Acrylic dishes

[mudder17]

Quick question--I'm thinking of getting some of the Crocodile Creek tumblers for Kaya and found out they're made from Acrylic. I've been Googling for over 30 minutes and I can't figure it out--is Acrylic considered one of the "safe" plastics?

Thanks!

[elliput]

Eileen, I believe acrylic is #7.

[mudder17]

Thank Erica--that's sort of what I was thinking, since it didn't fall into any of the other categories. Sort of like Melamine. Okay, so the "safe" plastics are 1, 2, 4, and 5, right? But Melamine is a 7 and supposed to be okay, as long as you don't microwave it, right? Any clue about Acrylic?

[GeekLady]

#7 is a catch-all designation. It's the "Other" of the plastic world.

[brittone2]

#7 is a catch-all designation. It's the "Other" of the plastic world.

ITA. My co-op now uses corn based plastic that is compostable for their salad bar, etc. and that is #7, but a safe version of #7. As the PP said, it is a catch all plastic number, but the number 7 designation does include polycarbonate as one of several "other" plastics. (but not all #7 are polycarbonate).

I am finishing up some final touches on orthodontic stuff and my orthodontist wants me to temporarily switch to an acrylic retainer for short term use. I've asked repeatedly about phthalates and BPA, etc. and other ingredients and their rep doesn't know, and they can't seem to find the information. Before I wear the thing 24/7 with a nursing babe, I'd like to know, and it annoys the crud out of me that no one can even answer what the heck is *in* the thing. I've been waiting on an answer for 2-3 months now, and they keep telling me they are "trying" to get the info from their rep.

So there is my rant on "acrylic." Sorry I'm not more help.

edited to clarify

edited to clarify

[GeekLady]

Well, I know that acrylic is polymethyl methacrylate, and in its hardest form is known as plexiglass. It is more impact resistant than glass, but less than polycarbonate. It makes stuff like hard contact lenses, artificial finger nails, orthopedic bone cement, the UV cuvettes we use in our big spectrophotometer, and replacement lenses in cataract surgery.

From my understanding of the polymerization reaction (and I'm falling back on my organic chem class from almost 10 years ago, so I'm not an authority or anything), BPA isn't likely to be very useful for this plastic. Polycarbonates polymerize with a -O-(C=O)-O- backbone, whereas acrylics have a plain -C-C-C- backbone. BPA just doesn't have the free C=C bond to be used in acrylic polymerization.

No idea about plasticizers and phthalates, that's beyond the basic polymerization reactions we covered.

[mudder17]

Thanks Beth and GeekLady. Yeah, I've been doing reading on it and I think it's probably okay, but there's no definitive answer, KWIM? Now I have a dilemma--whether or not to get those tumblers! They are awfully cute and they will match the melamine bowls and plates... Sigh.