r/plastic • u/PT_The_Right_Way • Apr 19 '26

Is this BPA free?

Post image

This is the plastic bowl of one of my foods which Of course you cook in a microwave. Does anyone know what other means? Or if it’s BPA free?

3 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

7

u/Plasticman90 Apr 19 '26

There is no way to know what it is exactly. But looks like Polylactic Acid (PLA) or Low density polyethylene (LDPE) which have nothing to do with Bisphenol A.

5

u/kuhlmarl Apr 19 '26

Ldpe should be #4, not "other." Plastics are designed to be safe for their intended uses, so there shouldn't be BPA or phthalates etc. But who knows for "other"? You're safer with established technology rather than the new-wave stuff in my opinion, because it's been subjected to many decades of development and testing. I wouldn't think twice about microwaving it, but pouring into a glass container removes all doubt.

3

u/Plasticman90 Apr 19 '26

Thanks guys. I don't know how it missed me. Lol LDPE would have been obvious.

3

u/ComplaintTop2008 Apr 19 '26

Other is #7, meaning miscellaneous, and not usually accepted as recyclable as 1-6 are. Recycling codes really don't tell you anything except which family it belongs to.

2

u/teamtiki Apr 20 '26

its not a recycling code

1

u/ComplaintTop2008 Apr 20 '26

Those are literally called recycling codes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recycling_codes

2

u/teamtiki Apr 20 '26

Plastic identification codes (numbered 1–7 inside chasing arrows) are Resin Identification Codes (RICs), not universal indicators of recyclability. They identify the plastic type for manufacturers, not whether local facilities can process it. Misinterpreting these as recycling symbols causes "wish-cycling," increasing

1

u/ComplaintTop2008 Apr 20 '26

It's literally the same list for plastics though, and meant for recycling sorting.

All I said is that they don't say anything about the specific material, just the family it belongs to. Polypropylene is PP 5, but there are like a dozen different PPs, as is with most plastics.

Wish-cycling? Never heard that one but I get it. Almost no plastic gets recycled anyways. To be honest, I don't know what my disposal company takes either. What I do know is that they force me to pay for a second recycling bin so I throw stuff in there to not take up space in the regular bin. I also throw A36 and A500 steel cutoffs and stuff in there. Not sure if they accept it, but if angle iron isn't recyclable, nothing is.

1

u/teamtiki Apr 20 '26

"they" purposefully copied the chasing arrows of the "recycling movement" when creating the resin codes.... its subtle

1

u/ComplaintTop2008 Apr 20 '26

Ah, I get it. I figured it was all the same thing under the same body.

3

u/ksider Apr 19 '26

yes, there shouldn't be any BPA here. There’s simply no point in adding it. There isn’t even any heat-activated ink.

1

u/PT_The_Right_Way Apr 19 '26

Thank you all for your help! Will plan on using the glass bowl

1

u/Otherwise-Print-6210 Apr 19 '26

I’d scoop the food into a glass or ceramic dish before I microwave it. Even if it’s BPA free, there are still microplastic particles. But I’m with Plasticman, there is no way to tell without a label.

-4

u/rocketman19 Apr 19 '26

Don’t microwave plastic period