The Canadian government’s recent move to ban polycarbonate plastic baby bottles has raised a lot of concern about the use of plastic for food and drink. The attention also raised some questions about recycling plastics.
There are seven categories of plastics, indicated by a number inside a recycling symbol. The numbers go from #1 to #7. They all have a different chemical composition that ultimately determines their use.
The focus is on #7 plastic with a PC (polycarbonate) designation next to it. In some cases, all you will see is “PC”. Plastic #7 represents the mixture of all other types of plastics. The addition of PC makes for a lightweight, high-performance plastic that possesses a unique balance of toughness, dimensional stability, optical clarity, and high heat resistance. That’s why we see it in so many applications, including food containers and utensils.
The scary thing about a PC container is the addition of Bisphenol A (BPA), which is a key component of polycarbonate plastic. In a food or beverage application container, studies have shown migration of BPA into food from the container. The big controversy is, of course, how much BPA is getting into the food, and how much do we have to consume before our hormones completely shut down?
We are not going to answer that here. But let’s see how this will affect plastic recycling.
Essentially, there are no changes to current plastic packaging recycling practices. Curbside pickup and any drop off will still collect #7PC plastics no questions asked. Mixed plastics will be ground up into new #7 plastics, some of which may have a PC designation if the manufacturer adds too much polycarbonate to the #7 mix.
For informational purposes only, plastics to avoid for food and beverage type activities include #3, #6 and #7. The safest plastics to use are #1, #2, #4 and #5. However, there are concerns about the reuse of plastic packaging and the heating of plastics that contain food.
