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May 10, 2008 4:52 pm US/Mountain
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Plastic Bottles Have Some Coloradans Concerned
Written by Libby Smith, CBS4 special projects producer
LITTLETON, Colo. (CBS4) ―
There is a new little boutique in Littleton that's become very popular. Sweet Beginnings is the only store in Colorado selling "Green to Grow" bottles for babies. They are a bisphenol-a and pfthalate free product that new parents are searching for.
"For the quick month that I've been open, I have sold out of "Green to Grow" bottles," Sweet Beginnings director, Michelle Parks, told CBS4.
She says she's done extensive research to come up with products that will be safe for newborns, and her customers are responding. New father Ibon Izupieta bought new bottles at Sweet Beginnings after learning about the connection between bisphenoal-a or BPA and health problems.
"We need to be careful about what we're doing because the chemicals in the bottles will affect the babies," Izupieta said.
He's referring to a recent government warning that BPA exposure can cause neurological and behavioral problems in babies, along with some cancers, diabetes and obesity. The 12-member expert panel making the recommendation included doctors and researchers from universities, the federal government, the American Cancer Society, and the drug companies Pfizer and Schering-Plough.
The panels findings include "some" concern that BPA causes neural and behavioral effects in infants, and "minimal" concern that it leads to early puberty.
"Studies have indicated that bits can leach out, yes," said Dr. Mark Anderson, professor of chemistry at University of Colorado at Denver.
Excessive heating and cooling of the bottles leads the plastic to break down and the chemicals to leach out.
"Looks like it's on the part per billion, which is not a whole heck of a lot," Anderson added.
The debate among scientists is whether the minimal amounts of BPA coming off plastic is harmful to humans. Dr. Anderson says that bisphenol-a was identified at a hormone replacement in the 1930s. He says introducing it into an infant's system when their bodies are still developing could be harmful.
"So the bisphenol-a could mimic a hormone and potentially change the developmental cycle."
But as adults he feels the impact is negligible. Bisphenol-a is not only found in plastics like water bottles and food containers, but it's also in CDs, DVDs, epoxies, canned foods and a lot of other products.
"It would be difficult to eliminate all interaction with bisphenol-a."
Dr. Anderson does recommend taking some precautions, like not exposing plastic bottles to high temperatures, don't leave liquids in them for extended periods of time, and don't wash them with bleach.
Fort Collins resident Kira Andres thinks the health risks are too high. She wants to get rid of her water bottles containing BPA.
"For me, a water bottle isn't worth a potential health risk," Andres told CBS4.
She's worried about what happens next to all the unwanted plastic bottles.
"One of the reasons I bought these bottles was to be environmental and not to be throwing things in a landfill, but now you can see all these bottles and where are they going to go? Right now their only destination, unless we do something about it, is the landfill," Andres added.
She is trying to do something about it. Andres hopes to put together a community wide collection and recycling effort in Fort Collins. She's working with local businesses, recyclers, and city agencies to put together an effort that will turn unwanted water bottles into new durable products that are not toxic.
"Everybody wins when you do this. It saves money and makes money for everybody along the way."
Additional Resources
• Read
Dr. Dave's Blog for more on this topic.
Here is a list of recycling companies that tell CBS4 they take #7 plastics:
-- Waste Management Recycle America (Denver only), trir.com
-- G&S Mountain Recyclers
-- City of Westminster
-- Alamosa Recycling Center
-- Eagle Waste Services
-- Angle of Shavano Recycling (Chaffee County)
-- Chaffee County Landfill Drop-off Site (Chaffee County)
-- Upper Arkansas Recycling Chafee County Landfill (Chaffee County)
-- Best Way Disposal Transfer Site (Colorado Springs)
-- US Waste Transfer Station (Colorado Springs)
-- City of Glenwood Springs
-- Western Waste Company (Montrose)
-- High Country Conservation Center
-- City of Hayden
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