What are the essential things you need if you’re throwing a small house party?
Some food, drinks, plates, cups, and utensils.
Disposable cups, plates, and utensils can be really practical.
Most disposable products are made of plastic, which may represent a problem. Why?
Plastic can contain chemicals like BPA which can be harmful to your health.
BPA free disposable plastic cups can be a great alternative. These products usually do not contain dangerous chemicals and may be safer for your health.
Just think of this. If you’re throwing a birthday party for your 5-year old daughter, do you want plastic products with chemicals around her and other young children?
Probably not.
Going for BPA free disposable plastic cups can bring you some great benefits.
Benefits of using BPA free disposable plastic cups
No dangerous chemicals
Plastic can contain some really nasty chemicals which may put your health in danger.
You may say that you’ve been using plastic for a very long time and you’ve never had any problem.
The effects of some of these chemicals may happen after a longer period of time.
They may also depend on your body and how resistant it is.
Chemical-free products like formaldehyde-free toilet paper can be safer options.
Your health is not the only thing that is affected by these chemicals. The environment has to suffer as well.
When such chemicals end up in nature, they can harm the flora and fauna.
Think of what can happen if plants and animals are constantly exposed to these chemicals.
Great product for different events
If you’re having a small party, birthday, or even an event at the office, BPA-free disposable plastic cups can be a great go-to product.
You don’t need to worry about not having enough cups or about having to clean the used ones so that every guest has a cup.
At the end, you just need to put them in the right bin and you are done.
Just remember to take them to be recycled. I will discuss this aspect and its importance a bit later.
What you need to know about BPA
BPA comes from Bisphenol-A, a chemical used in the production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins.
Used in this industry since the 1960s, BPA can be found in plastic bottles, food containers, cans, cups, and many other.
Each year, more than 3.6 million tonnes of BPA are used by manufacturing companies. The total annual output of BPA is estimated around 6.8 million tonnes.
BPA is a chemical which has been linked to some serious health problems:
- endocrine disruptions
- diabetes
- increased blood pressure
- birth defects
- breast and prostate cancer
BPA is dangerous not just because it’s found in a wide variety of plastic products. When it comes into contact with hot food and liquids, the chemical leaches in these contents.
Learn more about BPA free canned coconut milk.
This is another way it gets in your body.
Other chemicals you may want to keep an eye open:
- polypropylene
- polyethylene terephthalate (PETE or PET)
- polyvinyl chloride
Why do you need to recycle plastic cups
When speaking of disposable products, think of cups, bottles, plates, spoons, knives, forks, and shopping bags.
Imagine that these items are used every day around the world. As they are disposable, after they’re used once, most of them are thrown away (some of them are reused).
Millions of cups are being used every day and if they are not recycled, there is a high chance they will end up in the environment.
It takes tens or even hundreds of years for a plastic product to break down. In this time, the plastic releases toxic chemicals (think of BPA) and turns into small pieces which can be easily ingested by animals.
The recycling numbers for some products are really discouraging. In the US, only 2% of the total plastic bags are recycled because the recycling costs exceed the production ones.
If you’re interested in this topic, learn more about cloth shopping bags.
This is why it’s crucial you make recycling a regular habit.
Besides going for BPA-free disposable plastic cups, it’s essential you are aware of what happens with these products even after you’ve done using them.