How Plastic is Slowly Killing Us

Plastic is slowly killing us

We have all heard about BPA poisoning, but do we really know the impact that it is having on us?

The main offender is bottled water. The waste, carbon imprint and BPA poison from the plastic, make bottled water a major problem for our society.

Many of us worry about unsafe water and make a conscious choice to drink bottled water; but do you really know how clean the water is that you are drinking from bottles? Councils are required to test our water supply, yet what about the companies that produce bottled water?

Do we ever question the source of the bottled water? Has anyone other than the company bottling the water tested the water? Would you drink water from China? Some of the cheaper bottled water is coming from China.

I too was one of the many people that drank bottle water believing that it was better and cleaner for me. However I saw a film called “Tapped” (www.tappedthemovie.com) which opened my eyes to the dangers of plastic and the effect on the environment. The film was created in the USA however; it showed footage of companies using water from dams, bottling it and selling it back to people. When I saw this I asked the question; does this happen in Australia? Why wouldn’t it happen in Australia; and in reality how could we ever be 100% sure it isn’t?

I’m sure there are some honest companies however; when I see a price difference between the cheaper bottles to the more expensive ones you have to wonder.

I started researching online about bottled water and discovered that when water is stored in the plastic bottles it becomes contaminated by Bisphenol-A (BPA), which has been linked to cause cancer.

There are studies (source) stating that the chemical can promote breast cancer growth as well as decrease sperm cell growth. Yet many of us think it is much healthier to drink bottled water, and don’t even think about BPA poisoning and how that will affect us.

Plastic pollution is another problem that we are all facing throughout the planet; it takes approximately 500-700 years for plastic to break down. Many plastic bottles are just thrown away and we see them as litter everywhere. Only a small percentage is recycled and each day large numbers of plastic bottles are disposed into our environment. To see some images of the effects of plastic poisoning click here. (http://www.bpafreedrinkingbottles.com.au/online_videos_bottle_bpa_free_bottles.php)

There are large areas in our oceans where plastic is floating around and destroying marine life. Fish, birds and animals eat plastic thinking it’s food and then starve and die a painful death from the plastic in their stomachs. There are many third world countries that live with plastic all around them, these people are slowly being poisoned by BPA and losing their food source.

The Youtube video below is quite concerning and shows the damage that is going on in our oceans.

So the question is; how can we make a difference? Start by finding products that can replace plastic in your daily use.

Don’t use plastic shopping bags, take your own cloth one.
Stop buying take away food that comes with plastic kid’s toys, your kids will just throw the toy away within days.
Stop buying water in plastic bottles use a high grade filtered stainless steel water bottle that you can refill with tap water it will also save you money, click here for a solution. (http://www.bpafreedrinkingbottles.com.au/details_stainless_steel_water_bottles.php)
Try to buy food products in glass
Tell your greengrocer to stop wrapping fruit & vegetables in plastic, especially if you buy organic the BPA defeats the purpose of organic produce.
Buy your kids lunch boxes that are BPA free or even better stainless steel and don’t use plastic wrap on their sandwiches.
Recycle plastic, making an effort to find recycle bins and if not take your plastic to your own recycle bin at home.
Start by being proactive and make a choice as much as possible to buy alternative products without plastic.
Learn as much as you can Google ‘plastic pollution”, start watching Youtube videos and tell your friends using Facebook and share information. Facebook is a great tool to help spread articles that main stream media blocks.
Just by slowly reducing your plastic dependence and making conscious decisions on alternative solutions, you can make a difference. If we don’t change our reliance on plastic; the future generations will have environmental and health problems that may not be able to be resolved. Just by educating yourself you can make a difference – start today.

To find out more information on plastic pollution visit – www.bpafreedrinkingbottles.com.au

Michelle Allen – CEO of Webstuff.biz

Ms Allen won the Central Coast Business Woman of the Year in 2011 for excellence in the web design field; and has also developed a strong desire to educate herself and others about good nutrition.

Ms. Allen’s organisation produces a wide variety of online solutions for proactive businesses looking to develop their reputation and expand their target market. Ms Allen’s true passion lies in health and fitness. Michelle likes to share her research and findings with people by creating informative websites showing her research to make a positive difference in their lives.