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Plastic Bottles: Balance Safety and Convenience

by Jerry Edgerton



Headlines about health hazards of plastic bottles may spark concern about dangers to yourself or your family. How much should you worry? The short answer: not much if you drink bottled water or send it to school with the kids. If you have children small enough to use baby bottles or sippy cups, however, you need to make sure that they're drinking from safe containers.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned in January that the chemical bisphenol A, known as BPA, potentially could cause harm to "the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and young children." This was a reversal for the FDA, which previously had supported the chemical industry argument that BPA was no concern. The Canadian government earlier banned all BPA use in baby bottles.

When it comes to bottles for water and other drinks, BPA occurs chiefly in inflexible hard plastic containers that may have a recycling No. 7 on the bottom. (For a description of recycling numbers and what they tell you about the materials, visit Suite101.com.) But some baby bottles and sippy cups do contain BPA. And cans containing prepared food and vegetables are lined with a plastic made in part from BPA.

As you look around your house or the supermarket, here's a rundown on when to worry, when to relax, and, if you're worried, what to do about it:

  • Water bottles—These flexible bottles contain a chemical known as PET (polyethylene terephthalate; recycling No. 1) that only leaches out if the bottle is heated. "Water bottles are OK unless you leave one in a hot car," says Mae Wu, an attorney who works on drinking water issues for the environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), New York. "The other danger is if you reuse them without washing them and they get bacterial contamination," she adds.

    So wash out those bottles and caution the kids not to refill them on their own. Only refill each washed bottle a few times, though. Danger of chemicals leaching into the water increases with continued refills. For a similar reason, if you buy a permanent reusable water bottle, opt for aluminum instead of plastic.

  • Baby bottles—Before 2008 and the Canadian ban, baby bottles and sippy cups widely contained BPA. Now many manufacturers have reformulated their products to eliminate BPA. Parents magazine has a list of BPA-free bottles and cups. If you want to be sure you're avoiding all chemicals, go back to glass bottles, suggests WebMD. Of course, a dropped bottle may mean cleaning up shards of glass.

  • Food containers—The can containing your beans or tomatoes has an epoxy lining to keep your vegetables sealed and prevent a tinny taste. That epoxy is made with BPA. The FDA now says it will "support changes" in food packaging as manufacturers work to develop alternatives to BPA-based plastics. Environmental groups argue that the FDA should ban BPA in all food and drink containers.
If you buy a reusable water bottle, opt for aluminum instead of plastic.
What should you do in the meantime? If you cook just for adults, you probably don't need to worry. But if you're cooking for small children, pay attention to the packages on the supermarket shelf. Wu suggests looking for vegetables in glass or cardboard containers when you can't use fresh produce. Whatever the plastic containers or bottles, heating them is not a good idea. So keep them out of the microwave. Heat milk separately and then pour it into a bottle or cup. Taking reasonable precautions in choosing and handling such containers should keep your family safe.

Bottled H2O: Consider safety and economy

People who purchase bottled water often believe it's safer than the water they get from their faucet at home.

That's not necessarily true. After a four-year study of bottled water, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), New York, concluded that while most bottled water is safe, "there is no assurance that just because water comes out of a bottle it is any cleaner or safer than water from the tap." NRDC estimates that about one-fourth of bottled water sold actually is tap water in a bottle, sometimes with additional filtration.

So does it make sense to save money and drink water from your tap? It probably does, assuming you don't dislike the taste. If there have been problems with your local water supply, news stories likely have pointed them out. To be sure, ask your municipal or other water provider for a copy of its water quality report, which customers have a legal right to see.

If you have any doubts, add a filter to your faucet or to a pitcher. To check out certified filtration systems, check with nonprofit National Science Foundation International. Mae Wu, an attorney with the NRDC, points out that different filters may address different problems. "If you live in an old house and are worried about lead from the pipes, that involves one kind of filter. If you live in an agricultural area and are worried about pesticides, that takes another kind," she notes. The NSF site lets you check off your problem, then see recommended filters. If your issue involves pesticides or other contaminants, you need to learn their full chemical names to make these selections.

Bottled water can be a good, convenient product. But drinking tap water usually saves money.

Water bottles and the environment

Before you reach for your next bottled water, consider how that plastic bottle affects the environment before and after you drink it. According to a report by the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers, Washington, D.C., and the American Chemistry Council, Arlington, Va., the total pounds of plastic bottles recycled in 2007 reached a record high 2.41 billion pounds—but the total plastic bottle recycling rate was only about 27%. In addition, a 2009 report by the Pacific Institute, Oakland, Calif., estimates that bottled water production requires as much as 2,000 times the energy cost of producing tap water.

You can help to offset some of these costs by switching to tap water and purchasing recycled plastic products. Plastic commonly is recycled into things like detergent bottles or household cleaner bottles, automotive equipment, and lawn and garden products, but it also is reused to make lamps, cameras, backpacks—even thermal underwear. For a list of recycled plastic products, visit the American Chemistry Council's Recycled Plastic Products Directory.

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