What to do with plastics #3, #6 and good old #7?
One of our readers recently posted a reply to Plastic Recycling by the Numbers. She'd heard that plastics labeled 3, 6 and 7 were not only toxic but bad for the environment if you recycled them. We've posted a couple of times on plastics and their numbers. Let's go over what we know. If you throw your #3s and 4s and 5s into your recycling bin, and your city doesn't recycle them, you jeopardize the whole lot of plastics. If a group of plastics has too many types that can't be recycled as #1 and #2 can then there is a chance that plastic will be landfilled or shipped overseas. It's a matter of sorting. You'll also sabotage your own recycling efforts if you don't remove labels, caps and food matter. Your plastic water bottle may be a #1 but the cap is not. Throw it away.
That said, while some of these other plastics can release toxins like phthalates and Bisphenol A, that doesn't mean


I want to acknowledge something controversial about myself. I let my cats outside.
Ecopsychologists work with people on many issues related to the environment, including "eco-anxiety," which is worrying about the state of the environment to the point that it is causing distress. Treatments can include shopping and media fasts, as well as increasing the time spent outside, whether meditating, exercising, gardening or simply relaxing.
At the opening of 





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