My Sturdy Basket

Okay I confess I am a total tree hugger, granola loving, tote packing environmentalist. I always try to bring my own cloth shopping bags to the grocery store (I avoid plastic bags as much as possible for a myriad of reasons). I love my cloth bags but I do have to replace them every few months as they are not super sturdy. Well imagine my utter delight when for my birthday this year my friend gave me a sturdy shopping basket. This thing has changed my life (okay I am being a bit dramatic here) it's just that I love it so much. I keep it in the trunk of my car. When not in use it folds down flat to conserve space. I use it for virtually all kinds of things; fruits and veggies, books at the library, bread from the bakery and even toting clothes on outings! Bye bye plastic bags.

Now all I need to do is start getting rid of all the plastic Tupperware containers and Nalgene drinking bottles in my house. I try to use glass jars as much as possible to store left over food or dried bulk foods in. Seriously folks plastic, or more specifically the BPA (bisphenol A) in plastic, is really nasty stuff. For those of you that don't know what BPA is, it is an Estrogen Mimic that is found in Polycarbonate. Polycarbonate (has the recycling No. 7 on the bottom of containers) is one of the plastics used to make everything from Sippy cups, Tupperware containers, dental sealants and the linings of tin food cans. The side effects of BPA are endless; early onset puberty in girls, breast and prostrate cancer, type 2 diabetes, obesity, ADHD and so on. The problem is that after time the Polycarbonate breaks down and BPA is released out of the plastic and into the food or water stored in the plastic. Then we unknowingly eat/drink it thereby ingesting small amounts of BPA. Eek.

whew...where did that all come from. This started out as an uplifting post about my super sturdy practical shopping basket and I end up rambling on about the depressing and harmful effects of plastic. Sorry friends but I guess I just feel the need to make you all aware of the risks of using plastic. But just so I don't sign off on a completely negative note....there is hope you can avoid exposure to BPA by taking a few simple steps:

• Avoid plastic containers made of polycarbonate (remember it will have the recycling No. 7 on the bottom).
• Store foods and liquids in glass, porcelain, or stainless steel containers.
• If you do use food containers with Polycarbonate do not microwave food in the containers. This causes the containers to break down and release BPA. I always reheat food in glass bowls. Even better yet...don't use a microwave :o)
• Don't wash polycarbonate containers in the dishwasher.
• Use baby bottles that are made of glass or BPA-plastic free (BornFree is one such company that makes BPA free baby bottles)
• Instead of using Polycarbonate use plastic made from PETE, which has the recycling No. 1 on the bottom.

(all info about BPA from the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and Nutrion Action - April 2008)

I told you there is hope. I better sign off now before I digress to the dangers of aluminum in deodorant or the harmful effects of bleach....I told you I was a tree hugging, granola loving environmentalist! Have a wonderful weekend friends.