More and more water bottles these days are bpa free. They can range in price from $3 up to $30 and more. Today we give you quick tips on the different types of plastic and what their advantages and disadvantages are.
#4 – LDPE – Low Density Polyethylene is the most common plastic that squeezable budget water bottles are made from. LDPE is BPA Free and is durable and not easily damaged or broken during use. It’s cheap to make bottles from LDPE and some are even made in Australia. The trouble with LDPE is that you can taste the plastic in the water. Even worse, mix cordial or a sports drink in LDPE and you’ll always taste it in whatever comes next. LDPE bottles are very common for cyclists and sports people as they’re cheap and disposable and by squeezing the bottle you get a rush of water when you need it the most.
#2 – HDPE – High Density Polyethylene is another common budget plastic. Also BPA Free, it’s commonly used for water bottles, milk cartons and more. In our own fridge, the Dairy Farmers milk is in HDPE. We have seen HDPE produce squeezable and solid water bottles like the Polar Half Twist. Again, like LDPE, HDPE can leave a plastic taste in your water and leave behind odours from cordials, juices and sports drinks. It’s impact resistant, lightweight and durable.
#5 Polypropylene is used mainly for plastic food containers. It’s a cloudy plastic favoured by the majority of food container manufacturers including Decor, Sistema (the poor cousin to Lock and Lock) and the majority of high quality and cheap generic knock off containers sold in Australia. It is also used for water bottles with some manufacturers including a small sample of the Contigo and Lock & Lock range. Polypropylene plastic can stain and also retain odours, however, in our own experience, not quite as much as the HDPE or LDPE. There is a better choice than polypropylene. Keep reading ……..
#7 – Polycarbonate is the danger plastic. #7 doesn’t always been polycarbonate, but it can do, so you always need to check. Polycarbonate is a solid clear plastic that behaves a little like glass. Polycarbonate contains BPA or Bisphenol-A and should be avoided for food and water storage. It was most commonly used in baby bottles until research in to the dangers of BPA were made public. Now it’s rarely used and virtually every baby bottle manufacturer as stopped using it. Australian retailers have voluntarily stopped selling baby bottles with BPA in them. The demise of polycarbonate made way for ‘the winner’ in our plastic water bottles material choice – Tritan Eastman.
Tritan Eastman is made by the Eastman Chemical Company. It behaves like polycarbonate used to. It’s clear and hard and behaves like glass when it comes to not absorbing or leaching flavours. It’s tough (but not unbreakable) and is used by leading water bottle manufacturers including Camelbak, Thermos, Lock n Lock (in their drink bottles and also their premium food containers), Nathan Sports, Nalgene, Contigo, Enviro Products and dozens more. This is our top choice for a plastic water bottle as it doesn’t leach flavours and most quality brand bottles are thick and durable.
For those of you who are interested in plastics and food, Choice have done a thorough job of reviewing a wide variety of choices. Read more.