrene fourth, and PVC worst. Here are the details, from
their site and others who have written about this:
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Biopolymers (called "bio-" because they are
made from plant cellulose or starch, not |
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petroleum) usually use the least toxic ingredients,
do not release toxic gases or other substances into the
environment during the product's life, and certainly use
the least fossil fuel for their manufacture. Some biopolymers
are compostable. |
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Polyolefins (PE, HDPE, LDPE are all polyethylene, PP
is polypropylene) are the best |
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petroleum-based plastics because they use fewer toxic
chemicals than other plastics. They're also very widely
recycled (recycling codes #2, #4, and #5.) |
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PET / PETE (polyethylene-terephthalate; in clothes it's
called polyester) is not as good as |
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simple polyethylene because more additives are put into
it (usually UV stabilizers and flame retardants), but
it's still widely recycled (recycling code #1). |
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ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) and Polycarbonate
(PC) are what almost all consumer |
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electronic device cases are made out of-computers, cell
phones, MP3 players, you name it. Some are just ABS or
PC, most are a blend of the two. The ingredients for both
ABS and polycarbonate are suspected to be carcinogenic,
some are also mutagenic; polycarbonate uses nasty solvents
in its manufacture. They are both perfectly recyclable
but are rarely recycled in municipal systems because they
fall into recycling code #7, "other". Polystyrene
(PS) has carcinogenic ingredients like ABS (both contain
styrene), but is also damages human reproductive system.
It's also recyclable but not often recycled (recycling
code #6). |
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PVC (polyvinyl chloride), uses more toxic ingredients
for its manufacture, because in |
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addition to carcinogens like vinyl chloride, it also
requires plasticizers to be flexible, and these plasticizers
are more toxic than the base plastic itself. Besides the
manufacturing hazards, dioxin and other toxins like DEHP
(a plasticizer connected to reproductive illness) outgas,
leach, and flake off PVC during its use in your home;
when thrown away, these chemicals also leach into groundwater
in landfills. This is why they are the worst on the list.
They can be recycled (recycling code #3), but rates are
generally low. The good news is they were never in consideration
for our product anyway. |
Solution 1 : Ways to reduce exposure
to plastics toxins
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Avoid disposable plastic packages and opt for storage
containers like glass that can be |
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reused. |
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Buy food in glass or paper containers or transfer to
these containers shortly after purchase. |
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Don't microwave or heat food in plastic containers.
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Avoid storing fatty foods, such as meat, oil, and cheese,
in plastic containers or plastic wrap |
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and don't buy fatty foods in plastic if at all possible. |
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Avoid storing acidic foods in plastic like tomatoes
or citrus as those tend to draw out the |
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plastic poisons much like fats. |
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Avoid storing liquids and water in plastic as those
are great transporters and will help the |
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plastic leach into the liquid. |
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Don't drink the water if it tastes like plastic; plastic
is sure to have leached into the drink if it |
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does. |
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Don't drink from the outdoor hose; the plastic is not
food grade or safe and the harm is |
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compounded since the hose is heated causing these chemicals
to easily enter into the water |
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that flows from the hose. |
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Instead of relying upon the establishment for their
containers, bring your own glass bowls to |
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salad bars or bring your own paper cups to yogurt shops.
Ask that they use your container |
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instead of the plastic one offered for environmental
and health reasons and educate others at |
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the same time! |
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Instead of plastic forks, sporks, spoons and knives,
use the real thing. Use stainless steel or |
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wooden utensils over plastic especially when cooking
or heating food as well as when eating heated foods. Offer
these to guests and children and even opt for the real
thing in lunch boxes. Choose plastic made of corn that
is compostable or opt for recycled paper products. |
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Use wood instead of plastic cutting boards. Use separate
boards for uncooked poultry, |
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vegetables, uncooked meats, fruit, and cooked meats.
To disinfect, there are plenty of more |
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environmentally sound products but spraying first with
vinegar and then with hydrogen |
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peroxide should kill bacteria just as well. Then rinse
well and store dry. |
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Remember that the plastic wrap used in the supermarket
will leach into the foods wrapped in |
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them. Try to get foods wrapped in paper instead or if
not available and they use plastic, slice off a thin layer
where the food came into contact with the plastic as soon
as you get home and store in a safer container (like glass,
parchment, ceramic, or a safer non-PVC cling wrap.) |
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Buy containers in glass or paper whenever possible.
Read the bottom and refuse to buy |
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anything packaged in the worst plastics: 3, 6, and 7.
Write to the manufacturers that use plastic, especially
the ones using the worst ones, and share your concern
and information and tell them that you are choosing products
based upon packaging as well as quality. |
Solution 2 : Ways to Avoid Packaging Toxins
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Plastic tends to migrate into fatty foods, especially
hot fatty foods. Don't leave cheese |
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wrapped in its plastic wrapper sitting in the sun! Cool
leftovers before placing in plastic storage
containers. |
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Plastic wrap should never come into direct contact
with fatty food in the microwave. It is also |
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important not to use leftover margarine or yogurt tubs
in the microwave. Use ceramic or glass cookware instead.
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Microwavable packages should be avoided. Polyethylene
terephthalate (PET) migrates from |
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the packaging into the food, as do the adhesive components
(and their degraded products) of the package. |
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A 1988 FDA study of microwavable packaging components,
called heat susceptors, showed |
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that low levels of the carcinogen benzene could migrate
into food when heated. |
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Skip the boil-in-a-plastic bag foods, as well as sous
vide foods--foods that are vacuum |
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packed.* When you can, replace plastic cups and other
eating utensils that come into contact with hot fatty
foods with glass or metal. For example, instead of buying
a plastic thermos, consider a metal one. |
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As much as possible, avoid food, water, and other beverages
sold in plastic containers and |
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bottles. For example, try to buy water from distributors
who can deliver large glass jugs in convenient dispensers.
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Package components can migrate into wet food, especially
if the food contains alcohol, acid, |
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or fat. |
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Use substitutes for bleached paper products that can
come in contact with food, such as gold |
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coffee filters and glass bottles.* Avoid packaging with
antioxidant preservatives such as BHT, an additive with
a questionable safety record. |
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Avoid buying imported food in cans sealed by soldering
the soldering may contain lead. |
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Lead-soldered cans are bumpy feeling under the seam,
as opposed to seamless or welded cans. |
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Many cans have plastic coatings that line the inside
of the can out of concern that the metal |
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might contaminate the food. Eighty-five percent of the
cans sold in the United States have such linings, and
the plastic coating leaches substances into the food,
which can disrupt the hormonal system, according too Our
Stolen Future. When you buy the cans there is no way to
tell which cans are lined with plastic and which aren't.
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