In the late 1980s, the Society of the Plastics Industry implemented a coding system to classify plastic containers by their chemical properties to make sorting easier for recycling. Today these codes are also used to help assess the possible safety risk of certain plastic bottles.
Types
Resin codes range from 1 to 7. Water bottles are generally classified as 1 for Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), 2 for High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), or 7 for Other.
Warning
Some plastic water bottles classified as number 7 (Other) contain an industrial chemical compound, used to harden plastic, known as Bisphenol A (BPA). Research is still ongoing but concerns have been raised that BPA may produce toxic side effects.
Other Considerations
The chemical polyethylene terephthalate in code 1 plastic water bottles is a crude-oil derivative. It's estimated that an annual 17 million barrels of oil are used in the production of PET water bottles. In addition to this, disposable plastic bottles in general account for a projected 2 million tons of the waste in our landfills.
Alternatives
One of the more health-safe, environmentally friendly, plastic water bottle choices currently available is a reusable HDPE water bottle. Look for code 2 on the bottom of the bottle.
Benefits
Reusable and health safe plastic water bottles not only reduce the amount of plastic bottles that end up in our landfills, it can also save you money.
