Plastic fantastic?
By Melanie Chambers • Bankrate.com

It's never been easier to get your eight glasses of water a day with the plethora of water bottles on the market today. But those handy water containers you're toting around could be making you sick.

The culprit is bisphenol A (BPA), a hormone-disrupting chemical that has been linked to diseases such as prostate cancer and breast cancer. BPA is the main ingredient in polycarbonate plastic used to make everything from baby bottles to DVDs. As bottles are heated or age, they have been known to leech BPA into the water they carry.

In December 2007, outdoor retailer Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) pulled all water bottles and food containers made of polycarbonate plastic off its shelves over fears about BPA. The move was in response to its members' concerns, as well as unfavourable medical research. Then, a few months later, Health Canada decided to do a risk assessment of BPA to determine if it should be banned from drinking containers.

So far, Health Canada has determined that baby bottles and sippy cups, for newborns and infants up to 18 months of age, made with BPA are a concern. The agency is still continuing its investigation and expects to make an announcement in October 2008 whether to ban the use and reselling of polycarbonate bottles.

But that hasn't stopped manufacturers from creating a range of BPA-free alternatives to appease anxious consumers. Read on to find out how you can ensure the bottle you're using, or considering buying for you or your children, is BPA-free.

Plastic alternatives
In the past few years, Nalgene brand water bottles have been ubiquitous, a favourite among athletes and regular folks trying to get their eight glasses of water a day. The bottles were favoured because of their many styles and colours, but also their durability and the fact that they didn't retain the taste of whatever liquid they carried.

Unfortunately, many of the bottles were made with polycarbonate, which contained BPA. So, in the past few months, in response to BPA concerns, the company replaced its polycarbonate bottles with a variety of BPA-free alternatives, including high density polyethylene and co-polyester. The result is a very similar bottle in terms of durability and odour resistance, all without BPA.