The Mess We Made

The Globe and Mail and CTV did a study on the amount of BPA found in food cans and the test is kinda shocking.

Who would thought that our food chain is also effected by the Bisphenol-A chemical. The article in the Globe and Mail describes that some food cans hold more BPA then our plastic bottles. And to me that is a concern because are we really save to still eat or drink our store bought groceries?

They also state that most foods are canned and then heated to sterilize stuff and that of course makes it extra dangerous for Bisphenol-A to leach out of the can liner.

I would say go read the article (link below) and see how much BPA your canned food contains and maybe even your beer is affected

Helpful Resources:

The Hidden Chemicals in Cans

Lets revisit one of our older topics that seem to get a lot of attention here at The Mess We Made and all over the world namely the BPA bad plastics.

As you may know by now the Canadian Government official stated that BPA in infant products is toxic and even before they officially announced that lots of retailers started pulling there Bisphenol-a products (plastic nr 7).

So after all that news the last while I still was stuck with some of my old BPA water bottles and what do you do with those?

I heard that some retailers would take them back so I tried. Zellers didn’t take my bottles back but they will exchange baby bottles that contain BPA for once that don’t. Then Canadian Tire the girl there was willing to do it if I had a receipt and that left me to my last visit SportChek the people at SportChek where not really happy that I didn’t have a receipt but they gave me money back for my bottles and gave me store credit for it. They officially only take back bottles that where bought there but that didn’t stop me from trying and no problem for me to get money back for bottles I bought somewhere else.

My advice if you still have some Bisphenol-A containing bottles that you are not using then why not return them so that the stores at least can recycle them for something useful (I hope that is what happens with them).

Helpful Resources:
Canada Bans Plastic Bottles Tied to Health Concerns

You know my nose is not the best one and that means that i need to wipe it often in a day.

And that makes another interesting discussion point doesn’t it

What is better the good old hanky or one modern tissue? Most of you automatically will say tissue because that way you trow out the germs and you don’t spread any viruses. BUT if you think a little bit about that it also means that you don’t get a very strong immune system do you? If you would keep the viruses and germs you body would get stronger and knows how to deal with them.

I often still prefer a handkerchief and I have to say that I don’t get sick easily and if i do (happens every so many years) then it is for a very short time and even without any medication.

So if you go from my point then we could save some tree’s and landfill space by not using those tissues so much and go back to a good old hanky that can just go in the laundry.

You know there are some easy ways of working on your appetite and working of some of the food after.

I believe that this world would be a lot cleaner and healthier if we would just walk to and from the place where we go for a meal. This way you don’t pollute and you get some exercising to and of course you also support a little more of the local places.

What happens to all the stuff they leave at you table when you go eat out?

Yes you guessed right things like clean napkins, sauces, left over food you didn’t take will all end up in the garbage.

So what can we do to help getting more stuff in our landfills?

Just take those napkins and candies home and i am sure you can use them some day. I also like to have some of those free napkins in the car just handy when you need something to clean with when you are driving.

Think about it next time you eat out about what you can do to reduce garbage at the landfill!

If you like a boiled egg like I do then try this new way of boiling them it will save you some energy and by that your wallet and the environment.

It’s simple I use one of those plastic eggs that turn color when the eggs get boiled so put that with the eggs you want to boil in a little pot.

Then boil water in your electric kettle and of course boil just enough to cover your eggs because the extra water boiling will not be of any use. Then after the water boils put it in to the pot and heat the pot till the water boils (should be like around a minute max) and then turn the stove of and wait.  One thing that is important and i didn’t tell you yet but after you put the water in the pot put a lid on it so that the warm air also stays in the pot.

And now it is just waiting till you eggs are done. I don’t time because of the cool plastic predictor egg that i have but my eggs turned out perfect and they are easier to peal to.

So go try it and I would say enjoy your eggs!

Let’s start a little new series of posts about the little things that we can do if we ignore all the marketing efforts from the BIG companies and start using our brain again.

Most of us these days buy liquid soap but did you know that the “old Fashion” bar of soap will last you a much longer time. And this means that if you go for a bar you need to buy less soap and so you will save and I even believe that most times the bars of soap are cheaper to so it is a double win for your wallet and a small win for the environment with less of your left over soap ending up in our water.