Harmful Plastic Must Go
Sometime ago, I received a forwarded email (I’m sure most of you received that too) that shows what triangle number is make out of which grade of chemical that was used to produce plastic. It was said the WORST ONES are Nos: 3, 6, and 7. I’ve never bother to check the numbers in my household as I always go for the branded ones (Instinct tells me that branded ones are more reliable. Duh!)
One fine day, Princess came home and told me, “Teacher say my water tumbler is no. 7 (pointing at the triangle number). Very poisonous.”
Then I quickly refer back to the email and very true, no. 7 is the most poisonous!
The above picture was taken 2 years ago. Spot that High School Musical (HSM) water tumbler. I don’t blame Disney for producing the product. Maybe it’s that trademark “Made In China” product is all not reliable! And I quickly went and check her HSM bento box.
Fuyoh, luckly it was no. 5! I gave Princess two options:
- You want to use nice stuff but poisonous or
- You want to be healthy and throw away all your HSM stuff
No doubt, she go for option 1. Then I thought to myself. How harmful is those chemical? After this incident, I have been very careful and always check the bottom of plastic food containers. The next round, I am going to buy only rock tumblers or stainless. It’s time to educate her on safety rather than beauty. (Hey, they rhyme!)
zazu said,
February 19, 2009 @ 3:40 pm
I think the numbers does not denote the different grade of chemical but different type of resin used… some reading for u http://www.americanchemistry.com/s_plastics/bin.asp?CID=1102&DID=4645&DOC=FILE.PDF
The Queen says: Sorry for the wrongly used word. Maklumlah, kita ni don’t know the names in properly. What is chemical and what is resin also we don’t know. Thanks for the info, loctor!
Annie Q said,
February 19, 2009 @ 8:27 pm
after i read the e mail and also some in newspaper, i throw all the Bros water bottle away. 🙁
The Queen says: Yea, last night I just change their water tumbler to no.5. 😉
cindy said,
February 19, 2009 @ 9:54 pm
i was wondering, when you say poisonous, does it mean that when we use it, it will release some sortta chemical reaction to poison us or is it just “badder” for the environment?? thanks..
The Queen says: Yup, the first one. It won’t pollute the environment cos all plastic is recyclable.
Hisham said,
February 19, 2009 @ 10:46 pm
You can only dispose of number four at Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong.
*the queen fall-off-chair-laughing-out-loud*
jasmine said,
February 20, 2009 @ 8:14 am
i think the plastic will be poisonous if its exposed to heat??? normal use should be fine *i think*
The Queen says: As long as food or water was store in there, the harmful substance started to leak. That is why mineral water bottle is not advisable to used for more than 2 times and not advisable to leave them in your car under the hot sun. If you notice sometimes why your plastic container or water smell like plastic, that is because of number 7!
jacss said,
February 20, 2009 @ 1:12 pm
u have better equipped me now…..so guess no.5 is ok….coz i checked mostly are no.5 leh !!! gotta be more cautious …..thks yeah !!
jolenesiah said,
February 21, 2009 @ 2:19 pm
Resin is used to make plastic..[http://www.nutang.com/bliss/weblog/jolenesiah/&comment=75130]
and the triangle things is to differentiate the class of plastic for recycle purpose… different class of plastic used cannot recycle together… even biodegradable plastic bags cannot mix with non biodegradable for recycle because it will destroy the Resin
as for poisonous i seriously don know.. i used to work at Plastic Association and attended the talks, and plastic is not poisonous as far as what i remember… lots of rumors circulated around the net.. maybe u can read plastic things here… http://www.plasticsmythbuster.org 😀
Selena said,
February 22, 2009 @ 2:00 am
aiyah, don’t liddat lah, No 7 just means something that’s not one of the other plastics.
For example, polycarbonate (or what some people call space glass). Most food grade plastics are OK for drinking water, just don’t use in microwave or put hot water or fizzy drinks. Most plastics can be recycled but the technology is really expensive esp if the containers use different materials in the components, e.g. bottle made of HDPE with LDPE top and polyvinyl label. Or if the container has a lot of food residues stuck to it, then dem hard to get it clean.
Good luck with the recycling! At least u make the effort, some people just chuck away to the tong sampah 🙁
The Queen says: Wah, you are very well educated on this plastic thingy. What you said makes a lot of sense. Thanks!
MiChi said,
February 24, 2009 @ 11:11 am
This is a good post coz I was nagged at my hubby for ignoring this. He loves to collect many empty water bottles. One day I threw almost all toxic ones away and he fainted. LOL
a-moms-diary said,
February 25, 2009 @ 11:15 pm
Wah, so much science behind plastic. I knew there are different grades of plastic but never bothered to check. Gotta start checking YY stuff now.
Selena said,
February 26, 2009 @ 7:48 pm
designed/ operated recycling plant at previous employment mah…
it’s best to be careful especially when using Type 3 (PVC) containers for food and/or drink. Some contain phthalates (a plasticiser to improve the strength of the plastic) which have have been linked to several types of medical conditions.
But don’t necessarily throw everything away because of potentially unfounded fears, OK? 😀