How much do you know about plastic water bottles?

We have put together some facts regarding plastic water bottles, things you might be interested to know about water bottle safety (no BPA!) and keeping our environment clean and safe. As with anything, you should do you own research but we have put some of our favorite links at the bottom of the page.

Safety for You

Plastic Water Bottles:

BPA, a component of polycarbonate plastic, can leach from

baby bottles, water bottles and other hard plastic containers.

Not all plastics have been identified as unsafe. Out of the

seven types of plastics used in packaging, four are still

considered safe. You can check the recycle symbol on

the bottom of your plastic bottle, the safe ones have a

#2, #4 or #5 in the recycle triangle. #1 is safe for one

time use BUT should never be stored in the heat.

Plastics Considered Safe (so far):

1. •  #1 Polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE)
   

2. •  #2 High-density polyethylene (HDPE)
   

3. •  #4 Low-density polyethylene (LDPE)
   

4. •  #5 Polypropylene (PP)
   

Plastics To Avoid:

1. •  #3 PVC or vinyl: Used in plastic wraps, food containers, soft bottles, wrappings for meat and cheese. It is made with chlorine and releases dioxins which have been linked to cancer (including breast and prostate), hormonal imbalances, high blood pressure, heart disease, autoimmune disease, weight problems, and chronic fatigue.
   

2. •  #6 Polystyrene or styrofoam: Used as takeout containers, plastics cups, and cutlery. Its components leach into fatty foods and are believed to interfere with hormones.
   

3. •  #7 Misc. category that includes polycarbonate (PC): Used for most clear-plastic bottles, including 5-gallon water bottles and baby bottles. When heated, they release BPA, a hormone disrupter that imitates the female hormone estradiol which may be linked to breast and ovarian cancer. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found BPA in the urine of 95% of Americans tested.
   

You should not put hot food in plastic or use plastic dishes in the microwave, as heat increases the leaching of BPA. It is also not recommended to reuse plastic water bottles (#1) because as they become worn or scratched, they leach more toxins.

Safety for the Environment

How much do you know about plastic water bottles? Take a look at some of the interesting facts we found:

1. • 1.5 million barrels of oil are used annually to produce plastic water bottles for America alone - enough to fuel 100,000 U.S. cars for a year, a whole year. And, imagine a water bottle filled a quarter of the way up with oil. That's about how much oil was needed to produce that single bottle.
   

2. • Health-conscious Americans are consuming water from disposable plastic bottles at a rate of more than 70 million bottles each day. Some are concerned by the quality of drinking water – a concern that public officials say is unwarranted.
   

3. • Each day in the US more than 60 million plastic water bottles are thrown away. Plastic bottles take 700 years before they start to decompose in a landfill.
   

4. •Few states have deposit programs which have been shown to increase recycle rates.
   

A Safer Choice...Steel Water Bottles

Reusable steel water bottles are a safe choice for your drinking water and for our environment. FUNDaFIELD now offers BPA free water bottles. Each black bottle has an unlined single wall of stainless steel and a black plastic water proof screw top lid. Ready to ship, be safe, support the environment and help build soccer fields in Africa!

Links

As with anything, you should do your own research. Here are some of the sites we visited.

http://dailynightly.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/04/17/914073.aspx

http://trusted.md/blog/vreni_gurd/2007/03/29/plastic_water_bottles

http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/living-well-usn/2008/04/16/study-of-chemical-in-plastic-bottles-raises-alarm.html     

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5279230/

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/04/06/eco.plastics/index.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2008/04/18/2008-04-18_reusable_plastic_water_bottles_recalled_.html

http://www.container-recycling.org/mediafold/newsarticles/plastic/2006/5-WMW-DownDrain.htm

    

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