Know your Plastics

Plastic is one of the most common items in the world. We make everything out of it, but not all plastics are created equal. Some are good, most are bad. If you turn over any plastic item it should have a recycling symbol with a number in it. Occasionally this number will not be there, unless it says PP in the symbol in place of a number it should be discarded. The number system identifies the type of plastic, PP denotes polypropylene, which is food safe. If there is no identification, assume the worst and throw it away. Plastic products are full of chemicals, many can leech into food and water, some simply deposit chemicals like BPA (Bis phenol-A) on everything they touch. Most of these chemicals are long term dangers, in a survival situation, use whatever you have to. In the case of prepping food and water for said survival situation, keep these things in mind. It is a good habit to be in, just in case the apocalypse never comes, it would be nice to live to a healthy old age. 

#1 PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) Not food grade, avoid if possible.
Commonly used in soda bottles, water bottles, cooking oil containers. Should be avoided for anything other than water. They can leach antimony and phthalates. Not really any short term danger but not good for food storage, especially acidic contents.


#2 HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) Food grade, safe to use.
Commonly used in milk jugs, plastic bags, and garbage cans. This is the most common plastic you will find. It's widely used in the food service industry. Generally the big blue plastic barrels everyone uses for emergency water are made of this material as well.


#3 PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride, aka Vinyl): Not food grade, avoid if possible.
Commonly used in condiment bottles, shower curtains, Saran wrap, and toys.
Can leach lead and phthalates and other nasty chemicals. Can also release toxic gases when heated or exposed to chemicals.


#4 LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene): Food grade, safe to use.
Commonly used in grocery bags, food containers.


#5 PP (Polypropylene) Food grade, safe to use.
Commonly used in Gladware, water bottles and bottle caps.


#6 PS (Polystyrene, aka Styrofoam): Not safe, do not use.
Commonly used goddamn everywhere.
Can leach carcinogenic styrene and estrogenic alkylphenols. It's also about the worst thing for the environment on this list.


#7 Can be a variety of plastics, some are safe, most are not. If it doesn't specify, avoid.
PC (Polycarbonate) Avoid at all costs, it can leach Bis phenol-A (BPA). Also commonly used in thermal receipt tape so avoid that as well.
ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), S. AN (Styrene Acrylonitrile), Acrylic, and Polyamide fall into this category too. They are safer, but not great. Some require a bit more research as well before I would trust them.

New plant-based, biodegradable plastics like PLA (Polylactic Acid) also fall into the #7 category and are food grade.