Comments on: Is it Plastic? Find the Answers, Win a Prize

By: Peggy

Peggy — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:29:24 +0000

Thanks, Beth, for all the information.

I am especially interested in silicone, because it seems to be everywhere now.
The other day I was in a kitchen goods store. It seemed everything in there was coated in silicone- baking pans, baking sheets. It’s the new Teflon.
If it’s not recyclable or biodegradable, I’m not sure it’s any improvement over oil-based plastics. And undoubtedly it has colorants and other chemicals in it, too.

By: Jude

Jude — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 22:31:09 +0000

Everything listed is either plastic or has appreciable amounts of plastics used in them …or in the case of our poor world, the top layer has far more plastic micro-particles throughout the soil & water than ever should be in it. Contact lens are definitely plastic as is almost every bit of confetti & glitter. That shiny metallic looking finish is not metal but plastic.

People don’t clue in that when they read of something made of resin, it’s just a form of plastic. And polyester? C’mon, people – that’s plastic too. Polyester threads are exuded from very fine holes as a liquid plastic that hardens on contact with air. Those ‘wonderful’ microfibre cloths are just more plastic & all that plastic lint ends up in our soil & water. Plastics come in a mind-numbing number of forms that most people have no idea of.

By: S

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 17:30:47 +0000

Brilliant idea, Debra!!! I’ll be collecting compost in milk cartons from now on.

By: Erin

Erin — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 17:53:48 +0000

I “liked” your Facebook page. Thanks!

By: Molly

Molly — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 15:29:31 +0000

Meltdowns themselves are not plastic, but they frequently come with plastic accessories, like pints of ice cream. I think it depends on how you “treat” your meltdown.

By: claire

claire — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 08:56:47 +0000

1) silicone is technically a polymer (ie., plastic) just not an oil-based one. it still won’t biodegrade, as far as I’ve heard, but is considered to be more “inert” as far as its environmental effects go
2) tetra-paks do contain layers of plastic, along with layers of paper and aluminum
3) your lemonade carton has a plastic lining on the inside (I have not seen these made with wax in a long time), not only the spout is plastic (which, yes, it is). and seemingly the composting company doesn’t care about plastic in their compost?
4) magazines with that glossy paper aren’t typically plastic coated (if there’s a plastic coated page it will be really rigid and you can actually see the plastic if you rip it), usually they’re coated with corn-based sprays to make them shiny (this is according to “the omnivore’s dilemma”).
5) books like text books might have a plastic coating on the cover (I seem to have a memory of one with peeling plastic), or some might use the same stuff magazines use.
6) confetti could be either plastic or paper, I’m not sure if they use foil or not. if it’s shiny it’s likely plastic. if you crease it and it turns a lighter color on the dent, it’s plastic.
7) glitter is usually plastic, but was traditionally made with mica or pieces of metal. if you use glitter makeup (or any makeup, really!), check the ingredients, it might also say “silica” which is essentially stone.
8) shiny doodads? I’d say they’re probably plastic. usually the way to determine whether something is paper or plastic involves destroying it (by ripping, creasing, or using water) and you probably don’t want to wreck your invitations.
9) meltdowns are entirely NOT plastic (unless you were to speak literally of “melting down” plastic), they’re part of your brain which is (hopefully) completely plastic free, unless you have some kind of implant.
10) our planet is only part plastic (an ever-increasing part), but it’s also made of lots of other things, so let’s focus on those.

By: Clif

Clif — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 02:25:11 +0000

Ruchi, I think previous comments have answered your specific questions. I’d like to add that it isn’t necessarily the fact that something is plastic that makes it not a good idea to use it.

The over-riding issue is – does the material have bad effects? The preference for natural materials comes from their proven characteristics that have allowed them to exist without being contaminants, or not breaking down, or leaching into places they can do harm.

But even 100% natural things can cause problems if there is too much of them in one place or if they are put into conditions that will cause them to change character or mix with other substances to produce unwanted results. Ice is all-natural but would you want a ton of it in your house, melting into a mess? Lye is all-natural but woe to the person who drinks it!

Because plastic is so darned cheap to make, can take an infinite number of forms and is readily created from the ocean of petroleum underground, it’s a safe bet that almost anything these days is plastic unless proven otherwise.

As Beth has proven, you have to go out of your way to get non-plastic for just about any purpose. She does so because she has a goal that is not driven by cost. She sees the problems with plastic and makes her purchases with that in mind.

But think of a company doing business. Why would it go out of its way (and run up expenses) to seek out some specific natural material with certain qualities when it can contract a plastic maker to create the desired qualities from a common source – oil. It’s like having a magic box where you just set the dials for what you want, pour in a cup of oil and out comes your item.

We’re overwhelmed with plastic because it is cheap and omni-functional, the ultimate designer material. The problems hit us (and other life on Earth) over a period of years.

Tomorrow is uncertain, no matter what, so there is a strong drive to have what is wanted now, to make it real in our hands, in our kitchens, in our lives in general, and place the possible consequences, the possible downside in that huge, virtually invisible bin called “the future”

By: rivqa

rivqa — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 01:40:58 +0000

Re the contacts. I wear glasses as my current level of astigmatism can’t be corrected by contacts. I’m hoping that one day I’ll be able to afford laser vision correction, but in the meantime I only get new glasses (which seem to have plastic lenses these days) when I really need them. However when I did wear contacts I was using ones that lasted for a month, which is surely better than the ones that can only be worn once.

As for silicones generally, silicon is an interesting element that shares many properties with carbon (it’s in the next row down on the periodic table). Both can form a wide variety of materials. That’s why sand and flexible polymers can both be silicon-based.

By: Majeeda

Majeeda — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 00:54:35 +0000

Hi there, nice post Ruchi :)

People have most likely answered most of these but I’ll do a few for fun :)

1) Plastic or no? My silicone contact lenses?
If they are really silicon then no, they aren’t plastic as silicon is not a plastic. Whether silicon is ok or not is another questions altogether. It’s meant to be ‘inert’ but I now prefer not to cook with it.

2) Plastic or no? The tetra-pak soy milk?
Yes, those defo contain plastic.

3) Plastic or no? The non-tetra pak lemonade carton?
Not sure about those…I can’t think of which you mean.

Side note, I’m assuming that the little spouty thing on the lemonade carton is plastic even if the body isn’t?
Yup

Side note two, why do they have the little spouty things on everything these days? Is it because of that Friends episode where Joey couldn’t open a milk carton?
lol re Friends.

Side note three, according to the not-very-helpful pictures on my compost bin, I’m still allowed to compost the lemonade carton. How am I able to do that if the spouty thing is plastic?
They remove it at the recycling sorting stage as far as I know.

Side note four, why can’t SF recology make better pictures?

4) Plastic or no? My magazines?
I want an answer on this question too :D

5) Plastic or no? The glossy stuff on books?
Me thinks, yes.

6) Plastic or no? Confetti?
The confetti I know is paper…pls tell me plastic confetti is not being made :O

7) Plastic or no? Glitter?

8) Plastic or no? See the theme here with the confetti and the glitter is we ordered our wedding invitations recently. And they are super beautiful (and cloth). But they also have little doodads on them and I have no idea if they are plastic or not. Probably you have no idea if they are plastic or not either (at least not without looking at them.) How am I supposed to tell if little shiny things on my invitations are plastic or not?!
It’s hard isn’t it? *sigh*

9) Plastic or no? Meltdowns? (This is more of an existential question.)
Well some of the meltdowns I have seen must be plastic because they were extremely toxic!! Lol. Great question and pls lets all try and remain calm.

10) Plastic or no? Our planet?
It will be soon if we aren’t careful. ):

By: Gayle

Gayle — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 00:27:13 +0000

1) My silicone contact lenses? Yes, since they are packaged in plastic to get them.
2)The tetra-pak soy milk? Yes, lined with Plastic
3) The non-tetra pak lemonade carton? Yes, lining.
4) My magazines? Yes, when they are wrapped in plastic to mail them. No if they are not wrapped.
5) The glossy stuff on books? Yes, but sometimes they use a from of clay.
6) Confetti? Plastic if you get it in the craft stores
7) Glitter? Yes
8) See the theme here with the confetti and the glitter is we ordered our wedding invitations recently. And they are super beautiful (and cloth). But they also have little doodads on them and I have no idea if they are plastic or not. Probably you have no idea if they are plastic or not either (at least not without looking at them.) How am I supposed to tell if little shiny things on my invitations are plastic or not?! Trick question but I’m guessing yes.
9) Plastic or no? Meltdowns? (This is more of an existential question.) Nope, unless I solve them with reese’s cups.
10) Our planet? Yes, since we are wasting ours with all the crap we waste .