How Safe is That Plastic Bottle or Sippy Cup?
With all talk about toxic plastics in the news, I decided to research the subject a little closer and find out which children and household items are not safe in my home. After finding a quick reference of plastic codes from the National Geographic Green Guides, I decided to go through my kitchen cabinet and check the kid’s sippy cups and plastic dishes to find out if they should be avoided. You can check the type of plastic of an item by looking for the number on the bottom.
Some of the plastics to avoid include:
- #3-PVC
- #6-PS
- #7-Polycarbonate
Safer plastics include:
- #1-PETE
- #2-HDPE
- #4-LDPE
- #5-PP
The guide also lists specific products by name and if they should be avoided.
There are numerous resources online about this subject. Here’s an article by one of my favorite health writers and gurus, Dr. Andrew Weil, that address plastics and food: Living Better with Plastics.
To download the National Geographic Green Guide plastics quick guide online or pdf form. To read more about this subject, go to one of our past articles.
Comments
So how did it go?
Posted by jessicafm on
Curious minds want to know how full or empty your cabinets now are...
Most of the kids stuff is ok
Posted by Pamela Fox on
It turns out that the only really bad stuff in there were the plastic containers that my husband uses to take leftovers to work for lunch, so into the recycling bin they go!