Mom Goes Green

Okay… BPA in plastics … we’ve been through this so, sooo much but I have to give you the latest…

Remember that independent study that the FDA was waiting for?… well, the results are in, and drumroll please… an independent panel of scientists is criticizing the FDA for “under-estimating the dangers of BPA in plastics”!  (*well, no look of surprise on my face here!)  The panel goes on to say that the margin of safety established by the FDA is “inadequate”.

Why do I feel like we’ve all known this all along?!?! So, let’s just boil it down and here are some facts:

• Avoid recycle #7. Most are full of BPA.  If you’re buying a product and see it on the bottom, PUT IT BACK!
• Avoid recycle #3 also - it indicates Phthalates (linked to reproduction problems, early puberty, obesity and diabetes).
• Recycle numbers 1, 2, 4 and 5 are best… safe and recyclable.
• Simply buy reusable bottles that are BPA and Phthalate-free!

Also, remember that dishwashers and microwaves breakdown the chemicals in these products further (the reason for the concern about baby bottles, coupled with the knowledge that young ones are most at risk).  If they’ve turned hazy, they are especially dangerous because they have already broken down.

What more do they need to know? These chemicals are simply used as hardeners and stabilizers of plastics (to increase durability) and we know plastics can be made WITHOUT them!

What’s it going to take before they recognize that human safety and well-being is so much more important than the gain and well-being of the big manufacturers that create these toxic plastics and the companies who use them??? They said they were awaiting the results of this independent study so…

Now… FDA?  What’cha gonna do?

(P.S. Don’t you just love how recycle #7 is coded as “Other”… ironic, no?)

So, last week I was whining because our daughter’s school was holding an event for students that focused on proper nutrition and making healthy food choices. I was all for the project but miffed that they were serving bottled water.

Well, I’m happy to say that I spoke up and this is the result of my whining!

Behold, my beautiful recycling can filled with plastic bottles to be recycled!

The principal agreed with my concern and the event organizer welcomed my help.  Our custodian helped me put together a receptacle just for the bottles, I made signs and everyone cooperated!  Yippee!

After school I not only brought home my most precious cargo (our daughter, of course) but also an enormous bag of plastic bottles to be recycled.

I’m slowly learning that when given options, and someone who will take the bull by the horns (or even the other end of the bull!), people will often agree to make the right choices.

Now, if I could just get the BPA issues out of my head and the recent study about bottled water, I would be happier, but this was the best outcome I could manage, under the circumstances.

See, sometimes being a cry-baby does pay off!

The scenario:  Sunday morning.  Breakfast table.  Family eating.  Kids giggling.  Coffee drinking.  Newspaper reading.  (cute little picture, huh?)

Then, a small snippet in the newspaper gives me a bigger jolt than my coffee.  The Canadian government has banned BPA in baby bottles because it is deemed toxic.  Well, round of applause for Canada, but what in the heck are they looking at that the US refuses to see?

I’ve mentioned my fear of BPA (bisphenol A) so many times, but it continues to rattle me.  The FDA needs a vigorous shaking to wake up and ‘taste’ the danger. Of course, the chemical industry maintains that bottles contain little BPA and are safe for use – sure they want us to believe that… what else would we expect them to say.

But Canada based this decision on 150 (150!!!) worldwide studies.  How much more evidence do we need?  Well, would you believe the FDA says they are awaiting word from yet another scientific panel expected to deliver an independent risk assessment later this month.

Wow.  So do you really think they’ll change their tune after assessment 151…!?!  Don’t count on it.

(*Don’t wait for “studies”. If you are looking for BPA-free baby bottles, check here.  It’s a great list!)

One of my greatest frustrations is when I feel like I’m fighting the green battle against people I feel a bond with.  Whether it’s family, friends or groups I associate with, it can be really difficult to be the wave maker… well, I’m about to battle… enter: waves!

Our daughter brought home a letter from school that announced a special school program focusing on proper nutrition and making healthy food choices.  Sounded like a great program to me!  They’re setting aside a day where students can sample healthy foods and snacks. Still, a big thumbs up!

Then, I got to the part that asked for parent participation.  They asked for volunteers to send in apples (okay!), granola bars (can do!) or bottled water (no!  Say it isn’t so!)

So, while we’re teaching 400 kids about eating properly, we can give them a chaser of BPA laced water and bottles that will go into the school’s trash cans and create our very own space in a landfill.  Augh, I think I’m going to scream.

Now (since I am the Recycling/Environmental Programs Chair)  I get to contact all those in charge and ask “why” and “what can we do?”  I hate these confrontations, but I have to do it.  I’m expecting that “convenience” is the reason, so I will probably have to be content with the idea of pushing for a special bottle receptacle.  Sadly, we don’t have a plastics recycling program in the school.  It’s something I’m working for, but we aren’t there yet.  (You wouldn’t believe what it takes to get something so simple in place).

So, as I sit here, I’m preparing my approach to people that are trying to teach the right nutritional choices, but using bad environmental choices.  I have no idea how this is going to end up, but I don’t like where it’s starting!

I can see it now… Wednesday recycling pick-up is going to be crazy at my house after I lug 400 plastic bottles home and they later come flying out of my recycling can… and my neighbor’s…and the neighbor’s next to them….

So, who hasn’t heard about BPA in plastic bottles?  I think everyone has because it’s mentioned in the news constantly… and rightfully (frightfully) so.

It’s no surprise that my family drinks a lot of water (because I mention that constantly too) and the more that comes to light about BPA the more bothersome that becomes.

In a nutshell, BPA is Bisphenol A - an industrial chemical used in bottle manufacturing. It mimics the female hormone estrogen (all guys are scared now) and causes all sorts of health problems.  As much as I hate animal testing (they previously only tested on mice) they are now being tested on monkeys (since they are physiologically so close to humans) and some nasty stuff is being discovered (including behavioral problems, brain development issues, cancers and a whole slew of other debated conditions).

Does this scare anyone else?  Sure scares me.

Now the National Toxicology Program (the NTP - a division of the National Institutes of Health) issued an alarm giving it a designation of “some concern” (equivalent to ‘3’ on a scale of ‘5’).  As if I wasn’t alarmed enough.  I could give you a whole list of scary, ugly stuff about BPA, but let me just say it’s bad, bad, bad.

Last Mother’s Day my favorite gift (besides crazy amounts of hugs, kisses and love) was a Sigg bottle.  It’s a shocking thing when your water actually TASTES like water, instead of plastic.  But Siggs are expensive and unaffordable for some.

I’ve discovered an alternative bottle that is just as good, but affordable.  They’re from CynerGreen.  They’re BPA free, eco-friendly and the kid’s version already comes with the drink spout you need.  They even have a sippy cup.  Right up a green mom’s alley! And they start at just $7 a bottle. We have one and we love it!

I’m just so frustrated that the FDA doesn’t regulate this chemical, even though the CDC estimates that 92.6% of Americans, age 6 and above, have measurable BPA in their bodies.  The bottom line is there is just too much third party research that tells us all this stuff is bad news.

So I’m not waiting to find out… gather your plastic bottles, chuck them in the recycling bin, buy a few stainless steel or aluminum bottles and don’t look back…