Minimizing plastic exposure

Minimizing plastic exposure is one of the easiest green kitchen and lifestyle choices you can make that offers big rewards in terms of personal health and planet health. Why?

Many plastics are made with polycarbonate, which in turn is made from bisphenol A (BPA) a chemical correlated with hormone disruption, obesity, adverse neurological effects and other not so cool health issues. When plastics aren’t made with BPA they’re still a major drain on the planet and resources. Even if you recycle (which plenty of Americans don’t) recycling is expensive and causes another whole set of environmental problems.

How BPA gets to you:

You may think that BPA in plastics stays in plastic, but nope. Once you heat up plastic, once it cracks, once it goes through the dishwasher or gets scratched, that BPA starts to leach out of the plastic into the foods you eat and liquids you drink. Baby bottles, water bottles, metal can linings, many Tupperware containers, and more plastics have all been found to leach BPA.

Instead of plastic try:

• A reusable water bottle – the best is stainless steel.
• Reusable cloth baggies vs. plastic baggies.
• Bamboo, wooden, glass, and stainless steel food storage containers.

It’s easy to go through your kitchen, clear out the plastics, and replace them with safer products. You’ll benefit and so will the earth.

[image via stock.xchng]