You've undoubtedly heard the buzz about certain plastics and their potentially harmful toxic contents. As the bad news surrounding bisphenol A has traveled, consumers have learned that the little number seven contained in the triagle on the bottom of plastic is bad. The question is, do you know exactly what makes it bad? Or what the numbers one through six mean and if they are considered safe? There's no need to wonder any longer. See our brief breakdown of what each number tells you about the type of plastic the item contains and how it is recycled.

1 - Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
Your plastic Coke bottle or microwave dinner tray is likely made from PET because of it's abilitiy to act as an effective barrier to moisure and gas. Other food and non-food containers are often made from this type of plastic, which is also the most commonly recycled variety.

Recycling potentioal: PET that is cleaned and recycled is often used to spin fiber for carpet yarns and produce fiberfill and geotextiles.

...read the rest...

You may think you're doing the healthy thing by banning all bottles and toys in your home that could potentially contain harmful levels of bisphenol A, but new research conducted by The Globe and Mail and CTV shows an entirely different culprit is probably leaving you and your loved ones exposed to it anyway. The news outlets had some popular items analyzed and learned that canned food in Canada not only contains the chemical, but that the concentration levels could be nearly twice as high as those found in the polycarbonate plastic bottles that many retailers in Canada have already banned.

It gets worse: the highest concentrations were found in kid-friendly food including tomato sauce, ravioli, apple juice and cream-style corn.

“These results provide further evidence that Canadians are marinating in this chemical on a daily basis,” said Rick Smith, executive director of Environmental Defence, a Toronto advocacy group that has been lobbying Health Canada to ban bisphenol A from food and beverage containers.

Bisphenol A (BPA) has been linked to cancer and obesity in animals which led to Health Canada classifying the chemical as a dangerous substance this past April. Still, some individuals claim the BPA levels found in these products are actually too insignificant to cause any harm saying the amount of leaching that occurs is "well below any regulatory limit." The BPA found in cans is actually contained in the resin that lines the inside of the can.

Well this is great news; so much time and effort has been devoted to eliminating items bearing that dreaded "7" recycling triangle that the fact that these chemicals could be found in other commonly-used items didn't seem to occur to anyone. No wonder this type of BPA was described as "kind of hidden" by Smith. Even scarier is wondering what other items we use everyday that we'll one day find out contain "hidden" levels of BPA?

» The Globe & Mail

The last thing this planet needs is any more plastic in the landfills. But what do you do with your old polycarbonate water bottle (Nalgene or similar) that you don't want to use any more? Don't throw it away! With the incredibly handy LightCap200 you can turn your old (or new) bottle into the coolest home, deck, boat or camping lantern anywhere!

Just pull off the old cap and replace it with a safe, bright, environmentally-friendly  solar-powered LED LightCap200 and you'll have light anywhere you want without wasteful batteries, dangerous, toxic fuel, or electric cords.

Put one on your picnic table, deck, out by the BBQ, kids playhouse, bedroom night-light, car safety light, cockpit light on your boat, camper, tent or anywhere else.  Simply fill your bottle with water (even colored water) for a safe lantern that won't run out of fuel or be a fire hazard.  No candles to burn out, and because your bottle is filled with water it won't tip over if the wind picks up.

The built-in light sensor automatically turns the light on whenever it gets dark, and off when there's enough light for charging. Or you can click the water-tight switch and turn it off manually. It weights only 2.6 ounces and you can even use it as a flashlight. The four super-bright, white LEDs provide lots of light without giving off any heat or danger of chemicals in your water.

By adding a LightCap200 cap to your bottle you're not only creating a useful item, you're helping the environment. You can even use your bottle for storage of items like trail snacks, dog treats, fire starting supplies, a first aid kit - anything you want to keep safe, floating and dry.  With the LightCap200 on top, you've always got a useful emergency light.

The LightCap200 is just $19.95 and will last for many years of continuous use. They make a great gift and are available at many fine outdoor stores as well as online.

Hit the jump to visit to purchase your own LightCap200.

» SolLight.com

Some Canadian retailers yanked Nalgene bottles from store shelves months ago because they are made of polycarbonate plastic, which is known to contain the potentially toxic chemical bisphenol A. Now that Health Canada is also prepared to be the first country to label bisphenol A as hazardous, it appears Nalgene recognizes a sinking ship when they see one. The company has announced they will be pulling their hard plastic bottles from store shelves in the coming months. In place of the old bottles, Nalgene will introduce new products that do not contain BPA.

The hard plastic bottles made Nalgene a household name among outdoor enthusiasts who loved how light, yet durable the bottles are. It was only recently, as studies demonstrated the occurrence of cancer and obesity in animals exposed to BPA, that plastic products containing the chemical started to receive bad press, such as Canadian retailers refusing to sell the products. Nalgene reporesentatives hopes that by eliminating the plastic bottles people will see the company is serious about their commitment to the the healthy and safety of their customers.

“By eliminating containers containing BPA from our consumer product mix, our customers can have confidence that their needs are being met,” Steven Silverman, general manager of the Nalgene business, said in a statement.

» MSNBC Health

Last week we speculated that babies are likely being exposed to bisphenol A, the harmful chemical found in polycarbonate plastics. Researchers have now confirmed this is indeed the case and published a paper yesterday with the results.

The 19 bottles tested included popular brands such as Avent, Disney and Gerber and were heated to 175 degrees Fahrenheit (80 degrees Celsius) to simulate a dishwasher's effect on the bottles after 60 to 100 cycles. Every single one of the bottles tested leached bisphenol A at approximately five to seven parts per billion. Even worse, the researchers determined fatty or acidic liquids such as milk and apple juice may act as catalysts and cause more substantial leaching than water.

U.A. health authorities are still trying to reassure parents by pointing out that the level of exposure to bisphenol A they've deemed safe is still more than 25 times the amount found in baby bottles. Critics point out that babies may be more vulnerable to the chemical than adults and since those "safe" exposure levels apply to adults, babies may still face the potential risk of devlopmental issues. Health Canada is still reviewing the policies surrounding polycarbonate plastics, with results due in May.

Right now there are a lot conflicting reports about bisphenol A. The question is, until there is more conclusive evidence available, are you willing to take the risk? Fifty years ago, smoking was considered healthy and heavily promoted through television and radio ads and obviously now we hear an entirely different message. So is it safe to take the word of these health authorities based on incomplete research?

As we suggested last week, switching to glass bottles may still be the best choice. Even though Evenflo plastic bottles were one of the brands tested and confirmed positive for leaching, the company does carry a glass option as well.

Hit the jump to read more about the research regarding bisphenol A found in baby bottles.

» Time

SIGG wants to encourage young people to make eco-friendly choices and have launched the Make A SIGGnificant Difference (MASD) program for organizations who have shown cooperative efforts to make a positive impact on the environment.

The programs allows schools and organizations who qualify to purchase SIGG bottles at a discount in an effort to spread the message of the harmful effects of 100 million plastic bottles used by Americans every day that end up in landfills. And with recent evidence that bottles made from polycarbonate plastic can pose potential health risks to those using them, this program couldn't have been introduced at a more appropriate time.

Initiatives taken on by these organization include a "pyramid of wate" fundraiser where students collected over 500 discarded plastic bottles to build the pyramid and then sold reusable water bottles, raising $1,000, as well as awareness on the topic of plastic waste. One parent concerned about the possibility of leaching helped organize water stations in her child's school which students could visit to fill SIGG bottles. As she sees it, “We all survived very well before bottled water came into vogue,” said Reilly. “With the help of SIGG bottles, we can drastically reduce the waste from the billions of plastic bottles while still drinking clean, safe water.”

To find out how you can take part in this program, hit the jump to vist the official SIGG site or email besiggnificant@sigg.com.

» SIGG (Official Site)