More Bad News on Plastics

The April 12th issue of Time Magazine has a feature artile on "The Perils of Plastic" - in short, there are lots of chemicals that are bad to humans and the environment in plastics, and current regulations on what could chemicals could be used safely in consumer products are woefully lacking. The buden of proving chemicals dangerous falls almost entirely on th egovernment, while industry confidentiality privileges deny citizens and regulators critical information about what these substances are and what their effects are.

On this topic, if you are baffled by the types of plastics there are, check out this link which shows which number maps to what type of plastic and whether it can be recycled. On this note, if you live in the NW like I do here are the guidelines from Waste Management on how to recycle plastic. The key is to note that plastic #7 cannot be recycled, plastic bags should be recycled at the local grocery stores, and to keep all lids and caps out of the recycle bin.