Reminder...

Email us at fightingfootprints@gmail.com between now and Sunday February 15th to tell us how you use and recycle (or not) plastics in your life, and our most loved entry will win a green-inspired gift!

Solutions to the current BPA bombardment....

Is BPA the only harmful product in plastics?

Any plastic when heated is definitely NOT A GOOD THING, for the ozone layer, or yourself or children. Absolutely never ever microwave plastics or use your stove to heat food with plastics….. lol…. I would like to see you try…. (just kidding, don’t try it for everyone’s sake, :P). We have stopped using plastic containers for food, and with the availability of glass food storage containers these days, it is quite easy to find simple solutions to this problem. As well, we don’t buy water bottles made from plastic anymore because even when they are sitting in a car in the sun, they have the potential to leak carcinogenic substances into your drink. Yuck!

And always remember, not only are these products harmful directly to our bodies, but as they say in advertisements, these products also sit in landfills forever and ever more. If the harm for your body is not motivation enough to think about this…. Maybe the landfill story is (for any of you who saw WALL-E, do we really want to get to that point…)?

Today’s topic: BPA, what’s the deal?

We set out this week to learn about the harm of different kinds of plastics, and with all of the “hullabaloo” around BPA lately, we thought this would be a great place to start!

BPA (Bisphenol A) can mimic the body’s hormones and possibly (more possibly than ever thought before) can cause negative health effects. Concerns are that long term low dose exposure to BPA can cause chronic toxicity in humans. Chronic toxicity can lead to diseases such as cancer, liver disease, kidney failure, reproductive organ dysfunction, heart disease, diabetes, and other malignancies. Do we really wanna risk it? So this is the reason that there has been such a popular “hype” around BPA lately. BPA has been known to leach from plastic linings of canned foods and in plastics that are cleaned with detergents (so…. Putting plastics such as cottage cheese containers into the dishwasher and then reusing them as food containers will allow BPA to leach into stored foods once washed…. Simple solution: Instead of reusing them for food storage, recycle!).


Where can we find BPA?

Types 1,2,4,5,6 DO NOT USE BPA DURING PRODUCTION OR PACKAGING!
HOWEVER, TYPES 7 AND 3 CAN CONTAIN BPA. ‘
Every company that produces plastic does it their own way, so we recommend simply being cautious of how you use plastic in your lives.

Email us at fightingfootprints@gmail.com between now and Sunday February 1st to tell us how you use and recycle (or not) plastics in your life, and our most loved entry will win a green-inspired gift!

Love Heather and Chanel

Symbol Cheat Sheet...

To help us remember those pesky symbols, here is a cheat sheet for the fridge... Print er'off and put it up!

Plastic plastic….. completely spastic!

So after a bit of research on the world wide web, this is what we came up with regarding some more info on plastics, their codes, and their impacts:

Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET, PETE)

PET is clear, tough, and has good gas and moisture barrier properties. This resin is commonly used in beverage bottles and many injection-molded consumer product containers. Cleaned, recycled PET flakes and pellets are in great demand for spinning fiber for carpet yarns, producing fiberfill and geo-textiles. Nickname: Polyester.

Clear and smooth surfaces for oriented films and bottles
Excellent barrier to oxygen, water, and carbon dioxide
High impact capability and shatter resistance
Excellent resistance to most solvents
Capability for hot-filling
Plastic bottles for soft drinks, water, juice, sports drinks, beer, mouthwash, catsup and salad dressing.
Food jars for peanut butter, jelly, jam and pickles.
Microwavable food trays.
In addition to packaging, PET’s major uses are textiles, carpet, strapping, films, and engineering moldings.
Fiber for carpet, fleece jackets, comforter fill, and tote bags.
Containers for food, beverages (bottles), and non-food items.
Film and sheet.
Strapping.

High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)

HDPE is used to make many types of
bottles. Unpigmented bottles are translucent, have good barrier properties and stiffness, and are well suited to packaging products with a short shelf life such as milk. Because HDPE has good chemical resistance, it is used for packaging many household and industrial chemicals such as detergents and bleach. Pigmented HDPE bottles have better stress crack resistance than unpigmented HDPE.
Excellent resistance to most solvents
Higher tensile strength compared to other forms of polyethylene
Relatively stiff material with useful temperature capabilities
Bottles for milk, water, juice, cosmetics, shampoo, dish and laundry detergents, and household cleaners.
Bags for groceries and retail purchases.
Cereal box liners.
Reusable shipping containers.
In addition to packaging, HDPE’s major uses are in injection molding applications, extruded pipe and conduit, plastic wood composites, and wire and cable covering.
Bottles for non-food items, such as shampoo, conditioner, liquid laundry detergent, household cleaners, motor oil and antifreeze.
Plastic lumber for outdoor decking, fencing and picnic tables.
Pipe, floor tiles, buckets, crates, flower pots, garden edging, film and sheet, and recycling bins.


Type 3 Plastic (has a 3 in the triangle)

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC, Vinyl)

In addition to its stable physical properties, PVC has good chemical resistance, weatherability, flow characteristics and stable electrical properties. The diverse slate of vinyl products can be broadly divided into rigid and flexible materials.
High impact strength, brilliant clarity
Resistance to grease, oil and chemicals
Rigid packaging applications include blister packs and clamshells.
Flexible packaging uses include bags for bedding and medical, shrink wrap, deli and meet wrap and tamper resistance.
In addition to packaging, PVC’s major uses are rigid applications such as pipe, siding, window frames, fencing, decking and railing. Flexible applications include medical products such as blood bags and medical tubing, wire and cable insulation, carpet backing, and flooring.
Pipe, decking, fencing, paneling, gutters, carpet backing, floor tiles and mats, resilient flooring, mud flaps, cassette trays, electrical boxes, cables, traffic cones, garden hose, and mobile home skirting.

Packaging, film and sheet, and loose-leaf binders.



Type 4 Plastic (has a 4 in the triangle)

Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE)

LDPE is used predominately in film applications due to its toughness, flexibility and relative transparency, making it popular for use in applications where heat sealing is necessary. LDPE also is used to manufacture some flexible lids and bottles as well as in wire and cable applications.
Includes Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE).
Excellent resistance to acids, bases and vegetable oils
Toughness, flexibility and relative transparency (good combination of properties for packaging applications requiring heat-sealing)
Bags for dry cleaning, newspapers, bread, frozen foods, fresh produce, and household garbage.
Shrink wrap and stretch film.
Coatings for paper milk cartons and hot and cold beverage cups.
Container lids.
Toys.
Squeezable bottles (e.g., honey and mustard).
In addition to packaging, LDPE’s major uses are in injection molding applications, adhesives and sealants, and wire and cable coverings.
Shipping envelopes, garbage can liners, floor tile, paneling, furniture, film and sheet, compost bins, trash cans, landscape timber, and outdoor lumber.



Type 5 Plastic (has a 5 in the triangle)

Polypropylene (PP)

PP has good chemical resistance, is strong, and has a high melting point making it good for hot-fill liquids. This resin is found in flexible and rigid packaging, fibers, and large molded parts for automotive and consumer products.
Excellent optical clarity and stretch blow molded containers
Low moisture vapor transmission
Inertness toward
Containers for yogurt, margarine, takeout meals, and deli foods.
Medicine bottles.
Bottle caps and closures.
Bottles for catsup and syrup.
In addition to packaging, PP’s major uses are in fibers, appliances.
Automobile applications, such as battery cases, signal lights, battery cables, brooms and brushes, ice scrapers, oil funnels, and bicycle racks.
Garden rakes, storage bins, shipping pallets, sheeting, trays.



Type 6 Plastic (has a 6 in the triangle)

Polystyrene (PS)

PS is a versatile plastic that can be rigid or foamed. General purpose polystyrene is clear, hard and brittle. It has a relatively low melting point. Typical applications include protective packaging, foodservice packaging, bottles, and food containers.
PS is often combined with rubber to make high impact polystyrene (HIPS) which is used for packaging and durable applications requiring toughness, but not clarity.
Excellent moisture barrier for short shelf life products
Excellent optical clarity in general purpose form
Significant stiffness in both foamed and rigid forms.

Food service items, such as cups, plates, bowls, cutlery, hinged takeout containers (clamshells), meat and poultry trays, and rigid food containers (e.g., yogurt). These items may be made with foamed or non-foamed PS.
Protective foam packaging for furniture, electronics and other delicate items.
Packing peanuts, known as “loose fill.”
Compact disc cases and aspirin bottles.
In addition to packaging, PS’s major uses are in agricultural trays, electronic housings, cable spools, building insulation, video cassette cartridges, coat hangers, and medical products and toys.
Thermal insulation, thermometers, light switch plates, vents, desk trays, rulers, and license plate frames.
Cameras or video cassette casings.
Foamed foodservice applications, such as egg shell cartons.
Plastic mouldings (i.e., wood replacement products).
Expandable polystyrene (EPS) foam protective packaging.



Other

Use of this code indicates that a package is made with a resin other than the six listed above, or is made of more than one resin and used in a multi-layer combination.
Dependent on resin or combination of resins
Three- and five-gallon reusable water bottles, some citrus juice and catsup bottles.
Oven-baking bags, barrier layers, and custom packaging.
Bottles and plastic lumber applications


Although all plastics are fabricated and will sit in landfills for extended periods of time if not forever, there is more to come about the degree of harmfulness and impact on the environment.

Chanel and Heather

Note: Most of the information in this entry was from a website called CRI (Container Recycling Institute) http://www.container-recycling.org/plastic_facts.htm

The continuation of one (mugs)... beginning of another (bottles)!

BPA to the beebop! Nevermind... DON'T be beebopping to BPA or other plastic bottles this week!

This week we are setting out to discuss how we can be informed consumers when it comes to products packaged in plastic bottles.

BPA-free bottles is the new rage, and this week we are determined to find out exactly what is BPA? HDPE? PETE? And why are they harmful to us and the environment? What do those pesky codes on the bottom of plastic products actually mean? Are they meant to be understood by commoners like us? Tonnnnnes of questions, so little time!

We feel plastic has multiple negatives because of it's harm to our environment (accumulation in landfills, etc.) and because of it's impact on our bodies. This is why we are setting out to explore this topic in detail instead of blindly following the trends...

Do you make a conscious effort to avoid BPA, etc products, or plastic bottles in general? To get us started, we need to know what products you use to carry food, water, and others in... Are you on the Glass, Aluminum, Stainless train? Let us know why!

This week will hopefully be informative... please learn along with us!

Here is an earth shattering stat to get us started (literally, it may shatter the earth):

• 3% of household plastic bottles are currently recycled (that means 97% ARE NOT and are sitting in our landfills)

More to come, stay tuned!

Heather and Chanel... ggg... girls going green (or trying to at least)

Keep up the cups!

So this week although we are not perfect we improved significantly... from the poll results we extrapolated that you are much more advanced in your usage of travel mugs than us! Congrats! Felicitations!

We are going to make a conscious effort to remind ourselves and each other to monitor our consumption of paper, plastic, and Styrofoam products. Hopefully eventually this practice will become second nature and be ingrained in our lifestyles without having to think about it!
Thanks for travel-mugging it with us this week.... hoo hahaha..... and now for our next trick.....

Hey... how has the week progressed? We can safely say that going for coffee with our travel mugs (or drinking from a mug in the coffee shop) was different, and although it was a bit inconvenient, it really paid off in the end, and we can only imagine if everyone made an effort to do this, how many non-renewable resources would be conserved or left alone! It's un-believable to imagine the amount that we can conserve by doing such a simple thing!
We hope you tuned in and joined us in our challenge this week. There are many more tips and tricks to come stay tuned for more information! We will be posting our next challenge Sunday!

Chanel & Heather

Mid-Week Check...

So how’s it going with reusable mug’s and bottle’s this week? I can HONESTLY say I am doing OK…haa haa… It’s not easy for a hard-core-coffee-drinker like myself… let’s just say I have not only cut back on using disposable cups… I have cut back on my coffee consumption toooo bc. I didn't have a mug. A couple times I even thought about buying another re-usable mug... but NO no no… that could become a bad habit haa ha. So the only slip up (thus far), if you can call it one, has been that a friend brought me a coffee today and it was NOT in a mug (understandable), but I did recycled the cup. So keep it up everyone, and let us know how you did at the end of the week!
Here’s another though… Reusable mugs do more than just affect the environment positively – they also save both coffee houses and coffee drinkers money. The coffee houses save on packaging costs (cups) and the consumers sometimes pays less at the till (you do at Timmy’s :)

Reminder...

So how's everyone doing? Remember No Plastic, No Styrofoam, No Paper... Only travel mugs and bottles (BPA free?!)... We Can do it!

Each year, more than 90% of water bottle end up as garbage... that's 9 out of 10!

30 million discarded plastic bottles each day - & more than 10 billion a year.... UNBELIEVABLE... but true, let's Fight the Footprint!

Sincerely, Heather

Mocha-Capp-Espresso-Latte Creations!

If you're one for the decadently fancy cafe's, do I ever have an idea for you!
For Christmas I got a cappuccino maker, and although it’s a bite in the butt at first, we figured it out and 1 month of making coffee at home will recover our costs! That’s UNBELIEVABLE! Added bonus: we’re not using plastic, Styrofoam, or paper cups! If you are a deal-a-holic (ie. an individual who becomes ecstatic upon finding a sale, deal, or great price for a product they are (or are not) searching for), there are many specials and sales to be found when hunting down a cappuccino/espresso maker (The Bay, Home Outfitters, and Sears have frequent sales on these products, and offer significant discounts :P).
Instead of going for coffee with friends, I have them over most times, and we enjoy an intimate specialty coffee in the quiet and comfort of my living room, with a lot less wasted time, money, and resources.
Over the holidays, we managed to perfect the White Chocolate Mocha from Starbucks…. and saved a tonnne of moola! Everyone wins, especially moi, as I am sitting on my couch with a caramel latte enjoying the morning paper in peace!

Sincerely, Chanel

25 000,000,000 Styrofoam cups!... ugg

As coffee and tea junkies, we continually find ourselves consuming Styrofoam and plastic cups when going for coffee. We are the first to admit that we are not always ready to hand over our travel mugs to be filled with the deliciously sweet nectar that we find ourselves so addicted to! We calculated the amount of Styrofoam, paper, and plastic cups that we use on average per week, and the shameful number we came up with: at least 20 per week! Yiiiiikes! We are only 2 of the millions of people who pick up coffee-to-go on a daily basis!

Our commitment this week: to carry our travel mugs with us to Starbucks and Timmy’s. We figure it won’t be that difficult, but it will have a HUGE impact in the end. Join us during this experience as we try to improve our lifestyles one step at a time. Fighting our footprint!

Fact: Every year Canadians throw away 25, 000,000,000 styrofoam cups, enough every year to circle the earth 436 times!

Unbelievable! Canada alone! Let’s make a change!

Heather and Chanel

First Entry... hopefully many to come...

We're 2 girls hoping to begin the journey of living "greener", more environmentally responsible lifestyles. Without completely destroying our current lifestyle, we are making a commitment to make more consciously green changes to our daily lives! This is an experience that we would like many to join us on, making small changes one day at a time. Please join us in this adventure as we will be posting neat tips, tricks, and products that we feel will help us fight the footprint!

"Thank God we cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth" - Henry David Thoreau

Heather and Chanel