Are your plastic baby bottles and water tumblers safe for your kids?

A friend once told me to check my baby bottles and kids water tumblers for plastic grades. Are they made of materials which are SAFE for use? Plastics are convenient as we can bring them everywhere with you without worrying if your child breaks them and hurt themselves. We might have left them in the car (and got it heated up), reused them over and over again, kept warm-hot water and so on. Have we considered if it is safe? Whether we are drinking plastic?

To be certain, just check the recycling symbol on the bottle – normally located at the base of the bottle. It will tell you the type of the plastic material used. Unfortunately, most plastic baby bottles and drinking cups are made with plastics containing Bisphenol A or BPA, for short. Here’s an extract from one site about the effects of BPA:

"Bisphenol A is a xenoestrogen, a known endocrine disruptor, meaning it disturbs the hormonal messaging in our bodies. Synthetic xenoestrogens are linked to breast cancer and uterine cancer in women, decreased testosterone levels in men, and are particularly devastating to babies and young children. BPA has even been linked to insulin resistance and Type 2 Diabetes. For more of the science on the effects of BPA on our endocrine system etc. see these studies: Environmental Health Perspectives Journal. Nalgene, the company that manufactures the lexan water bottles also makes #2 HDPE bottles in the same sizes and shapes, so we have a viable alternative. Order one at Nalgene. "


Sounds Scary? Anyway, not all plastics are unsafe. Out of 7 types, 4 are still ‘considered’ safe …so far.

# 1 Polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE)
# 2 High-density polyethylene (HDPE)
# 4 Low-density polyethylene (LDPE)
# 5 Polypropylene (PP)


And to avoid:

# 3 PVC or vinyl
This is used in plastic wraps, soft bottles, food containers, etc.
Possible effects have been linked to cancer (including breast and prostate), hormonal imbalances, high blood pressure, heart disease, autoimmune disease, weight problems, chronic fatigue, smaller genitals in infant boys and an increase in testicular cancer about adults.

# 6 Polystyrene or Styrofoam
This is used as takeout containers, plastics cups, and cutlery. Its components leach into fatty foods and are believed to interfere with hormones.

# 7 Miscellaneous category that includes polycarbonate (PC)
This is used for most clear-plastic bottles, including 5-gallon water bottles and baby bottles. When heated, they release BPA.

And quite unfortunately, a lot of those fun, exciting, colorful hard plastic bottles are made of polycarbonate plastics and identified by the #7 recycling symbol, and may leach BPA. There are lots of discussions about when it really becomes ‘unsafe’ and so forth.

So if you want to be really really safe, what are the alternatives? How about glass bottles (PIGEON and some other brands have it) and aluminium bottles (eg Thermos, SIGG)? But of course, you have to bear with some inconveniences, such as breakable glass, higher priced and so on.

However out of convenience, I’m still using plastic bottles as my kids are still young. What I normally do is to look for details and information on the bottle packaging and even their websites before I decide.

What about you?