Plastics are ubiquitous, cheap and convenient, but come with a hidden cost: they leach chemicals that contaminate our food and drink, and they create enduring pollution. The best thing to do is minimize your use of plastic, especially in the kitchen. Where you can’t avoid plastics, get to know how to choose and use safer ones with these essential tips.
The safest container materials include glass (ex. Pyrex), stainless steel, and lead-free ceramic. These are better choices than even the safer plastics, which contain chemical additives that may not have been well evaluated for safety.
Shop the farmers market, produce aisle, and bulk bins for whole foods with less packaging. Processed foods have more opportunity for contamination with chemicals from plastics.
Heat accelerates leaching, so avoid microwaving all plastic (even if labeled “microwave safe”) and cool any hot foods before storing in plastic. Fatty or acidic foods more readily absorb migrating chemicals, so avoid storing them in plastic. Hand-wash plastics to slow wear and tear, and when they are worn and scratched, recycle.
PVC (polyvinyl chloride, #3), commonly called vinyl, is a soft, flexible plastic found in building materials and consumer products like shower curtains, toys, and packaging. PVC typically contains hazardous additives such as phthalates, and releases dangerous chemicals throughout its lifespan. You can find safer alternatives to PVC in virtually all cases.
Polycarbonate is a clear hard plastic used in some reusable water bottles, baby bottles, commercial water jugs, and kitchen appliances like automatic coffee makers and food processors. Instead, choose glass or unlined stainless steel for drink containers. Look for appliances that don’t have plastic in food contact areas, such as French press coffee makers, stainless steel stick blenders or glass jar blenders.
Found in styrofoam food trays, disposable cups and bowls, carry-out containers, and opaque plastic cutlery, polystyrene can leach styrene, a neurotoxin and possible carcinogen.
Look for toys made of unpainted wood, cloth dolls, plush toys, and games or puzzles made of paper. Offer a frozen washcloth instead of a plastic teether. Don’t use plastic electronics like cell phones or remote controls as toys, because they may contain harmful additives such as flame retardants.
Most plastic ends up in the garbage, polluting on land, and accumulating in oceans where it is especially harmful to sea life. Though we think of plastic as easily recyclable, the overall plastics recycling rate in the U.S. was only 8 percent in 2010. Take steps to reduce your plastic consumption with ideas from the Plastic-free Living Guide, get creative with reusing materials, and recycle properly. Not all plastics can be recycled in curbside programs so get the facts on your area at Earth911.
What are the different types of plastic packaging?
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
Polypropylene
Polystyrene
High-Density Polyethylene
There are many different types of plastic packaging that you may encounter in your daily life. In fact, almost every product that you’ll see around you is made with a combination of metal or plastic.
Plastic packaging provides an affordable and sturdy alternative to other materials like metal, which can be expensive to manufacture. It’s no surprise that many industries have discovered ingenious methods in plastic production, especially when it comes to this kind of material. Read on to learn more.
A mouthful, isn’t it? But polyethylene terephthalate is simply PET. You’ll more commonly find them in beverage packaging and may come in different shapes, sizes, and capacities.
Like many kinds of plastic product, PET bottles start off with raw PET resins that come in pellet form. They’re molten before being fed into an injection moulding machine that feeds the molten material into a mold.
But before all of this takes place, the chemical compounds of ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid would first have to undergo polymerization. These substances are usually found in raw materials such as acetic acids, natural gas, or coal.
Going back, once the injection molding process has completed, the newly-formed bottles would now have to undergo instant cooling so that they won’t get deformed. These bottles can now be filled with different fluids like juice, water, or carbonate drinks, before being secured by a polypropylene or polyethylene cap.
Polyvinyl chloride, or PVC is considered to be sturdier compared to PET. You may not know it, but PVC plastic can be found across many kinds of consumer goods that you may encounter on a daily basis. From cosmetics, electronic devices, food, accessories, reusable PVC bags, pharmaceutical goods, and many more.
PVC production starts off with the extraction of its raw materials — ethyl and chlorine — from salt and oil. These two substances are combined before being subject to high temperatures, in order to produce a chloride monomer. The resulting material finally undergoes polymerization to form the PVC resin.
Although PVC may be sturdier and more flexible compared to PET, they’re not really suitable under extreme conditions like prolonged UV ray exposure. Nonetheless, in regular conditions, they offer a more lightweight, flexible, and compact packaging choice.
Polypropylene is one of the most commonly used types of plastic material in the market. Like all types of lightweight plastic materials, polypropylene or PP can be used to store a range of food and non-food products like oatmeal, powdered milk or juice, chips, cookies, reusable containers, lotions, or even toothpaste — the list is endless.
Aside from the versatility of its application, PP has also been deemed to be popular among injection molding companies because of the material’s machinability and moldable qualities. It can be used in both complex and non-complex molding shapes, depending on the manufacturer’s preferences.
More than that, the injection molding speed for PP is relatively fast, making it easier for manufacturers to produce batches of mold and perform other post-processing finishes when necessary. The finished products are not only inexpensive, but they also have a high resistance to impacts, moisture, chemicals, and electricity, making them easier to repair if needed.
All of the plastic packaging types that you’ve encountered on this list so far can be used in combination with one another. For example, polypropylene toys can be packed using polystyrene, which is another kind of polymer. Although polystyrene (PS)-based packaging typically appears as a clear and transparent plastic material, it may also come in foam packing for food storage.
PS foam can be used as take-out food packaging or ice boxes, as you may already be familiar with. This polymer is the ideal choice because of its exceptional insulation that prevents items like ice, or hot food from experiencing a temperature change. In this way, the quality of food will still be retained even after some time has already passed.
Despite the sturdiness of PS packaging materials, they’re still easy to store and can be carried around without any difficulties.
High-density polyethylene, or HDPE for short, is the sturdiest of all the types of plastic that has been discussed in the list so far. As the name implies, HDPE is dense and strong. It can also be reused for a number of times as packaging, before disposal.
HDPE production typically involves the petroleum raw material which is exposed to high heat. This produces ethylene gas that will combine with polymers. Since the material still appears to be slimy, it needs to undergo further injection molding to get the desired shape.
Popular uses of HDPE packaging include cosmetic, food, detergent, household cleaning, and an assortment of other consumer goods.
The types of plastic packaging that you’ll find in everyday applications include polypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, and polyethylene terephthalate.
As you’ve learned, each kind of polymer has specific uses in many consumer goods. Sturdier packaging such as HDPE can still be reused as cosmetic containers, while styrofoam may be more ideal to retain the quality of food items. Ultimately, finding the right type of plastic to store a particular product is essential in getting the most out of your packaging.
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