Thanks to Heidi for passing this information along!  Canadians can call this number to receive a BPA-free sippy cup from Avent/Philips. The number is 1-866-624-1906. (People in other parts of the world should call and find out what number to use for their country.)

My representative asked me the ages and number of children I have, so depending on that, you either receive a BPA-free sippy for a little person (handles) or the older toddler’s sports cup (no handles).  Based on my four children, she’s sending me 2 cups.  I asked the representative helping me a few questions regarding why they are doing this.  Here are her responses:

Q: Why? Is it because your previously sold products containing BPA?
A: As a courtesy to our customers. Health Canada has not concluded its findings regarding BPA. We pulled our products off the shelf as a courtesy…not because we had to.

Q: What plastics code is on the new BPA-free cups?
A: Still code 7, but the product is a part of our new BPA-free line.

Q: What are the requirements to receive the free cup?
A: That you live in Canada.

Based on how she answered my first question about why they are doing this…I wish Avent, who is known as the worst offender about acknowledging BPA, would just come clean.  Also, why are they still using number 7 plastic?  I will continue to use my stainless steel Klean Kanteens, but since the Avent / Philips cups are stamped BPA free, I’ll try them for milk, since I still don’t have a substitute.

My rep wasn’t able to answer what exact product type they are sending out, but after visiting their website, I think this picture shows the product I’ll receive.

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I received a question via ‘Ask Suzanne’ from a parent concerned about BPA being placed in their children’s cavity fillings.  Thanks for this question!

With the debates regarding BPA usually targeting baby bottles or canned food items, the topic of BPA in our dental work may have flown under your radar. (I mean really, how much BPA information is one parent able to retain?)   I’ve heard grumblings on other blogs about this issue, but the information on BPA leaching from household plasticsfar outways this topic.  Studies have found detectable levels of BPA in the saliva of patients after they received sealants or fillings.  Maybe not a big deal for adults who have a larger mass to absorb chemicals, but what about a toddler or child that requires dental work?  The thought of BPA leaching even a miniscule amount into my kid’s mouth is a horrible thought.

Most pediatric dentists have said the affect of this is minuscule - no affect.   See more on these opinions via this news clip from CTV news.  But the words of Aaron Freemen, policy director of Environmental Defence, from the same interview, put me on edge. 

“Regardless of how low the exposure level may be, BPA is a toxic substance that shouldn’t be used in any consumer products.  This is not the sort of chemical that we should be putting in people’s mouths, particularly children’s mouths.”

BPA is, after all, the chemical that Canada declared dangerous. Would you want something toxic put in your mouth?  Of course not.

So as parents, what can we do?  If your child (or yourself) is getting a cavity filled, ask your dentist if the sealant or filling contains BPA.  Remember, we’ve just stopped using mercury-based amalgam fillings after years of controversy.  Hopefully your dentist can put you at ease.  If your dentist is using BPA what are the alternatives?  Alastair Nicoll, president of the British Columbia Dental Association says, “derivatives of BPA are still the most common ingredient in sealants and fillings because alternatives such as porcelain don’t work as well and aren’t as practical.”

Health Canada is compiling a list of all materials that contain BPA, but as a mother of 4, I don’t know if I’m more scared or curious to see the next place this chemical is lurking.

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Many people are aware of the dangers of BPA (Bisphenol A) regarding baby bottles and sippy cups, but the highest level of BPA has been found in tin cans used for food.  There is a layer of plastic used in cans to insulate food from contamination with the tin material.  I guess the fact that none of my children like canned soup or alphageties is a bonus, but we eat a lot of canned tomatoes.  I was shocked that the item that is known to leach the highest level of BPA is infant formula.   Why does it seem BPA is affecting our babies and children the most?  This topic is so disturbing.

Last March, the Environmental Working Group reported the results of a study testing 97 cans of food for BPA.  Source Environmental Working Group:

• Cans of chicken soup, infant formula, and ravioli had the highest BPA levels.
• 1 in 3 cans of infant formula had BPA levels “200 times the government’s traditional safe level of exposure for industrial chemicals.”
• Overall, 1 in 10 cans tested had high levels of BPA.
• Beverage cans have fewer BPA residues; canned pasta and canned soups have the highest levels.

To limit BPA exposure, the Environmental Working Group recommends:

• Consider using powdered formula.
• Avoid number 7 plastics.
• Pliable, milk-colored plastic does not contain BPA.

Also:

The EWG recommends parents use the following formula options, in this order of preference:

1. Your first choice should be powdered formula in a can with as little metal as possible, such as the brands in this order:

2. Second choice: concentrated liquid formulas

3. Avoid all ready-to-eat liquid formulas in metal cans

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I spent this morning returning my plastics containing BPA to Zellers.  They confirmed that Friday (May 9th) is the final day you can return recalled baby products without a receipt.  The kind folks at Zellers customer service work off their own recall sheet and let you know what they’ll take back in return for an in-store gift card.  So anyone out there who hasn’t sorted through their old bottles, sippy cups, Avent breast pump, etc. time is running out.  London Drugs is no longer taking products without the receipt and Zellers follows on Friday. 

I’ll admit I’ve never looked at the codes on the bottom of my plastics until I started trying to rid my household of plastics containing BPA.  While this began so I could eliminate a health concern for my children, I’ve since learned what these codes mean in the world of recycling.  Hopefully after reading this, some confusion will be eliminated so that people can start recycling the right types of plastic and realize how harmful plastic is to our environment.  

Resin codes are found on most plastic with the ‘chasing arrows’ surrounding them in a triangle shape.  These codes were created to classify plastic products.  The arrows are misleading because they duplicate the symbol for recycling, however, it’s not true that plastics marked with any resin code can be recycled.  

Most cities have their own recycling programs and govern which plastic resin codes they’ll accept at curb-side.  My community accepts a high number of resin numbers (1,2,4,5,6) and have different and appropriate departments where each plastic is recycled appropriately.   If a code 3 or 7 gets mixed into what a resident leaves out, that too gets sorted and put in the garbage, as there isn’t a recycling program for these two numbers.  Find out which resin codes your city takes and what it does with plastic that doesn’t have a recycling program.  Because all plastics have different melting points, it’s important to keep the different types separate because if recycled together, you wind up with goo.  

Worldwide recycling rates for plastics with resin codes  3-7 is around 1 percent.   Yikes!   NONE of type 7 plastics can be recycled.  

Key points from this information?    Remember that the little triangle made of arrows doesn’t always indicate recyclability for all codes.   Also, with such low percentages of all plastics being recycled, we should try to limit what we purchase in the first place.  

Charts and graphs normally confuse me, but the American Plastics Council gives a nice breakdown of the codes, their description, and examples of products produced from them.
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