A commonsense guide to toxic plastics in your home, and how to avoid them.

Toxic plastics, used in many kitchen and household items, contain a variety of dangerous chemicals.
Three of the most toxic chemicals are bisphenol-A (BPA), PVC and Phthalates.

BPA, PVC and Phthalates can be found in plastic food packaging, plastic food storage containers, plastic water bottles, canned foods, toys, cooking implements and even kitchen appliances like coffee makers.
The problem is that when we use plastics in our kitchens, these chemicals migrate out of the plastic and into the food and drink we consume.
All three chemicals are extremely dangerous to our health – and most dangerous of all to unborn babies, infants and children.
Why are they so dangerous? They are all what are known as endocrine disruptors. They can upset normal hormonal balance in our bodies, stimulate the growth and development of cancers (breast, uterine, prostate), impair fertility, and disrupt pregnancy.
There are other sicknesses associated with these chemicals, including heart disease and behavioral problems in children.
And they are all over your house, not just in your kitchen.
They may be in the plastic of the bottle containing the organic shampoo you bought last week, or in the plastic used to make the toy duck your child is chewing on right now.
How can you protect yourself and your family from these chemicals?
1. Educate yourself. Learn about the different plastics in your home. Identify them by the recycling number you will find on most plastic products.
2. Throw out all plastics which contain bisphenol-A (BPA), PVC or Phthalates.
3. Replace those plastic items with alternatives -- like items made from safe plastics, glass, steel, ceramics or wood.

Toxic plastics to remove from your home as soon as you can.

There are reasons to cut back on the use of all plastics in our homes, but there are three classes of plastic which comprise a clear and immediate threat to your health.
These are the plastics to get out of your kitchen, and elsewhere in your home, right now.

Bad Plastic #3 – Polyvinyl Chloride
Polyvinyl Chloride is more commonly known as PVC.
PVC contains phthalates. Phthalates are chemicals which are included because they help make the plastic flexible. That’s why garden hoses contain PVC, as do shower curtains, some cling wraps, teething rings, baby’s vinyl toys and some squeezable bottles.
The trouble is, phthalates are highly toxic and small doses migrate from the PVC to anything that touches it – whether that be food, drink, shampoo or a baby’s mouth.
Phthalates are endocrine disruptors. They mimic estrogen. Because phthalates resemble estrogen, they can mimic or block estrogenic effects in the body.
Endocrine disruptors are associated with a number of health problems that are on the rise on the U.S. and worldwide, including breast cancer, prostate cancer, infertility and heart disease.
By the way – you know that “new car smell” loved by so many people? What you are smelling, and inhaling into your lungs, are phthalates.
Bad Plastic # 6 – Polystyrene
Polystyrene is used in disposable coffee cups, take-out food containers, egg cartons and the packaging of meats, cheeses and other foods in your local supermarket.
What is the problem with polystyrene?
It contains styrene, also known as vinyl benzene. The US Environmental Protection Agency, which is notoriously conservative when it comes to associating plastics with any ill-effects, has described styrene as "a suspected carcinogen" and "a suspected toxin to the gastrointestinal, kidney, and respiratory systems, among others."
Styrene is also listed by the World Health Organization as a possible carcinogen.
When you next drink coffee from a polystyrene cup, also keep in mind that the release of styrene is increased when polystyrene is heated.
Another important thing to know about polystyrene is that it isn’t always used in its foamed form. Polystyrene is also used in a solid form, as a clear or colored plastic. Solid polystyrene is used, for example, in disposable cutlery, some yogurt cups and clear containers for cakes and other baked items.
Bad Plastic #7 – Polycarbonates
The number 7 designation actually includes pretty much every plastic that isn’t included in 1-6.
However, most plastics marked with the number 7 are polycarbonates.
Polycarbonates contain BPA, also referred to as bisphenol-A.
BPA is highly toxic and has been banned from use in most plastic products by both the European Union and Canada.

Food safe plastics you can use in your kitchen, and elsewhere in the home.

Food-safe plastics? Perhaps it would be more accurate to call them safer plastics.
But given that our homes are literally filled with plastics, including many of the building materials in the building itself, it is reasonable to focus on getting rid of only those plastics which are known or suspected threats to our health.
These plastics are BPA-free, phthalates-free and PVC-free.

Safe Plastic # 1 – Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET or PETE)
This is the plastic typically used in most clear pop bottles and water bottles. As far as anyone knows, these are safe, and there is no migration of dangerous chemicals into your drinks.
That said, these bottles are designed one-time use only and should not be used over and over again, as there is a danger of bacterial build-up on the plastic.
Safe Plastic #2 – High Density Polyethyline (HDPE)
HDPE is used in a wide range of containers and bottles, including detergent bottles, shampoo bottles and milk bottles.

Safe Plastic # 4 – Low density polyethylene (LDPE)
LDPE is used typically used in the manufacture of shopping bags, sandwich bags, some cling wrap, and the kind of plastic wrapping you get when you buy toiled paper and kitchen paper towels.
LDPE is believed to be safe, and is also used to make opaque baby bottles.
Safe Plastic #5 – Polypropylene.
This is a fairly rigid plastic and is typically used for yogurt cups, some baby bottles and some plastic cups and bowls. It is also used in disposable diapers.
There are no known dangers associated with polypropylene

Source: http://www.badplastics.com/index.html