Many people are concerned about plastic safety ...

Is PET plastic safe?

Almost all single-use bottled water is packaged in PET (Type-1) plastic, which is the most common plastic used for food and beverage packaging. PET plastic is resistant to heat, mineral oils, solvents and acids. It is also impermeable to carbonation in addition to being strong, light, impact-resistant, transparent and completely recyclable. Plus, it doesn't impart a taste to its contents, like aluminum cans or metal bottles do. 2

All major health-safety authorities have reviewed and cleared PET plastic as safe for both single and repeated use. These agencies have also tested PET bottles and found no harmful substances in either new or re-used PET bottles. 4

Consumers can be confident that PET bottles are perfectly safe for repeated use. The perception that washing, refilling and reusing a PET bottle will cause the bottle to degrade or release harmful substances is simply not true. 4

In addition, drinking water from a PET bottle that has been left in a hot car, frozen, used more than once, or repeatedly washed and rinsed does not pose any health risk from the plastic itself. 6

 

 

What about plastic leaching and BPA?

 

Many people have heard of problems with harmful substances leaching out of plastic bottles. This was brought to attention when unhealthy levels of BPA (bisphenol-A) was found to be leaching out of polycarbonate (Type-7) hardened plastic bottles, such as baby bottles, some reusable bottles (both plastic and metal) and 5 gallon water delivery bottles. Fortunately, many of these sources have now changed their composition to remove the offending BPA and are clearly labeled as BPA-free. 2, 8

The good news is that this scare is completely unrelated to single-use plastic water bottles.
All of these bottles are made from PET (Type-1) plastic that does not contain BPA.3

 

 

"Consumers are confusing two different plastics. Unfortunately many consumers and media reports have confused polycarbonate (Type-7) with polyethylene terephthalate, which is PET (Type-1). We want the public to know that PET does not contain any BPA and never has. Although the names of the two plastics may sound somewhat similar, they are chemically different."
– Ralph Vasami, Executive Director of PET Resin Association 3

"The research available today suggests that PET does not leach chemicals into the water, unlike many other types of plastic. PET is widely considered to be one of the safest forms of plastic for food packaging, and few credible studies have ever claimed to find a risk of leaching."

– Peter H. Gleick, President of the Pacific Institute
Author of Bottled & Sold: The story behind our obsession with bottled water 2

Some people may have heard about the leaching of antimony. Here's what we found: "Very small amounts of antimony compounds are used in the production of PET plastic as well as glass. Numerous studies have been conducted on antimony levels in PET-bottled water under the most extreme and adverse test conditions. No study has ever found toxic amounts of antimony in water bottled in PET." 6

What about bacterial contamination?

As it turns out, a common problem with reusing a PET bottle is the potential for contamination on the mouth of the bottle itself. Since its tight threads are nearly impossible to clean and sterilize, the bottle's narrow neck can easily collect debris and become a breeding ground for bacteria and other germs. (Think how quickly lip balm or lipstick can adhere to a bottle's threads, for example.)

"If there is any risk from PET reuse, it probably comes from bacterial contamination since the bottles' narrow necks make them hard to clean."
– Sheryl Eisenberg
National Resource Defense Council 7

"Your mouth leaves a film that harbors bacteria, and the [single-use] bottle's narrow mouth makes it hard to clean."

– Kellogg Schwab Director
Center for Water and Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

 

 

 

 

 

Enter Eco DrinkShield, the first - and only – dishwasher-safe removable mouthpiece that fits most regular PET plastic bottles. By keeping the threaded mouth area sterile (that is, by washing the Eco DrinkShield in the dishwasher), you're by far and away eliminating the biggest concern of PET bottle reuse.

 

It's a practical solution for all the reasons we should be reusing our bottles.

 

 

 

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