Our plastic way of life

It’s amazing how plastic has crept into our lives. In fact, I cannot imagine life without it anymore. Recently, an article I read in the April 12 issue of the TIME magazine – ‘The Perils of Plastic’ by Bryan Walsh made me re-think the use of plastic in our home. The content of the article is not new, essentially about the danger of various chemicals from the wide use of plastic in our lives can pose a danger to us, especially young children. But we really need these reminders from time to time.

The picture of two kids in front of their bowls of cereal and a jug of drink struck me how our decisions as parents can make a difference in our children’s future. Plastic has been really useful, especially for parents of young children who love to throw their toys, milk bottles and utensils around. I recall when I first heard about the danger of the chemical, bisphenol A (BPA) sometime in 2008, BPA free milk bottles were not even available in most retail stores.

Some people I know switched to glass bottles but I did not. Reason being we had stopped sterilizing M’s bottles by then and since BPA can leak into milk only at high temperatures, I did not see a need to switch. Also, M was able to hold her own bottle while drinking and she has a tendency to throw her bottle around after that. Above all, I could not be sure all her drinking and eating utensils were BPA free too, especially when we eat out or pack food home.

But reading the article and all the potential danger of chemicals such as PVC and BPA, I can’t help wondering if that is still the right decision. BPA is a synthetic estrogen that can cause potentially cause serious reproductive problems for females. According to the article, Canada and Denmark are the only countries to have banned BPA milk bottles.

At the same time, manufacturers have responded and BPA free milk and drinking bottles are now more widely available, though at around 30-50% price premium. I’ve even noticed some toys labelled PVC and PBA free. The question that comes often to my mind is – Is it really necessary? Well, it’s an answer that will perhaps take governments a lot longer to answer because producers of the chemicals will argue that they are safe in small amounts.

But like mentioned in the article, thresholds can be a really tricky question. As consumers, we often have to make decisions without the full set of information. I looked around our home to see how we can minimise M’s exposure of these dangerous chemicals and I have the feeling it’s not going to be an easy task.

Nonetheless, I took the first step of getting her BPA free milk bottles!