RECYCLING: The perils of being thirsty!

All of my childhood I was told to get a summertime drink of water from the outside hose. I still do it while working outside (once you get past the first 30 seconds of scalding hot water and the awful taste, it's okay), and I still use the tap inside. This mentality along with my understanding of the terrible waste stream associated with plastic bottles has jaded me against bottled water. This New York Times article, The (Possible) Perils of Being Thirsty while Being Green, suggests there's a danger to your health as a reason to avoid bottled water - especially if you think you're going to be 'green' by washing and reusing the bottles. (This is precisely what I do when I cave in and buy a bottle of water!)

From the Times article, "the trouble with reusing those plastic bottles is that each time they are washed and refilled they become a little more scratched and crinkly, which can lead them to degrade. That can cause a trace metal called antimony to leach out", said Frederick S. vom Saal, a professor of biology at the University of Missouri who has studied plastics for years. “We have to assume that along with that metal, others are almost certainly leaching out as well, but we don’t know what they are and we don’t know what to look for because manufacturers won’t tell us what else is in the bottles,” Professor vom Saal said.

Most plastic bottles are stamped with a recycling code, No. 1 to No. 7. “If I was to use plastic, I would stay with No. 2 and No. 5,” Professor vom Saal said. "No. 2 is high-density polyethylene; No. 5 is polypropylene. Both are used in margarine tubs and yogurt containers for example". But, he warned, do not heat anything in any type of plastic in the microwave. If you do use these hard No. 7 plastic bottles, the Green Guide, published by the National Geographic Society, advises you to avoid washing them in a dishwasher or with harsh detergent to limit wear and tear.

Plastic containers are easily recycled and since very few among us can avoid using them, the least we can do is ensure they get recycled. Perhaps that type of re-use is also avoiding some health risks associated with washing and re-using them ourselves?!

(There is a lot of good information about plastic bottles at the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers webpage.)

(classic Bacsik)