Are you throwing out your questionable plastics?

[BeachBum]

I know a lot of mamas on this board are a bit more green than what I deem as average. I really appreciate the different perspective that I don't get from my IRL friends.

I've been looking through my cabinets, and it appears that most of our plastics are the unmarked kind. Is everyone else just throwing them out?

I have a lot of the hard clear plastic drinking cups from Target. The kind on the "summer dishware" aisle. Should I assume those are bad and contain BPA?

I guess I just want to get a feel for what others are doing. Is it reactionary to toss most of our plastic stuff? I need to be able to convince my husband that throwing out stuff isn't over zealous.

[Joolsplus2]

I bought metal bottles, but still kept most of the plastic cups... I guess melamine is bad too but we still use melamine plates... most of the cups are #5 and I guess I'm not too worried. I really don't want to toss my Tervis Tumblers I was so thrilled to buy last year :( (we had one for each of us in the family decorated with a different fish... now I just hide them in the back of the cabinet, lol).

[elliput]

I have plastics, but only two glasses that could possibly be BPA, and they rarely get used. DD uses polypropylene and melamine dishes (neither of which ever get microwaved). I do have a huge stash of Avent bottles, but I am concerned about just tossing them into a landfill. I would rather take them to a recycling facility, however, I wonder about the outcome of recycling BPA plastics also. I really think this is a no win situation for our environment.

[egoldber]

I was a big skeptic about the BPA thing, but I am now convinced. I got rid of all my plastic cups that weren't #5. I don't like melamine personally. Sarah's every day dishes are some white Corelle I got at the outlet and for Amy I actually use small, heavy Pyrex bowls. I think they are one cup or half cup size, and were part of a set. I do have a set of the Ikea plastic dishes, but they are not favs.

I also used to use a lot of Rubbermaid for food storage and food heating. And while that is supposedly safe plastic, I replaced it all with Pyrex because I was unsure about it. I donated all my Rubbermaid.

I did use Avent bottles with Amy (the only ones she would take), but she very rarely got a bottle and so I don't feel too badly about it. Fortunately (for my mommy guilt) Sarah, who was exclusively formula fed after 6 months, would not take an Avent bottle, so the ones I used with her were safe plastic I think. I was also relieved that the only pacifier that Amy will take (Soothie) is solid silicone.

I have a few Avent bottles left, but like the PP I am uncertain what to do with them.

[nupe]

I don't use BPA- items for the kids, but still do for the adults. I am putting all the Tupperware branded items that are culprits away (rock n serve)--I think I should get my money back from them!

[JTsMom]

My goal is to eliminate every piece of plastic that comes into contact with food. I didn't have tons to begin with, but I did have some, and I have gotten rid of most of it. Jason has been using all glass at home for eating/drinking for quite a while, and it hasn't been a problem. On the go, we use Stainless Steel water bottles for all of us.

I still would like to replace my Tupperware with Pyrex, but for now I just use our regular bowls and cover them with wax paper, foil, parchment, or plastic, and try to keep it from touching the food. Freezer storage is still a challenge though, and I'm still using Ziplocs for that.

I would also like to get some stainless containers for stuff like crackers on the go.

[brittone2]

I've avoided plastics since we were TTC for the most part. I did have some bottles for DS (now age 4), but he never really took a bottle. My Ameda PY has the polycarbonate bottles but I really only pumped and dumped (to relieve engorgement, etc.) since DS never really took bottles. I've read that some of the "safer" bottles can be used with the PY.

I did drink out of Nalgene a lot several years back though (before we were ttc). I also have plenty of old dental sealants in my mouth that I've had since childhood/teens.

We minimize our use of canned foods as well due to the BPA concerns (although we didn't use that many to start with).

I find Pyrex for food storage is more convenient and holds up much better than the plastics currently considered "safe" anyway. DS and DD have both used either Klean Kanteens or small jelly jars/shot glasses for drinks since they were about 12 months old. We use regular plates (some Correlle and some regular ceramic) with the kids.

I didn't think you could recycle BPA even if you wanted to? I'm not 100 percent sure but I'm not familiar with any recycling of that plastic.

[ThreeofUs]

I've decided to try to avoid most plastics and metals with plastic coating on the inside on principle. I used to be a research chemist and ime almost no plastic is really stable.

With that said, I try to do this as much as possible, but I'm not extreme about it. We do, for example, drink Honest Kids juice pouches....

[KBecks]

I answered the first option, but thought I'd expand. I got rid of our Avent bottles and Tupperware Rock N Serve, and then I got some glass pyrex containers. (We also switched to plain Corelle dishes because of lead concerns).

I still have some rubbermaid containers and gladware, I think those are both OK. I also have a pretty pitcher I use for lemonade that is hard clear plastic, but I like it a lot and it doesn't go in the dishwasher. It's pretty new and I don't want to throw it away.

The kids have 4 plastic plates, they also use Corelle, and we use Take N Toss cups and Tupperware cups that I hope are OK.

[KBecks]

I have plastics, but only two glasses that could possibly be BPA, and they rarely get used. DD uses polypropylene and melamine dishes (neither of which ever get microwaved). I do have a huge stash of Avent bottles, but I am concerned about just tossing them into a landfill. I would rather take them to a recycling facility, however, I wonder about the outcome of recycling BPA plastics also. I really think this is a no win situation for our environment.

Erica, my DH just asked me to save some small jars for him to store his tool stuff in (screws, nails, etc.) I had already tossed our avent bottles a long time ago but if I had them now, that's what we would use them for. Also could be used for buttons or little craft doo dads.

I am *so* getting old, using the word doo dads!

[spencersmommy]

Is there a website that lists all this info...I am a bit slow...I knew about BPA in bottles, so threw away my Avent and Dr. Browns, and the new baby has Born Free bottles. But I have tons of plastic cups and plates for my older kiddos. What should I be looking for? Melamine is bad? i started buying those plates for my boys to eat off of.
Now I have even heard that the plastic high chair trays might have BPA in it, and my boys ate food straight off those trays.
I just want to be informed. I am going to buy the Healthy Child, Healthy World book that was just published. Anyone read it??
Thanks!

[MontrealMum]

I answered "other" because like a true packrat, although I have stopped using all polycarbonate plastic, I haven't actually gotten rid most of it! I did find the thread that mentioned using bottles for sewing items and kids' paints very interesting so might repurpose them later for that. I am a great repurposer. We did use Avent and Nalgene quite a bit, but most of our cycling bottles were #5. I have a small Pyrex obsession and quite a collection of refrigerator dishes and other things from "antique" stores. I have also bought a few sippies/bottles that are different metals, but haven't pursued that actively since DS is still a bit small, and I bought the polypropelyne cups/plates/bowls at Ikea. Right now since I'm doing the feeding, he's eating off our regular china. Besides repurposing, I am not sure what else to do with the hard plastic. I am of the mind that I would rather hang on to it than add to landfills. DH really loves this mindset - not.

[ellies mom]

In all honesty, "questionable" plastic is so far down on my list of things to be concerned about that I haven't even looked at the plastic we have in the house and I'm in no rush to either. About the most I did was to decide to not go with Avent bottles this time but considering I chose Playtex drop-ins instead, I'm not sure that really counts as a huge improvement.

[elliput]

Erica, my DH just asked me to save some small jars for him to store his tool stuff in (screws, nails, etc.)

I actually made this suggestion in another thread. I do intend on using some for this purpose and for craft stuff, but I have several dozen bottles between the two sizes. I doubt I will be able to use them all.

[Happy Mommy]

I got rid of all of the Nalgene bottles for DH & I. I try to have the kids use Klean Kanteen and Take and Toss for travel. At home, I attempt to use glass as much as possible (unless it looks as though DS has a little too much twinkle in his eyes at dinner time! :)).

I still have my Tupperware Rock N Serve, but avoid heating it in the microwave. Tupperware still maintains that there is no danger in this product (of course). I do store cookies, and dry goods in Tupperware. I'm assuming that as long as it is not a liquid or being heated, then I am fairly safe. However, I would love to know if any of you have heard otherwise.

Of course I remember wanting glass bottles when I registered for shower gifts for DD 4 years ago, and all of my family members looked at me like I was crazy. Hmmmm...should have remembered to always go with that Mommy gut instinct. I'm just glad that in the end, both children had minimal bottle exposure. One less thing to fret over now...

[purpleeyes]

I got rid of all the plastic kid stuff a few months ago. Now we only use klean canteen, correlle and bornfree stuff.

We're moving in June and as I pack up the kitchen I will be getting rid of all our bad plastic and replacing it with safe stuff (they have some at Whole foods) or pyrex containers.

Still haven't decided if I'm going to keep the bad stuff to store things in...I hate to throw it in the landfill.

Plus, i still have to purge the toys..ugh!

[bubbaray]

I was able to return all my Nalgene bottles (yeah MEC!) to the store I purchased them from and get a full refund. Neither girl took a bottle, but I had a massive stockpile of them (wishful thinking) that I gave to a local church "baby drive" for a women's shelter. That was before the BPA thing was news, but I did know about the issue at that point. I donated them anyway as there are definitely people out there who would use the bottles regardless.

I need to purge my old Tupperware and such. It is in a cabinet taking up room.

We've moved to mainly glass for storage, some Gladware (#5) for daycare use. We have used Corelle plates for years and they refuse to die....

Just today I bought a new Camelback bottle. It claims to be BPA and phlalate free. REI has a ton of different Camelback and Nalgene that claim to be safe. I also have 2 KleanKanteens for each of us and a couple of Siggs for myself. I have 2 Foogos for each girl, but won't buy the handled sippy again for DD#2 as they leak like sieves.

HTH

[MontrealMum]

I was able to return all my Nalgene bottles (yeah MEC!) to the store I purchased them from and get a full refund.
Sorry to use the thread for a personal question but did you actually have the receipt? And how long had it been? We have a ton of Nalgene bottles, all from MEC of course - where else, but no receipts. It'd be nice to get a bit of money for those at least to offset the huge Avent purchase which is a total loss.

[nov04]

We use safe plastics but don't heat in them at all, I use corning ware or corelle for that. I don't use anything that I can't identify and recycle it once it starts looking beaten up. I threw out all my avent bottles last year and am kicking myself now because retailers here will take them back for store credit.

[bubbaray]

Sorry to use the thread for a personal question but did you actually have the receipt? And how long had it been? We have a ton of Nalgene bottles, all from MEC of course - where else, but no receipts. It'd be nice to get a bit of money for those at least to offset the huge Avent purchase which is a total loss.


Nope, you don't need a receipt. At least, you didn't when MEC first pulled all the BPA stuff. They just looked it up via my membership number. A couple they looked up under DH's number (gifts from him).

It took a while (10 minutes or so, but I had 2 grocery bags full of Nalgene stuff), so maybe don't go at a busy time.

[Globetrotter]

I use some of the "bad" stuff for storing craft items and such.

If you want to get rid of bottles, post on freecycle to see if someone needs them to store craft items or small things like perler beads, etc...

I hate to just toss them.


Kris

[TahliasMom]

i have some tupperware left over and misc plastic stuff to store dry food but heat up everything in glass. dd still uses ikea plastic plates, bowls and cups. are those ok?

[mommyoftwo]

i have some tupperware left over and misc plastic stuff to store dry food but heat up everything in glass. dd still uses ikea plastic plates, bowls and cups. are those ok?

We have tons of the Ikea stuff as well. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I thought the #5 stuff was okay.

[lablover]

For the past couple of years I've been using Pyrex with the blue lids for storing and microwaving for me and the kids (DH still uses gladware for himself). But now I'm thinking that I shouldn't be using the blue lid in the microwave - I don't even know what it's made out of. For those that use these - do you just cover with a paper towel? Anything else I could do besides wasting a paper towel?

[nupe]

Tupperware...I found this pagek on their Canadian website--it tells you what materials are in each item.
http://order.tupperware.ca/pls/htprod_wwwcan/tup_widget.show_page?fv_page_code=prodcodes&fv_section_name=help&fv_category_code=search&fv_item_category_code=200550

[KrisM]

I've never heated plastics with food in them or put them in the dishwasher. I do store things in plastic.

I guess I was "lucky" as one of my college research papers in 1989 was on how unsafe plastic was in the microwave. So, I've never done that, regardless of what type of plastic it is.

[Georgia]

I don't understand why the alternative plastics are considered safer. The Camelback bottles are made with a material that's been out for less than a year, and BornFree won't even reveal who supplies the material they're using. They just seem less tested rather than proven safer...?

[tnrnchick74]

Well, I believe that the BPA threat is real. HOWEVER, I do use tupperware stuff for storing food and I am guilty of reheating in those containers. I'm trying to stop that!

As far as baby stuff is concerned...this is my first baby so I made sure to NOT get BPA stuff from the get go. I can purge "my" stuff as we go along, but starting out (and staying) BPA free for the baby is the easiest change for me to make right at this second since I already have to buy new. Make sense?

I have received a "free gift" of an Avent bottle as well as another no-name generic bottle - both have BPA. I have them hidden in the cabinet and will delegate them to craft stuff or donate them with a freecycle load.

[maestramommy]

We have phased out a lot of our BPA bottles and cups, but we haven't actually tossed them. They are still sitting in our cabinets, and will probably stay there until we move. I think we feel funny about throwing away perfectly usable stuff.

[GeekLady]

We don't own a microwave, so that neatly avoids most 'reheating in plastics w/ microwave' issues. (If anyone ever needs to melt a little butter w/o a microwave, try stainless steel measuring cups on the burner, they're like teeny tiny saucepans.) We do use polypropylene to store stuff, it's more airtight and much less likely that I'll break it.

We still use our 1L Nalgene bottles for water, on the principle that significant leaching takes time, heat, agitation, excessive pH, and abrasion, none of which does cold water provide. I won't replace them when they wear out, and the exteriors are pretty banged up from hiking, but I think they're a minor hazard compared to, say, canned tomatoes, and I still use those.