News

The Mason jar rules Dana Driesman's kitchen. In a quest to live without potentially dangerous plastics, the Mississauga mother stocks her fridge and freezer with jars filled with food and drinks. She even sends her three-year-old daughter to daycare with her lunch packed in mini-Mason jars.

"A lot of people think it's such a hassle, such a bother," she says of portioning out and repackaging her food. "It takes 10 minutes out of my day. But if that's the most safe thing, let's do it."

With Health Canada set to ban polycarbonate baby bottles, which contain the estrogen-mimicking chemical bisphenol A, many Canadians are seeing all the plastics around them in a newly unflattering light and scrambling for alternatives.

Early adopters of a plastic-free existence are only too happy to move from the fringe to the mainstream.

It's a corollary to food writer Michael Pollan's suggestion that we reject foods our great-grandmothers wouldn't recognize: The plastic-free folks don't let their food touch anything their great-grandmothers wouldn't recognize. So no plastic wrap. No plastic sandwich containers or juice jugs.

There are still plastics that have not been shown to leach BPA into food, but many people aren't waiting for surprises.

Nalgene-brand hard plastic water bottles were supposed to be safe but have been shown to contain BPA (the company now offers a BPA-free alternative). For consumers concerned about the makeup of their plastic containers, websites such as toxicnation.ca, run by the advocacy group Environmental Defence, outline the meanings of various plastic recycling logos. Bottles labelled number 7 or 3 may leach BPA, while those marked with number 5, 4 and 2 seem safer.

"It's complex and not obvious," says Jay Sinha, who with his wife runs a business selling alternatives at lifewithoutplastic.com. "A lot of containers don't have the recycling numbers on them, so it's hard to know unless you contact the manufacturer directly."

Experts agree that rethinking plastic in the kitchen should be a priority, especially among families with pregnant women and small children. "Children are uniquely vulnerable to these chemicals," says Aaron Freeman, policy director at Environmental Defence. "It's extra-important [for them] to avoid exposure to those chemicals."

Glass baby bottles with silicone nipples have quickly come back into vogue. The sippy cup has been remodelled with silicone spouts, however some parents are rethinking them entirely.

Laurie Gough, a mother who lives in Wakefield, Que., says she's always been wary of sippy cups, so she taught her son, now 5, to drink out of a glass.

"I was suspicious because there were teeth marks and it seemed like he was swallowing bits of plastic."

Many of the replacements available for sale have stood the test of time, such as the tiffin, a tiered lunch kit that has never fallen out of favour in Asia. Glass containers and pitchers are easy to find and may be the best option for those who have an allergy to nickel, which is an element in stainless steel.

"There's a lot of glass out there," Ms. Gough says. "Value Village is full of glass containers old ladies get rid of."

But it's not just a question of outfitting a kitchen. Like Ms. Driesman and her Mason jar system, a plastic-free kitchen begets other lifestyle changes, many of them time-consuming.

In most anti-plastic kitchens, the microwave has been all but retired over concerns about heating plastic. Stainless steel and glass containers are often heated in a toaster oven instead. And Mason jars full of food can be heated upright in a pot of water.

Backpacks and lunch kits will get heavier with stainless steel or glass containers. And glass can break. So Ms. Driesman tucks her daughter's lunch jars into the thick packaging that held her daughter's cloth diapers. "Breakage has happened. You need to be careful," she says.

With BPA also lurking in the linings of most canned goods, many Canadians are saying goodbye to their favourite convenience foods, too. "It's a drag," Ms. Gough says. "Lately, I've been soaking beans."

Eden Foods of Clinton, Mich., is becoming known for its BPA-free canned beans. Still, tomatoes remain a challenge. Because of their acidity, they require a barrier against the metal can, so the best Eden can do is explain on its website the linings include a "minute amount" of bisphenol A.

Even the most staunch anti-plastic folks say eliminating all risks is impossible.

"There's so much in the environment, you can't be radical about it or you'd go nuts," Mr. Sinha says.

Mr. Freeman says he's hoping for a time when the onus is on manufacturers and governments, not on consumers to read the fine print.

"As a consumer, I shouldn't have to do that calculus every time I walk through my kitchen or up a store aisle. This is a place where government should be stepping in to protect human health."

Going plastic-free

FOR STARTERS

Klean Kanteen Ditch the hard plastic in favour of a stainless steel 800-millilitre water bottle. About $22 at lifewithoutplastic.com or visit kleankanteen.com.

Eden beans The brand of choice for the anti-plastic set. Eden Foods doesn't use bisphenol A in the lining of its cans. Available at most grocers for $1.79.

Mason jars A cheap alternative for storing lunches and leftovers in the fridge or freezer. Look for soups and sauces sold in Mason jars at the grocery store and reuse them.

ADVANCED CLASS

The tiffin A stainless steel lunch-toting system popular in Asia that can replace plastic lunch containers. By Sanctus Mundo, $19 to $23 at lifewithoutplastic.com.

A hybrid tote/pot This portable tote has a retractable handle that transforms it into a pot. By Sanctus Mundo, $16 at lifewithoutplastic.com.

Cedar bowls These items are coated with a natural substance called urushi that renders them water-resistant, acid-resistant and heat-resistant. About $90 at lifewithoutplastic.com.

Tralee Pearce