Can silicone rubber safely replace disposable plastics?
Can silicone rubber safely replace disposable plastics?
Originality: Overloaded Fried Eggs April 3
If you have read Zero Waste Lifestyle blogs or related social media streams, you may find that many people recommend silicone bags as a substitute for disposable sealed plastic bags and plastic food storage containers. Silicone bags have become particularly popular, perhaps because they are very photographic, have a variety of colors to choose from, and are transparent enough to reveal the food in them.
At first glance, they do seem to be an ideal solution to provide all the advantages of plastic bags: lightweight, flexible, elastic, washable and waterproof. Some advocates also argue that silica gel is more like rubber than plastic because it comes from sand and is a natural product.
However, experts on Life Without Plastic do not agree. They explained that silicone rubber is "a mixture between synthetic rubber and synthetic plastic polymers", which means that they are still a kind of plastic. Although silica gel contains silica from sand, it also contains synthetic agents and chemical additives from fossil fuels.
An article on the website explains that although silicone rubber is widely considered safe by organizations such as Health Canada and Scientific Americans, there have been no in-depth discussions or follow-up studies on its long-term impact.
They cited studies that showed that silicone rubber were not entirely inert and that they also permeated low concentrations of synthetic chemicals, especially when the foods they contained contained were high in fat. In alcoholic solutions, silica gel may release siloxanes, which are endocrine and fertility destroyers and potential carcinogens.
At the same time, the recycling rate of silica gel is also very low. After treatment, silica gel is usually used to make industrial lubricants.
Therefore, we should be cautious when using silica gel. If you are really committed to living a zero-waste, plastic-free life, then you should use silicone bags as a substitute. For example, glass cans, stainless steel containers or cloth bags can complete the work of silica gel bags, without any relationship with the production, use and treatment of silica gel.
