Responding to your concerns about plastic bottles

Stephanie-Umbro, Maine — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:49:31 GMT

My brother in law has been on this particular band wagon long before it was on the evening news and front page. We don't let the baby have a bottle more than 4 weeks; the Nalgenes are out; plastic bottles are tossed after 4 weeks. I can say from personal experience that any plastic cup makes liquids taste funny if they've set a while or has been in use for a while. Add this up to another "modern" item that could kill us.

I've heard it mentioned many times this week that the Texas cult sect are in another century. With all the stuff around us that make modern life livable but cause harm, sometimes I wonder if maybe the other century was better in many respects.

Responding to your concerns about plastic bottles

Barb Deuparo, Sterling Heights, Michigan — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:57:16 GMT

Brian,
I love you news cast. In the article concerning water bottles, the best water bottle (hands down) is Tupperware, they do not contain BPA.

Responding to your concerns about plastic bottles

Kathryn Westlake — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 23:25:15 GMT

You have done a poor job reporting this BPA plastic story. Please stop showing shelves full of #1 plastic water bottles as video footage for this story. They don't have BPA in them and are not the issue at all. Your viewers need to understand plastics are not all the same.

Responding to your concerns about plastic bottles

Judy Sutherland, Richmond, VA — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 23:55:48 GMT

Yes, the time has come for us to deal with this serious health issue of plastics in water and baby bottles, can liners, etc. It seems as a nation we have chosen "convenience" over safety. Maybe now, due to your good reporting, we can have a national conversation about these concerns and our choices and then move to action.Thanks for your good work.

Responding to your concerns about plastic bottles

Carey S, Seattle WA — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 05:04:12 GMT

First, thank you for this report. I just sent the following mail to the NIH as public comments:
Dear Dr. Shane,
As the mother of two young children growing up our a plastic-filled world, it would be helpful for your organization to provide:
1) counsel to Congress and consumer advocacy groups advising a ban on the use of this chemical in the US. It is appalling to find out how many food and drink containers are #7 other plastics that people use EVERYDAY. As a parent, the fact that your organization views this as anything but a “negligible concern” on neural, behavioral and sexual development for children means we should be taking ACTION for their sake.
2) Counsel to the public on practical actions they can take to immediately reduce exposure or avoid the substance altogether. I would prefer to receive advice from experts than the Internet blogs where fact and fiction are difficult to discern. If it were not for NBC news explaining that the chemical is found in #7 plastics, I would not understand how prevalent its use is.

Responding to your concerns about plastic bottles

Penelope, Austin, Texas — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 15:33:21 GMT

Is there a link to a website that has a list of all the items containing this?? Because that's very frightening, especially for people who have babies!! I guess this will be an even EXTRA motivation to ween my son from his bottle early!

Thank you for letting the public know!!

Responding to your concerns about plastic bottles

Jane, Seattle, WA — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 03:52:21 GMT

Nalgene bottles are also not safe; I cannot remember which chemical they leach into water, but they do leach chemicals, especially when heated (ie cleaning with a dishwasher or putting hot water to kill germs). The safe alternative? Metal. Sorry, but it is true. It is like hormone free milk - sure, the cows were not fed RBHG, but that does not mean they cows were fed a healthy diet, and the milk is not full of pesticide residue from the genetically modified corn that is a main stay in the average (read, every except organic cow's) diet.

Plastic bottles, containers, tupperware, Glad, Nalgene - these are not safe. Why do you think there are all those warnings not to use them in the microwave? Sure, some people may use them forever and never get sick, but when there are 300 million Americans using them for our entire lives, especially when they combined with all the chemicals in shampoo, lotions (when was the last time you actually looked in the ingredients in your lotion?!), food, etc, they are the reason there are so many diseases. Even if *only* 0.01% of people fall sick to something, that is still THIRTY THOUSAND people.

Side note: check your shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion, etc for methylparaben, ethylparaben, or anything that ends in parabens. Tests have shown parabens in EVERY sample of breast cancer tissue. Coincidence? I think not. Google it for more information.

Responding to your concerns about plastic bottles

Memaw2angels, Mancelona, Michigan — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 17:07:03 GMT

Is the focus just on Baby Bottles? I have reviewed nearly everything I can find in my house that is Plastic. Especially everything my two grand daughters (18mo and almost 4yrs)use daily. I have found Gerber Gratuates Microwave meals container is a 7 other and the toddler Finger Food snacks containers from Gerber in my cupboard are too. The bottle of Pediasure in my fridge is also a 7 other. Why is it all the Kids stuff? I have went through everthing else that us adults in the house use -- the only 7 others I have found thus far are things for the kids - Now what? They have been consuming this stuff for years -- Hot, cold and room temp. Is this just something that emits with heat or is it present all the time? Does all 7 other Plastic Items contain this BPA or is it just a possibility. I am assuming it is just a catch all code. I would think if a Government (our or another) is banning something we should all be concerned. I haven't informed my daughter yet - she is going to FREAK!!

Responding to your concerns about plastic bottles

D. Sussman, Garden City, NY — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:08:08 GMT

This was great informative information, thank you. I have a question though, I am 6 months pregnant and wear invisalign braces. I am concerned with the health risks of what kind of plastic they are made from. I searched on the internet, but was unable to find this out.

Responding to your concerns about plastic bottles

Tanis — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 04:24:44 GMT

I am also wearing visalign and haven't been able to find any info on invisalign & Bisphenol A. I would love to hear from anyone that may have some info.

Responding to your concerns about plastic bottles

Cindy, Lancaster, PA — Thu, 01 May 2008 10:50:41 GMT

Does anybody think the increase use of plastics over the past years is linked to the increase rise in Autism, ADHD, Bipolar and other mental health issues in our children? Is anybody researching a connection?

Responding to your concerns about plastic bottles

Max, Mesa, AZ — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 21:42:32 GMT

Plastic bottles are a growing problem in our landfills and oceans. We felt that something needed to be done……and now.

We knew that there wasn’t going to be one “fix it all” answer and began to wonder if anything was ever going to be done. The problem was growing every day, more bottles were being manufactured and more bottles were accumulating in places where we didn’t need them.

We were wondering if “Earth Friendly Bottles” would ever be available?

That’s why we decided to do our part and started ENSO Bottles. We are partnering with other companies to offer a PET plastic bottle that will biodegrade, compost or recycle.

Our bottles can be produced in a clear or colored version, however, the clear version isn't quite as clear as current PET plastic bottles but then again that's one way to identify our earth friendly bottle.

ENSO is trying to achieve sustainability with our plastic bottles. Our goal is to make bottles that won’t have the adverse impact on our environment and are made from non food bio-fuels.

We haven't started making them from bio-fuel but that’s high on our agenda and hopefully will be something we can offer in the future.

But for now, we offer a plastic bottle that is earth friendly...it’s just one step but if we all take just one step toward improving our planet….we will make a difference.

Now all we need is for a lot of beverage companies to start using earth friendly plastic bottles.