6 Common Items with Hidden Plastic in Them

Guest Blog by: Holly Prievo of The Guilty Granola

Hidden Plastic… in my food?

“BPA-free Plastic Liner,” read the inside lid of the chickpeas I had just opened.

“Wait.  What?”

BPA

Let me explain a little about BPA. BPA (bisphenol-A) is a chemical that is used to strengthen plastic. And it’s in a lot of things.

The problem is that it can negatively impact human health. It mimics estrogen, and it can impact hormonal functions.  Aggression, depression, and hyperactivity have been shown to increase in children born to mothers with higher levels of BPA. BPA can impact growth, fertility, and mood, and even cause diabetes, obesity, and cancer.

If you want to learn more about BPA, Healthline provides a great summary on various findings of BPA -related studies.

Aluminum Food Cans:

So, back to my chickpeas. 

I learned that BPA liners are being used in canned foods when I read that my chickpeas didn’t have a BPA liner.  It’s so common, my chickpeas had to announce they weren’t using BPA in their liner.

So, I’m safe right? At least with my chickpeas?

Not necessarily.

Because there is a lot of controversy around BPA, manufacturers have started to use it less.  That should feel like a win, right? The problem is products like my chickpeas can claim BPA-free to ease the minds of consumers…but that doesn’t mean they are free of toxins.

In fact, it just means we swapped toxins, and only slightly. Now other bisphenols, like BPF, and BPS, are being used instead of BPA; they have similar traits in binding and strengthening other compounds, so they work wonderfully for the manufacturers. And they can say “BPA-free” to meet consumer demands.

But, because they are so similar, their structure is like BPA, meaning it mimics estrogen the same way.  So, it causes the same hormonal impact.

So, yay! for avoiding BPA, and boooo on the fact that we just gave the issue a different name.  Literally. 

The best way to avoid hidden plastics, such as these BPA-impersonating plastics found in aluminum cans?  Eat frozen, dried, or fresh foods as much as possible, avoiding canned beans, vegetables, meat, and soups.

Soda Cans:

It should come as no surprise that soda cans are also lined with plastic.  Check out this unsettling video of the aluminum covering disintegrating to reveal the plastic liner that doesn’t break down. 

Best thing to do here is to avoid soda (seriously, it’s terrible for you anyway). Or, if you really love soda, and can’t live without it, try a soda stream and soda concentrate!  I keep saying I’m going to get one to make seltzer, but I haven’t yet, so admittedly, there is a little hypocrisy from this guilty granola by suggesting that.  But please tell me if you’ve stopped dragging your feet before I do.  Do you have one?  Do you love it?

Receipts:

Yes, your ‘paper’ receipts are probably packing BPA, or one of its replacements, BPS or BPF.  This is because it’s printed on ‘thermal’ paper, which requires a coating that changes color when exposed to heat.  And, you guessed it; that coating uses BPA, or another bisphenol type.

Research shows that handling receipts is just as precarious as drinking from soda cans because the bisphenol is ‘free’- not locked into another compound. And our skin absorbs the hormone-disrupting chemical.

Best action to take?  Say no to the receipt when you’re at a gas pump, or the ATM, or if a checkout clerk offers it to you.  If they print it and try to hand it to you, have them put it in the bag. 

Beyond BPA: Where Else is Hidden Plastic?

I’m sorry to say, but hidden plastic has infiltrated every corner and crevice of the earth.  It’s in everything, even chewing gum!

Plastic in your Clothing:

Do you own any clothes that have polyester, nylon, or acrylic on the fabric tag?

Then, you’re wearing plastic.

Plastic is increasingly appearing in our wardrobes.

The worst part about this is that clothing creates these tiny microfibers that break free from your clothes during wash and get flushed into the environment.  From there, they make it to the sea.  And then, they enter our food chain.  

So, you could be eating your own pants.

Since plastic doesn’t organically break down, and serves no purpose in the natural environment, we have to come up with ways to repurpose what already exists. A few clothing companies are doing just that- recovering plastic waste and repurposing it as fabric.  Check out these clothing brands that are turning plastic waste into products that basically store plastic in a functional manner.

I struggle with this a little, envisioning millions of little microfibers from these recycled plastic shirts entering the sea and being swallowed up by aquatic wildlife. But if this plastic isn’t captured and repurposed, it’s going to break down into microplastic anyway.  So, it’s far better than manufacturing new plastic and does recover large amounts of existing waste.

So, you can avoid virgin plastic (which is really the goal) by saying no to synthetic materials.  Look for natural materials like wool, linen, and cotton.  And you may consider giving some recycled plastic clothing brands a try!

Hidden Plastic in Cigarette Butts

I have a smoker friend.  She’s always really good about picking up her butts, which I’m grateful for. 

But not everyone is.

In fact, cigarette butts are the most common trash in the world.

One day she came running in and said, “Birds use cigarette butts to line their nests to deter predators!” (She always finds weird facts like this and shares them with me.)

I assumed she was trying to ease my mind about the conversation we had earlier regarding those other smokers that can’t seem to find the ashtray and leave their cigarette butts all over sidewalks and entry ways. Like the birds would all take care of them.

I had to break it to her then. “Well, remember our other conversation about plastic?” (We’re always talking environmental.)  “Cigarette butts have plastic in them.”

A study done by Keep America Beautiful found that 77% of Americans don’t consider butts to be litter.  (Mind blowing!) 

But I guess that’s because they think: “The birds will use them; they’ll get blown away because they are small; they’ll break down because the filters are made from cotton.”  But they’re not made from just cotton. 

And I don’t think I have to tell you how to avoid this.  But at least you can let your smoker friends know that their butts are NOT organic materials and are in fact LITTER. 

Hidden Plastic in Wet Wipes

Last year I did a tour of our local water sanitation station.  This poor team- they were thrilled to have someone to talk to about these wipes!  They couldn’t stress enough that they were the absolute worst guest in the sewage treatment center.  (Think on that.  The worst guest?  At a sewage station?!)

Wet wipes are not meant to be flushed down the toilet, even if they say ‘flushable.’  Sure, they are flushable, like your kids’ legos, or your car key (my friend I mentioned earlier did that, actually.  She’s getting featured a lot here.)  But they shouldn’t be flushed.  They clog drains, end up in the ocean, and are made from plastic.

The same plastic that some of your clothing is made from!  

And you wouldn’t flush your shirt down the toilet, right?

So, my advice, stop using these.  Your sanitation crew will thank you.  If you’re butt-wiping babies, I get it.  Not much else you can do here unless you want to use reusable rags.  (Hey, people do it.  Good for them!)

Otherwise, get a bidet.  And if you are hooked on wet wipes, just toss them in the trash, and not down the toilet.  

Looking for more on hidden plastic?  Check out my blog “The Surprising Places Where Plastics Hang Out.” 

Holly Prievo is a freelance sustainability product marketer and copywriter, and author of The Guilty Granola sustainable lifestyle blog. The Guilty Granola refers to those of us who accept our imperfections and mistakes on our personal journey to make the world a better place through our own sustainable habits and choices. Please join us!