plastic is everywhere (no #3 for me)

some of my pillows have plastic (poly-fil). my toothbrush is plastic. the liner of my soymilk container and the bag for my cereal is plastic. my fridge handle is plastic as are the tubes that deliver water to my sink. my shampoo bottles, my sneakers, my fleece coat, my hair band, my lunch container, my toilet, my earing backs, the coating in the inside of canned peaches, the handle on my teapot, my cell phone, my savings cards on my key chain...ok, and i still haven't even made it to work...nor left the house. that's a lot of plastic. and then you hear all this stuff about plastics off-gassing or breaking down and causing health problems. and stuff about recycling plastics. so here are the main kinds of plastics (taken from wikipedia.com):

1. PETE (PET): Polyethylene Terephthalate - Commonly found on: 2-liter soft drink bottles, cooking oil bottles, peanut butter jars.
2. HDPE: High Density Polyethylene - Commonly found on: detergent bottles, milk jugs.
3. PVC: Polyvinyl Chloride - Commonly found on: plastic pipes, outdoor furniture, shrink-wrap, water bottles, salad dressing and liquid detergent containers. (**AVOID # 3**)
4. LDPE: Low Density Polyethylene - Commonly found on: dry-cleaning bags, produce bags, trash can liners, food storage containers.
5. PP: Polypropylene - Commonly found on: bottle caps, drinking straws
6. PS: Polystyrene - Commonly found on: packaging pellets or "Styrofoam peanuts," cups, plastic tableware, meat trays, take-away food clamshell containers
7. OTHER: Other - This plastic category, as its name of "other" implies, is any plastic other than the named #1–#6, Commonly found on: certain kinds of food containers and Tupperware.

And here's a bit from Grist.org about which plastics to avoid. Most important thing: remember "no 3 for me."

Ask Umbra On which plastics to avoid