SAFEST PLASTICS FOR HOLDING FOOD

GREENERPENNY’S TOP PLASTIC FOOD CONTAINERS

The products in the following list are made of plastics that have not been found to release the worrisome chemicals Bisphenol-A (BPA) or phthalates, both linked to abnormal development, or carcinogenic styrene into food, heated or not.

Top plastics to avoid are Polycarbonate, with the recycling # 7, made with BPA, PVC, #3, made with phthalates, and polystyrene #6, made with styrene.

Quick check: What’s the number? Turn it upside down. Good and bad plastics are usually identified by a recycling code number* stamped on the bottom inside the chasing arrows triangle. No number? Check the the list below. Not there? When in doubt, don’t buy!

*See the Choose It/ Lose It plastics by recycling numbers, below, excerpted from my new book, Do One Green Thing. http://stmartins.com/doonegreenthing. Note: #7 is a catch-all code that encompasses several different plastics.

Caution: Never microwave in plastics, even those labeled “microwave safe.” Studies have shown that any plastic can release BPA at high temperatures.

TOP REUSABLE PLASTIC CONTAINERS

Choose Reusable Food Ware made of #5 Polypropylene (PP)

While not widely recyclable, PP is safely reusable.

Quick check: Is it clear or cloudy? Polycarbonate (#7PC) is mostly clear and transparent; #5 PP has a milky, opaque look.

GP recommends:

Recycline food containers, dishes, kichenware and cutlery (all #5). A GP tippety-top green pick, Recycline uses 100 percent recycled #5 plastic, including yogurt containers you can drop off at many Whole Foods stores. http://www.preserveproducts.com/

Also PP are Martha Stewart Collection plastic food containers in handy sets, sold at Macy's.

Lunchbox/ picnic lidded sandwich & food containers from Reusable Bags http://www.reusablebags.com/store/lunch-bags-food-containers-c-4_20.html and Laptop Lunches http://www.laptoplunches.com/

Gladware containers and lids (all). http://www.glad.com/containers/gladware_containers.php?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=gladware&utm_campaign=SEM-Brand

Ziploc containers and lids (all)

http://www.ziploc.com/Products/Pages/ContainersSmartSnapSeal.aspx

Farberware/ Frye http://fryeintl.com/aboutourproducts.php Citrus, Fresh Keeper and Monterrey containers & lids; leak-proof seals use BPA-free #1 polyethylene (PET) http://www.target.com/dp/B0000ESWK0/ref=gp_se_search-results-asin-redirect

The Container Store Klip It and Tellfresh (#5) http://www.containerstore.com/shop/kitchen/foodStorage/leftoversPlastic?viewAll=true

Rubbermaid (mostly all #5), a GP tippety-top pick for disclosure of its materials, the company provides a list of its BPA-free products here. http://www.rubbermaid.com/Pages/LearnAboutBPA.aspx

Don’t choose: Rubbermaid’s Premier, Stainshield and Elegan containers, and Chug and Sip bottles with the #7 (PC) on the bottom, or EasyFinds containers, which had trace amounts of BPA and phthalates in Good Housekeeping tests**, but lids were fine.

Tupperware (mostly #5 or #7 (PES); leak-proof seals use #1 PET) . Tupperware’s new product line, released in April, 2010, contains NO PC, hurray! Its microwaveable products are now #7 PES, which is PC-free.

Don’t choose: Tupperware’s PC #7 Rock n’ Serve microwave line and Elegant serving ware. Although no longer being produced, they may still appear on store shelves or at yard sales. http://www.tupperware-blog.com/tupperware-overview/is-tupperware-cancer-causing-38/

TOP PLASTIC FOOD WRAPS AND BAGS

Caution: Cling wraps on most deli counter meats & cheeses are #3 PVC, which contains toxic phthalates. The following are made of #4 LDPE (low-density polyethylene), a plastic that has not been found to leach BPA or phthalates.

Natural Value Plastic Wrap and Sandwich Bags http://www.greenfeet.com/itemdesc.asp?kw=Natural-Value-Plastic-Wrap-No-PVC&ic=6007-00067-0000&eq=

Best Yet Clear Plastic Wrap

Glad Cling Wrap and Freezer Storage Bags (most)

Don’t choose: Glad Press n’ Seal and Food Storage Bags, contained trace amounts of BPA and phthalates in GH tests. **
Saran Cling Plus
Ziploc Food Storage and Freezer Bags
Hefty Baggies

Reynolds Clear Seal-Tight plastic wrap


CHOOSE IT/ LOSE IT PLASTICS BY THE NUMBERS

(from Do One Green Thing: Saving the Earth through Simple, Everyday Choices)

CHOOSE IT: NON-LEACHING WHEN USED CORRECTLY

#1 PET or PETE (polyethylene terephthalate) containers are the most recyclable, but not so healthy to reuse. Studies indicate that with worn or heated PET containers may release di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, linked to hormone disruption and cancer.

#2 HDPE (high-density polyethylene) is widely recyclable.

#4 LDPE (low-density polyethylene) is used in some food wraps and sandwich bags.

#5 PP (polypropylene) is not generally recyclable, but safe to reuse.

#7 PES (polyether sulfone) is BPA-free, according to Consumer Reports. ***

#7 PLA (bioplastic made from corn, sugarcane, etc.) is not recyclable in most cities, nor is it compostable except in industrial composters using high temperatures.

LOSE IT

#3 PVC (polyvinyl chloride, vinyl), releases carcinogenic dioxins during manufacturing and can leach hormone-disrupting phthalate plasticizers. PVC is used in many cling and stretch food wraps and films.

#6 PS (polystyrene), that white spongey stuff of takeout coffee cups and clamshells, can leach styrene, a possible human carcinogen, when heated or in contact with fatty foods. #7 (miscellaneous), includes polycarbonate plastic, which contains hormone-disrupting bisphenol A.
#7 PC (polycarbonate), clear plastic popular in sports bottles & food containers, is made with and has been found to release BPA.

**http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/product-testing/reviews-tests/kitchen-cooking/plastic-safety-heat-food-6

***http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/consumer-protection/recalls-and-safety-alerts-5-08/plastic-ingredients-in-bottles-and-cans/recalls-plastic.htm

Excerpted from my book Do One Green Thing: Saving the Earth Through Simple, Everyday Choices (St Martin's Press, 2010).

For more green news and product tips on food, cleaning, personal care, plastics and more, come to our home page, GreenerPenny.com, where you can also send me an email and ask me questions.

Thanks!
Mindy Pennybacker

BPA/Phthalate-Free Plastics

Greener Food Serve n' Store: BPA/Phthalate-Free List, Part 2

For those not ready to surrender summer, eating out of doors extends the season’s light, carefree touch—especially with reusable or compostable picnic ware. Great for school and brown-bag lunches, too.

A Reader Asks: I want to know the best options for outside/ kids/ picnic dinnerware. Paper, bamboo still end up in landfills. Melamine lasts but is it eco-friendly? Plastic can be recycled and recycled, but who makes that? Answer: Each American produces, on average, about 4 and ½ pounds of trash a day, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Recycling, reusing and choosing post-consumer-recycled (PCR) products not only helps keep waste out of landfills, but it also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions produced by manufacturing and transporting new products and trash.

Melamine

Melamine is lightweight and reusable, and considered safe as dinnerware by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Its eco-friendliness, however, remains indeterminate: Melamine, as a Chinese pet food additive that also made its way into some fish and livestock feed, made headlines in the recalls of potentially toxic products earlier this year.
If you’ve got melamine ware, it’s probably safe for normal use (as a rule, Greenerpenny advises against heating food in plastics). But when it comes to buying new, we may not want to throw our consumer demand behind the manufacture of this and other synthetics.

Recycled Dining Ware 100 percent recycled, washable dishes made from Stonyfield yogurt plates, cups and cutlery, from http://www.recycline.com/ 100 percent recycled (minimum 83 percent post-consumer), nonchlorine-bleached paper plates, http://www.seventhgeneration.com/ Napkins Use washable cloth napkins or dishcloths, or choose processed chlorine-free (PCF), post-consumer-waste (PCW) paper napkins from http://www.seventhgeneration.com/ Earth 1st, at http://www.safeway.com/ 365, at http://www.wholefoods.com/ Conventional Plastics Among petroleum-based plastics, some are more recyclable and least-toxic than others. When shopping for food storage containers, check recycling codes on the bottoms, as follows: Don’ts: Toxic, Not Recyclable #3 Vinyl or PVC (polyvinyl chloride), releases carcinogenic dioxins into the environment and can leach hormone-disrupting phthalate plasticizers. PVC is used in many cling and stretch food wraps and films. #6 PS (polystyrene), that white spongey stuff of takeout coffee cups and clamshells, can leach styrene, a possible human carcinogen, when heated or in contact with fatty foods. OK: Recyclable, but not so Reusable #1 PET or PETE (polyethylene terephthalate) containers are recyclable, but studies indicate that with repeated use, PET containers may release di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, linked to hormone disruption and cancer. #7 (miscellaneous), includes polycarbonate plastic, which contains hormone-disrupting bisphenol A. Do's: Recyclable, Least-Toxic #2 HDPE (high-density polyethylene) is widely recyclable. Do's: Least-Toxic, but not so Recyclable #4 LDPE (low-density polyethylene) is used in some food wraps and sandwich bags. Reclosable Sandwich Bags, http://www.greenfeet.com/ Glad Cling Wrap, Sandwich and Food Storage Bags Saran Cling Plus Best Yet Clear Plastic Wrap Ziploc Bags Hefty Baggies #5 PP (polypropylene) is popular in reusable containers, though not frequently recycled. Rubbermaid (#5) 2 qt. Pour N Saver Canister, ($8.49, http://www.acehardware.com/) and 22-piece food storage set ($9.99, http://www.target.com/). Paper Sandwich Bags These are coated with “food-grade” petroleum-based wax: Unbleached waxed paper sandwich bags, http://www.naturalvalue.com/ Unbleached recycled waxed paper sandwich bags, http://www.treecycle.com/ Parchment paper, coated with silicone, http://www.kitchengifts.com/ New, Renewable Bio-Plastics The latest thing in food service ware for green-minded institutions, from Stanford University to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, are compostable (as opposed to “biodegradable”) utensils, takeout clamshells, plates and bowls made of corn-, potato- or sugarcane “bagasse”-based polymers. Many of these are washable and hence reusable. For products, go to: http://www.greenoffice.com/ http://www.biobagusa.com/ http://www.greenearthofficesupply.com/ http://www.pladirect.com/ http://www.nat-urstore.com/ http://www.simplybiodegradable.com/ http://www.worldcentric.org/ http://www.gaiam.com/ Although, as a general rule, these items can only be broken down by industrial-strength composters, they’re a respectable step in a green direction. Note: Look for the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI)/ USA Composting Council (USCC) “compostable” label. Some cities pick up compostable plastics—check with your municipal solid waste department or see http://www.earth911.org/ Some Wild Oats markets, which use bioplastic takeout containers, will also take them back from consumers. Ask your local market/deli to follow suit. For locating bioplastic composters, go to http://www.findacomposter.com/.

Blubberware?

Non-Tubby Food Tubs

In Hawaii, where I’m from, you can’t stop guests bringing food, no matter what. Good local manners simply prevent your showing up empty-handed. The container of choice: classic, reusable Tupperware. It stands for something good and homemade, like Aunty Dot’s fruit Jello-mold or Mom’s chicken hekka.

Hence my brother Ethan’s distress when he heard on Honolulu talk radio about phthalates in some plastic containers that could migrate into your food and drink. Next, by popular demand: Greener Picnic Ware. “Apparently, men with higher levels of phthalates in their bodies have 3-inch bigger waistlines. The announcer called it blubberware,” said Ethan, who’s been fighting to keep his buff surf body since the arrival of child #3. “Do we have to throw out all our Tupperware?” The answer: No huhu (don’t worry). Tupperware’s a keeper, with just a couple of exceptions (see “Caution,” below). So use it—and reuse it—for picnics, commuting, back to school, parties and leftovers. Most Tupperware is made of plastics that have not been found to release Bisphenol-A (BPA, linked to hormone disruption, obesity and breast cancer in lab tests), or phthalates. These better plastic wares include: #2 HDPE, high-density polyethylene, also the most widely recyclable plastic: Tupperware FreezeSmart, Ice Cube Tray, Ice Tups Set and Jel-Ring Mold. #5 PP, polypropylene: Tupperware Modular Mates, Quick Shake Containers, One Touch Reminder Canister, and all Tupperware Bowls. The following are included, with other makers’ containers, in Greenerpenny’s BPA-free water bottle list, now on the home page at http://www.greenerpenny.com/: For kids: Thirstbreak Tumblers with straps, 14 oz, $13.50, or 32 oz On-the-Go version for $13, featuring Tinkerbell; an On-the-Go featuring Shrek, for $13.50. Lunch sets of sealed tumbler and sandwich box feature the Little Mermaid, Dora the Explorer and Diego, $16. For Babies: Pooh meal set with sealable sippy cup, bowl and snack cup, $17. For Commuters: 24-oz insulated (double-wall) Tumbler with Drip-less Straw Seal, $19.95, or Commuter Mug with swivel-open sipper cap, 16 oz., $18.50. Caution: Tupperware Rock ‘n Serve containers, meant to go directly from the fridge to the microwave, are made of #7 (the recycling code for “other” plastic, including polycarbonate), according to The Green Guide, http://www.thegreenguide.com/. As polycarbonate has been found in some tests to leach BPA when heated, this probably isn’t a good idea. The same goes for Tuppercare Baby Bottles, which are also polycarbonate, according to The Green Guide’s thorough research. And, while Tupperware Crystal Wave Microwave Containers are made of safer #5 plastic, Greenerpenny advises, as a precaution, heating foods in microwave-safe ceramic or glass, instead.