There’s a bit of confusion about plastics – what’s good and what’s bad !!
When buying personal care and cosmetics, particularly sunscreen, make sure you are absolutely sure that the plastic tube/container is SAFE.
When a tube of sunscreen is heated (eg when on the beach or in the car), the plastic can break down, leach into the (in most cases already toxic) ingredients and create a toxic time bomb. This can cause the cream which you lather onto your skin to attract the sun’s harmful rays to the underlayers of the skin where melanomas are formed!!
All plastic-type bottles have (or should have) a number embossed on the underneath. This is what the numbers mean:
1 Polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE)
Used to make soft drink, water, sports drink, sauce, and salad dressing bottles, and peanut butter, pickle, jelly and jam jars.
GOOD: Not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones.
2 High density polyethylene (HDPE)
Milk, water, and juice bottles, yoghurt and margarine tubs, cereal box liners, and grocery, trash, and retail bags.
GOOD: Not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones.
3 Polyvinyl chloride (V or PVC)
Most cling-wrapped meats, cheeses, and other foods sold in delicatessens and groceries are wrapped in PVC.
BAD: To soften into its flexible form, manufacturers add “plasticisers” during production. Traces of these chemicals can leach out of PVC when in contact with foods. According to the National Institutes of Health, di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), commonly found in PVC, is a suspected human carcinogen.
4 Low-density polyethylene (LDPE)
Some bread and frozen food bags and squeezable bottles.
OK: Not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones, but not as widely recycled as #1 or #2.
5 Polypropylene (PP)
Some ketchup bottles and yogurt and margarine tubs.
OK: Hazardous during production, but not known to leach any chemicals that are suspected of causing cancer or disrupting hormones. Not as widely recycled as #1 and #2.
6 Polystyrene (PS)
Foam insulation and also for hard applications (e.g. cups, some toys)
BAD: Benzene (material used in production) is a known human carcinogen. Butadiene and styrene (the basic building block of the plastic) are suspected carcinogens. Energy intensive and poor recycling.
7 Other (usually polycarbonate)
Baby bottles, microwave ovenware, eating utensils, plastic coating for metal cans
BAD: Made with bisphenyl-A, a chemical invented in the 1930s in search for synthetic estrogens. A hormone disruptor. Simulates the action of estrogen when tested in human breast cancer studies. Can leach into food as product ages. (Adapted from www.care2.com)
