In class Assignments Investigative Report Media Analysis You are doing an investigative report on plastic bottles and recycling what types of food which brands of food use which kind of plastics Some plastics are now considered to be unhealthy especially if the plastics are heated or cleaned with boiling water such as baby bottles or bottles that are washed in a dishwasher For example the general public should avoid plastic food and beverage containers made with bisphenol A or containers which are made with nonylphenol Both of those chemicals are endocrine disruptors they disturb the body s hormonal messaging Synthetic xenoestrogens such as BPA have been linked to a variety of health problems obesity attention deficit hyperactivity disorder breast cancer decreased testosterone levels and a wide range of developmental problems often at surprisingly low levels of exposure This is a THREE PART assignment Research the 7 main types of recycled plastics see the list below and on the separate blog pages record your findings Make sure to include the URLs citations from where you got your information Look for information on websites from credible organizations major academic medical scientific associations etc In class each person will be given one or two of the seven types of recycled plastics to research In a supermarket that in your area record the recycling symbols on specific foods on a Google spreadsheet linked here to this site In class you will be divided into groups Each group will look at one of the following foods types 1 2 3 4 5 6 dairy milk yogurt cheese etc pet food baby food condiment sandwich spread ketchup mayonnaise jelly peanut butter etc prepared food prepacked cold cuts pasta etc drinks water soda juice etc You will record in a spreadsheet the numbers of plastic recycling symbols for your type of food and for food brands You need to find 25 different products in your food category Please try to find at least two brands of each kind of food so CONDIMENTS Heinz ketchup 5 Hunts ketchup 2 Grey Poupon mustard 2 French s mustard 4 etc Once the spreadsheets are created we will use IBM s ManyEyes to evaluate our data You can check out that site for data visualizations here http manyeyes alphaworks ibm com manyeyes page Stack Graph for Categories html Research how mainstream news outlets cover plastics find AT LEAST five stories in five different news outlets Do you think media do a good job at educating the public about recycling Do you think media do a good job at educating the public about plastic hazards Why or why not What are the consequences of that coverage You might want to consider questions such as whether the stories were written as health or environment or science or business stories Please post your analysis in the field below by adding a 200 word comment and the links URLs to the five news stories you ve found Unless you are the first person to analyze the coverage you must analyze the coverage but also do so in part by reading and responding to the comments of all those above you Plastic Recycling Symbols Revisited By Michael Arms Plastic recycling symbols show the types of resin used to create the plastic These representations are established following the international Plastic Coding System and are customarily illustrated as a number from 1 through 7 enclosed by a triangle or a simplified triangular loop also known as the Mobius loop with an acronym of the specific resin used right under the triangle Plastic recycling symbols are conceptualized chiefly to aid the personnel in recycling facilities in appropriately grouping materials for disposal Here are summarized explanations of all of the 7 recycling symbols universally used today 1 PET or PETE Polyethylene Terephalate Ethylene Light weight low cost and easy to make PET is the most prevalent plastic material in use today PET is mostly used in softdrink bottles food containers and microwaveable food trays It can be remade into paneling fiber carpet etc The necessity for this material among recyclers is quite strong but until today the recycling rate for this material has remained low at 20 2 HDPE High Density Polyethylene HDPE is sturdier and susceptible to chemical corrosion this plastic poses a fairly meager risk of spreading chemicals when used as receptacle for food and drinks It is chiefly used as containers for common household chemicals shampoos detergents etc garbage bags tubs for short shelf life food products like yogurt milk jugs etc This can be remade into dog houses chairs plastic lumber pipes etc Nonylphenol NP is used as an antioxidant and plasticizer in some HDPE plastic products After the discovery of its endocrine disrupting potential concern over human exposure to this chemical has increased 3 PVC Polyvinyl Chloride Polyvinyl Chloride has been known as a health hazard it has been established to frequently leach chemicals when used as containers PVC is commonly used for piping jewelry cleaner bottles siding etc It has chlorine and will emit toxins if ignited PVC should be avoided in food preparation or food packaging It can be reconstituted into mudflaps speed humps flooring etc Most household plastic wrap is made from polyethylene PVC or PVDC Nonylphenol NP is used as an antioxidant and plasticizer in some PVC plastic products After the discovery of its endocrine disrupting potential concern over human exposure to this chemical has increased 4 LDPE Low Density Polyethylene Low Density Polyethylene is the material present in bread wrapping sheets film packaging etc Tough and elastic it is ideal for packaging insulation and sealing LDPE through many curbside recycling programs can be recycled into trash can liners plastic lumber and plastic lumber 5 PP Polypropylene PP is most suited for boiling liquid containers and is likewise used in brooms straws ketchup bottles etc PP can be reprocessed into signal lights brushes trays etc 6 PS Polystyrene PS is an excellent component for insulation and is used in foam products like expanded polystyrene EPS generically known as styrofoam It is manufactured into disposable food containers egg cartons disposable cups PS contains benzene a cancer causing chemical and should not be incinerated It is recycled into insulation hobby rail road objects water buoys etc 7 OTHER Polycarbonate Recycling symbol 7 OTHER lumps materials not belonging to any of the other 6 resin classifications OTHER may also signify a hybrid resin made up of a mix of those materials