BPA Leaks During Normal Bottle Use

A new study from the Harvard School of Public Health found that drinking cold water normally out of water bottles that are made with bisphenol A (BPA) increases the amount of BPA in people's bodies. BPA is the estrogen-mimicking chemical used in a broad range of items and has been linked in laboratory and human tests to reproductive and development disorders, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The researchers had 77 students use stainless steel bottles for drinking cold beverages for seven days to minimize BPA exposure. The students then used polycarbonate bottles for a week, drinking out of them normally with only cold liquids. The students did not put them in dishwashers or fill them with hot liquids. Heat increases the amount of BPA that migrates from plastic into food and drinks.

After using the BPA-containing bottles, the amount of BPA in the students' urine increased by 69 percent, similar to concentrations found in the general U.S. population. Although previous studies looked at if BPA leaked into food or drinks, this study is the first to find a corresponding increase in the amount of BPA found in urine. Read a PDF version of the study here.

Wal-Mart's Scorecard Crosses the Border

Earlier this month, Wal-Mart Canada announced it would be using the packaging scorecard that the company's U.S. operations have been using to get suppliers and manufacturers to cut down on packaging.

Now that scorecard is going beyond the U.S.'s southern border as well. Wal-Mart plans to launch its packaging scorecard in Mexico later this year, and will be providing details to Mexican packagers and supply chain members during the Wal-Mart Sustainable Packaging Conference at EXPO PACK MĂ©xico in late June.

Wal-Mart plans to first set up a Mexican Packaging Sustainable Value Network, a committee that will work with Wal-Mart on launching the scorecard. Wal-Mart will describe the network's role and how it plans to contact and communicate with potential members during and after the conference.

China's Bag Ban

In the first year of China's ban on free plastic bags, the country's bag use has dropped by two-thirds, or about 40 billion bags, according to the China Chain Store and Franchise Association.

The reduction is the equivalent of about 1.6 million tonnes of oil, according to the association. China's country-wide ban eliminated production of ultra-thin bags and prevents stores from giving out free bags. The estimated reduction was based on a survey of supermarkets, done in advance of the one-year anniversary of the ban, which is June 1.

China's large-scale ban shows just the amount of bags that can be avoided since reaches further than any of the smaller bans, restrictions or bag fees put in places in various cities, states and areas in the U.S., U.K. and other countries.

Polycarbonate bottle - CC license by Aaron Jack