Another bee in my bonnet: Plastic

(Warning: Long and rambling post. I know, most of my posts should have this warning, but this one in particular. I "crafted" it as I was doing online research, and so it's a rather organic writing process, and rather un-edited. This one could stand some editing, but alas, it's time to make dinner. Editing later...or not.)

This time it's about plastics.

There are all kinds of things in the news lately about BPA - a toxic chemical - that emits from plastics. Plastics that are used for water bottles, and even plastics that are used for baby bottles. (I signed a petition, and found out today that it worked: Babies'R'Us has promised to eliminate bottles with BPA from their stores by the end of the year. I'm not even going to ask what makes them think it's okay for babies to drink toxins for the rest of this year, until the change occurs....but it makes my blood boil to think of it.)

Still, I digress.

All this plastic talk has me thinking. My "Cousin Diana" - a lovely, intelligent woman who is actually my mother's cousin - has done research on plastics for years, focusing on their toxicity to humans. She's been telling us for YEARS that plastics are terrible for us, and I confess that I've been slow to listen. Now I'm embarassed that I didn't listen better, because even mainstream media sources are talking about their levels of toxicity, and changes in production are being made. In the meantime, I've been injesting poisonous plastic molecules for years, thinking that I was "safe" because I didn't microwave plastics. Ouch.

And producing plastic produces toxins that go into our air, landfills, water. Ouch again. And most of the plastic stuff we use DOES go to a landfill, and rather quickly, where it does not degrade in our lifetimes, or the lifetimes of our grandchildren, or their grandchildren. Ouch, ouch, ouch.

So, today's project is getting rid of plastic stuff from my kitchen, and doing more research on BPAs.

According to the BRITA corporate website, their filters and containers are all BPA free. Excellent news - our family loves cold, filtered water. Still, I think that given that the production of those filters inevitably produces by products and the filters end up in a landfill, I'm going to phase ours out. Seattle has some of the cleanest drinking water in the world, and this is fortunate for us. Our water often tests "cleaner" than bottled waters, so it should not be an issue to discontinue filtering it. Instead, we'll drink tap water that we place in a glass pitcher in the fridge. Maybe in the long term we'll look at a permanent filter attached to our kitchen sink, instead of the BRITA in the fridge. (This works for us because our water supply is so great. When I've traveled in the US, I've been horrified at the chlorinated taste of some water supplies, and in Orlando I distinctly recall the chlorine/swamp taste of their tap water. If I didn't live here or some other place with "great" water, it would be worth it to filter my water, even if the plastic filter went into a landfill.)

Tessa sometimes drinks out of plastic cups, and they're OUTTA HERE. She's plenty old enough to drink out of glass, which she usually does anyway.

We sometimes store leftovers in plastic containers (Tupperware/Rubbermaid/Gladware/whatever), and I'm eliminating those, too. Costco sells a Pyrex set of storage containers that is a good deal, and it's now on my list. They have plastic lids, but still, this eliminates 75% of the plastic (glass bottoms) and the parts that the food touches are glass, not plastic.

I'm now looking for a good alternative for Ryan's biking bottles, which are usually made of cheap plastic (the kinds that SMELLS like plastic....if it's releasing enough molecules to smell, then isn't he drinking plastic molecules, too?). Any ideas? Our "Klean Kanteen" stainless bottles are great, but heavy for a bike. And Ryan drinks out of these bottles daily, so that's a significant source of liquid to him....and I want to keep him healthy. Ideas?

Not all plastics are labeled "bad." BPA isn't in all plastics. Still, I believe that more and more research will be done, and we will find that plastics are NOT benign, and that their production is intensely harmful to the planet, and their injestion is harmful to our bodies. I'm incredibly grateful for plastics, but I believe that we need to use them more judiciously. For example, I'm glad that there were plastic IV tubes to deliver my chemo drugs, and I'm glad to have my iPod which is partially made of plastics...but I'm convinced as well that we need to cut back on our plastic usage. Plastics aren't evil...but I think we need to think more before we create more of them or use them thoughtlessly. They do not come without a price, in my opinion.

And as a breast cancer patient, I'm particularly freaked out that BPAs tend to replicate estrogen in the body, and have been found in tumors. YIKES. I'm seeing some pretty big connections here.

(No, I don't think that we can say a simple, "BPA in plastic bottles caused my breast cancer." But I think we can say "It can't have helped and it may have hurt." It's a hurt I would have loved to avoid. I live with that every day - every day is side effect filled, and I don't talk about it as much as I used to, but suffice it to say that not a minute goes by that my cancer treatment doesn't impact me at a very real and present physical level. Ugh.)

I'm also looking into milk containers: it's often cheaper to buy milk in the gallon size, and our organic milk comes in a plastic container. Here's a radical stance:
http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Best-Recycle-Plastic.htm
This organization says that milk jugs are NOT recycled, and that they should be banned. Hmmm!

This website ("Treehugger" - you can guess their politics!) says something unexpected:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/12/milk_jugs_lca.php
They say that it's actually more environmentally friendly to use the plastic jugs. What's up with THAT? Double "hmmmm."

This website talks about plastic recycling symbols....turns out that they label plastic types, NOT the recycle-ability of plastics. Great. :-(
http://www.obviously.com/recycle/guides/common.html

This (slightly off topic) article actually sums it up best for me, and makes the most sense:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2003/nov/23/environment.waste
It says that "Both plastic and carton are cheap and technically recyclable, offering little potential for differentiation. But only carton comes from renewable resources."

I'm having a lot of trouble finding out if plastic milk cartons are healthy, or if paper cartons are healthier....but it seems clear to me that the production of plastics creates excess toxins (compared to paper) and are harder to recycle (the recycling process for plastics isn't all that clean) and plastics can only be recycled so many times before they must end up in a landfill (those labeled "7" are generally not recycleable). I did find out, quite inadvertantly through this search, that when temps are too low for new plant starts, a milk jug with the top cut off makes a perfect little greenhouse for plants to protect them from frost, so at least there's that!

And finally - paydirt! Here is the article I've been seeking:
http://www.greenlivingonline.com/Family/12-ways-to-protect-yourself-against-bpa-chemicals-in-plastics/
From this article, here is a list of 12 ways to protect yourself from BPAs:Protect you and your familyIn the meantime, there are steps that we can take immediately to lessen our exposure to BPA:
Use a metal or glass water bottle
Limit your use of canned goods or choose canned foods from makers who don't use it, such as Eden Foods
Learn how to cook your own foods that you typically buy in cans -- like beans or chickpeas
Choose soups, milk and soy milk packaged in cardboard "brick" cartons, by Tetra Pak and SIG Combibloc, with safer layers of aluminum and polyethylene (#2) that can also be recycled
Use glass food storage containers instead of plastic
Use glass baby bottles or plastic bag inserts made of polyethyelene, or switch to non-clear polypropylene bottles that are labeled #5. Don't buy canned infant formula.
Eat fresh foods in season to reduce your consumption of canned goods
Buy or can your own foods in safe glass jars
Stop using plastic wrap and plastic containers to heat food in microwaves. Ceramic and glass are better.
Throw out any old and scratched plastic bottles or plastic containers
Buy organic wine since many commercial wines can have up to six times the amount of BPA than canned goods
Let your grocer store know you want BPA free cans and are boycotting those products with BPA in them.

The media has focused on plastic baby bottles, but it seems that cans are perhaps an even bigger culprit (to those of us over the age of 2, anyway). Maybe this summer I should can (in glass) my own tomatoes, as that's a canned good that I use often....

And another fabulous document:
http://www.iatp.org/iatp/publications.cfm?accountID=421&refID=102202
This one breaks down the safe and unsafe plastics (as they are currently understood), and even has a nifty slogan to help us remember: "With your food use 5, 4, 1 and 2; all the rest aren't good for you." (My milk jug is a 2, by the way.)


(See? I'm the crazy lady, and getting crazier with every minute. What's funny is that I am starting to love being the crazy lady! I think that I've been crazy all along, and supressing my craziness is what was making me feel crazy. Now that I'm letting my crazies out, I feel much better. Look out, world!)

I'm not going to go 100% on this, because I need practical stuff, too. A few years ago I bought plastic dishes to picnic with, and when we have BBQs we use these instead of paper and plastic products. I think it's better for the environment, and hence my body, to use a reusable plate than a throwaway one, even if it is made of plastic. And there is no way I'm schlepping our heavy dinnerware up and down the deck stairs into the yard each time....it would look very Martha Stewart but I don't have it in me, sorry. (Send me a maid and I'll reconsider.) I'll still use plastic for our camping stuff, too, until we have budget to replace with old-fashioned splatterware metal ones.

I'll also keep a few plastic containers to transport snacks in. I still carry snacks for Tessa in my purse, and I'm not willing to risk breaking them, and I'm not willing to risk breaking my back carrying three varieties of glass with me.

So, I'm not a purist, but I think that I'm making great strides, none-the-less. I'm crazy, sure, but not a total lunatic (yet: jury's out).

Want to know more? Check out:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/business/worldbusiness/16plastic.html?ex=1224043200&en=4d20b3af50fc113a&ei=5087&excamp=GGBUbpadanger&WT.srch=1&WT.mc_ev=click&WT.mc_id=BI-S-E-GG-NA-S-bpa_danger

and this older (2003) article:
http://www.foodproductiondaily.com/news/ng.asp?id=29616-potential-danger-in

Sign the petition to remove BPAs from baby bottles:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1768/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1177

Ready to make a small, small change? Do you read this and think "Okay, the crazy lady is changing her world upside down, but I'm not ready to go through the whole kitchen freaking out about this stuff!" Then start small.

Start by simply deciding not to buy bottled water, and to carry your own water bottle instead.

If you do that, you will:
- Stop putting plastic into landfills (please don't tell me that I have to explain why that's a good idea!)
- Reduce production of toxins into our air and water through production of those plastic bottles
- Reduce your carbon footprint (there are studies that show that a single plastic water bottle, of the throwaway variety, might as well contain 1/4 its volume in oil, because that is how many petrochemicals go into its production and transport for sale) and reduce our need for oil as a nation/world
- Help your body - keep the BPAs OUT of your body!
- Feel good. It's such a little, teeny tiny thing to do, but it makes a huge difference.

Want more information? Check this out:
http://www.refillnotlandfill.org/factslinks.html
I do see the irony of my posting THIS website on THIS posting. It's sponsored by Brita. I don't have anything against Brita, and I'm glad they're promoting something healthy....even if I'm not going to use their plastic products.) One of the statistics taken directly from that website is that, on average, each person uses 166 disposable plastic water bottles per year. Picture that in a big pile on your dining room table, and multiply that number times the number of people in your home. See why making a little change (carry a water bottle of your own) can make such a huge difference?

Oh, and here's the frugal thing, too. How much are you PAYING for that water? More than you pay per gallon of gas. Here's a secret: you already have water. It comes through a tap into your home. It's available in drinking fountains and taps at your gym. It's free at your office. You could save money by saving your body by saving the earth....and won't that make you happy?!

Have I convinced you yet? I'm getting pretty passionate here...have I lost you yet?

Ready to pick up a "safe" bottle for refill? I love my Klean Kanteen, and they're available on Amazon.com (we ordered one for each member of our family, and hence didn't pay shipping; there are greener companies than Amazon but I haven't got it all figured out); they're also available at REI (though in limited size choices). There are other brands, as well, that people love equally. I picked Klean Kanteen because it was less costly than some brands, and because stainless steel is so strong it doesn't dent like some of the others do/might do. (However, some of the other brands have very pretty designs painted on them, and mine is rather plain. I put two pink breast cancer bracelets on mine to dress it up and identify it as mine; Ryan has a yellow LiveStrong bracelet on his. Tessa has a smaller size one but amazingly likes hers plain.)

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=kleen+kanteen&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=1165886681&ref=pd_sl_1idlvq8rei_b

http://www.rei.com/gear/feature/search/Google/bpa%20free%20bottles/?cm_mmc=ps_google-_-Category%20-%20Camp/Hike-_-Camping%2fHiking_Non_Toxic_Hydration_General-_-BPA&gclid=CPnjnIzVgZMCFQ5biAod4XNswg

And just FYI....just as a disclaimer: No, I don't have any product relationships, except with Genentech, the company that manufactures Herceptin. (Herceptin is my wonderful anti-breast-cancer drug - not the technical term! - and I'm a patient ambassador for them.) Any product that I promote here is because of personal preference, and any website I post is because I found it interesting or valuable, not because of any other reasoning. I certainly don't make any money from keeping a blog, and that is not my purpose here.


While I've been surfing for this information and piling it up in this post, Tessa and Anna have been playing. Now, life calls, and dinner must be made.


I won't even get into the fact that I spent half an hour trying to find shrimp from this continent. I ended up buying shrimp from Bangladesh...or is it Thailand? Anyway, I need a new shrimp source if I'm to try to be local. (But in an effort to be moderate and not completely insane, I bought the shrimp that was part of our menu and didn't give it up....yet.) Another post for another day.