So for the longest time, i have been drinking my water from one of those polycarbonate plastic bottles with a recycle 
#7 symbol at the bottom. That is until i opened my latest copy of consumer report magazine to read that my bottle may leach BPA. Huh? Say what?
What is BPA? BPA stands for Bisphenol A, a xenoestrogen which behaves like estrogen disrupting hormonal responses. Among the things Xenoestrogen has been linked to is breast cancer, type 2 diabetes, low testerone level, obesity etc. It is especially dangerous to babies and young children so it is shocking to learn that the plastic used to make baby bottles and drinking cups contains BPA.
The article suggests that you check the recycling numbers on ALL your plastics! Plastic bottles that do not leach are marked with #2 HDPE(high density polyethylene), #4 LDPE(low density polyethylene) or #5 PP(polyporpylene). Bottled water bought off the shelf is marked with #1 recycling symbol and should only be used once.
This chemical is banned in europe and the city of san francisco has recently attempted to follow suit by prohibiting the sale of products containing Phthalates but not bisphenol A as of yet.
So if you must use plastic - choose carefully otherwise try other types of containers like glass or stainless steel. Am currently trying the new wave stainless steel water bottles.
The way I see it, the smartest thing to do now would be to rethink the way we consume food in this Westernized world. There are way too many synthetic chemicals in everything and anything that is meant to be ingested as food e.g. the proliferation of soy, which itself has a pretty nasty history.
Long ago, I used to work for the Society of the Plastics Industry in DC (I know work for the National Academy of Sciences and my soul is recovering). I learned more than I ever thought possible about the plastics industry and it is EVIL. They fought hard for deregulation of the electricity industry and that’s served us not at all. Believe me, they KNOW what’s in their products and they KNOW the harmful effects.
I buy as little plastic as possible and only 1s and 2s so they can be recycled into other products. I carry a Klean Kanteen stainless steel water bottle and fill it with government regulated tap water.
Tip: NEVER microwave anything plastic. NEVER.
s.
[…] Empty bottled water plastic bottles pile up in landfills emitting chemicals and choking the environment. Two million plastic beverage bottles, the number used in the US every […]