San Francisco has become the first city to ban the sale of plastic bottles. While this seems like a drastic measure, there is a waiver if an acceptable water source is not available. The ban will phase out the sale in public places of plastic bottles holding 21 ounces or less. Those who violate the ban could be subject to a 1,000 dollar fine.
San Francisco has already banned plastic bags and plastic foam containers and this is another step towards a “green” city. It isn’t just good for the environment, it is also good for the health of the people of San Francisco. Plastic bottles have a chemical called Bisphenol A (BPA) in them that is hazardous to people’s health. BPA is synthetic estrogen and a hormone disruptor according to an article by Dr. Jen Landa in an article for the Huffington Post. The danger comes when that BPA leaches into the food or drink housed by the plastic container and gets into your bloodstream.
Dr. Landa lists just some of the issues that can be caused by BPA leached from plastic bottles including, “interfere with fertility treatments and was also linked to development of diabetes or a heart attack and may even increase the risk of breast cancer.”
So while it is also good for the environment for San Fransisco to be banning the sale of plastic bottles it’s also doing the humans who live in that city a favor too.
For more information, read the full articles.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jen-landa-md/healthy-living-news_b_4919960.html