Plastics - Controversies Abound

Plastics have sure been making it into the news lately: controversies over plastic baby bottles, attempts to ban plastic shopping bags, companies publicly pledging to reduce PVC and cities rejecting bottled water.

Health Canada became the first regulator in the world to announce its intention to ban bisphenol A (BPA) —an estrogen-mimicking compound used to make polycarbonate plastic — in the manufacture of baby bottles. Polycarbonate is a transparent, shatterproof, reusable plastic with many applications. Health Canada determined that bisphenol A wasn’t a threat to adults, but that was before the recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found a link between higher levels of BPA in adults and heart disease and diabetes. (Just when you thought it was safe to use your water bottle!). Stores have been pulling baby bottles, and some water bottles, off the shelves and have very few options for recycling these rejected products.

Plastic bags are grabbing headlines. A presentation showing the dreadful consequences for wildlife (mostly marine life) that ingest plastic bags has been making the email rounds in the last couple of months. The list of communities that have banned, or tried to ban, plastic shopping bags would fill the rest of the newsletter. China banned free plastic bags June 1, 2008, hoping to cut down on the up to three billion bags A DAY used by its citizens. Bangladesh banned plastic bags four years ago when officials realized they blocked drains and led to flooding. Other countries, like Ireland, imposed a tax on plastic bags and have drastically reduced bag use. The plastic industry has called for increased bag recycling to counteract all this activity.

Another plastic that has been controversial for some time is Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC). Health concerns raised over the production and use of PVC products have led to many companies (Honda, Johnson and Johnson, Mattel, Levi’s, Microsoft, Nike, Sears, Toys ‘r US, Sony, and Wal-Mart, to name a few) promising to phase this plastic out of their products and packages. While it’s technically possible to recycle PVC, not many programs include this type of plastic.

Bottled water, and its single-use containers, has also come under fire recently. The city of London, Ontario banned the sale of bottled water at its municipal facilities, and other cities are following suit. Concern over the sale and use of bottled water is growing internationally, given its cost, the poor recycling rate for single use plastic bottles (which isn’t a big issue here in Saskatchewan), and the greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing and transporting the bottles to consumers.

We'll be keeping an eye on developments.

(Source: August 2008 WasteWatch)

 Water in Cardboard Containers

Ontario ’s largest supplier of bottled water, Ice River Springs (Feversham, Ontario), has launched a line of cardboard-based water containers. The new containers will initially be available only through local Wal-Mart retailers.

(Source: Resource Recycling in August 2008 WasteWatch)

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