Henry Ford and George Washington Carver along with quite a few others worked on a lot of plant or bio-based plastics over a century ago. And likely many of the plastics out in the world are plant based to a certain extent.

https://grownextgen.org/media/pages/...ngineering.pdf

https://www.thehenryford.org/collect.../soy-bean-car/

I support getting rid of the prevalent use of plastic in our lives. We don't need everything sold in blister packs or plastic bottles and containers. Or the many other uses of plastic that far outweigh a plastic bidon that will be re-used. The bidon is not a significant source for the plastic that is in our bodies.

I don't disagree, but I figure the removal of plastics from my diet is like Team Sky's "marginal gains" philosophy... i.e., a lot of little reductions in plastics will eventually add up to a bigger reduction (or so I hope).

Since I live in the northern USA and ride indoors (Zwift) about half the year, I've decide to only use stainless steel bottles while on my trainer where steel bottles are a lot less inconvenient because they're just sitting on my trainer desk. Campmor has the Camelback Podium stainless steel bottles for 25% off ($30) as of my typing this.

**** UPDATE ****

The CamelBak Podium stainless steel water bottles are not for weight wearies! Each bottle weighs about as much as my bike.

As well as micro plastics from ware and tare on the bottle there is this. Many many compounds leach into the water. More with bottles ran through dishwashers but…

https://www.snexplores.org/article/r...nts-into-water

That article pretty much sums-up my concern... there's a whole-lot more than just BPA to be concerned with when your water is sitting in a plastic container.

Out of curiosity, I figure that plastic bottles in cycling have to be a relatively "recent" invention. The following article suggests they were commonplace in cycle racing by the 1950s with aluminum bottles coming before that:

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/l...g-bidon-230679

I've heard various health concerns with aluminum containers as well, but I'm assuming aluminum isn't an endocrine disrupter. Cyclist of the past didn't seem to put a lot of focus on what they were putting into their bodies, or so it would seem

My WB strategy is simple. I figure most of the plastic leakage is from new WBs so I make it a point to buy as few as possible and get years of use out of them.

Pretty certain the biggest hit on my testosterone is aging. So I just need to find that fountain of youth. Around Portland we have a few fountains with plenty of youths in them on the hot days but they just make me feel even older.

Maybe you should read about the chromium in stainless steel. There was a popular book in the 60's where the two author's blasted that out as a big concern. Most has been shown to be safe. But there are still the crackpot sites on the web that tout the same horror.

Anyone remember the name of that book or the two author's. I think I still have that book in my attic somewhere.

I avoid plastics and I do think they are lowering testosterone and could be linked to the recent increased gender confusion. I feel like the exhaust we breath cycling is likely much worse than the plastic consumed from plastic water bottles. I carry stainless more so I could boil water in a pinch than to avoid microplastics. Lots of things riskier in cycling than microplastics. Avoid the risks you can but life is risk.

The article Hill160881 linked to suggests otherwise Seems like a lose-lose situation... new bottles have new chemicals that leach-out, old bottles have old chemicals that leach-out.

https://www.snexplores.org/article/r...nts-into-water
"Water stored in older plastic bottles contained the highest levels of plastic-related chemicals."

^ This. I'm primarily interested in this topic as I personally am not lovin' the huge decrease in my 50s compared to when I was in my 30s and 40s. Anything I can do to make the decline less severe seems like a worthy pursuit.

I think it's a point worth considering. Unlike those living 100 years ago, *recent* generations are saturated with plastics everywhere we turn. Are we now beginning to see the impact of plastic use to the detriment of masculinity? Couple that with birth control hormones (estrogen) being found in our drinking water due to decades of birth control pill use, and those who experience gender confusion may literally be the victim of our environment. (There are other factors, but trying to stay mildly on-topic...)

I guess you morally feel you have to start somewhere. But the problem with your bidons is so miniscule and infinitesimal, that you aren't really doing anything.

It's very likely that the plastic being found in our bodies isn't directly from the plastic we use and come in contact with. It's from the plastic that was used and incorrectly disposed of and allowed to litter our environment.

I don't know how that can be true since it is possible to measure various amounts of micro plastics being released by many products currently used. It's pretty obvious those particles are currently consumed regularly.

That's not to say that the plastic wastes aren't a major contributor as well.

So how much micro plastic am I getting from my water bottle if I were to fill them with water that is free of microplastic? And the water is in the first bottle for only 1 hour and the second bottle for two hours?

Does all of it go into my system? Or is some leave my body with the other crap once or more per day?

I assume all the sites that "tested" this made sure their water didn't already contain micro plastics... didn't they?

There's no reason to be so sarcastically challenging. I'm not speaking specifically about water bottles only. I was replying to your assumption that most of the contamination we have in our bodies does not come from products we currently use but from previously disposed of products. There are many products we currently use that release measurable micro plastics.

What happens to all the old bottles is yet another issue, but I digress. I pay for a large recycling bin in addition to regular trash, but I'm willing to bet that if I followed the trucks that picked-up the contents of both bins, I'm willing to bet they both get dumped in the same pile 'o garbage.

BTW, here in the USA, the 3-arrow "recycling" logo with a number in it that you see on most plastics isn't actually a recycling logo, it's just a logo designed to be deceptively close to the recycling logo that designates the type of plastic the product is made of. For many plastics, it's not remotely cost effective to recycle the plastic into a new product and for some plastics, recycling isn't viable at all.

I've been re-cycling for many years and taking scrap metal, such as old bikes, to the scrap yard for years.

I compost much of my household kitchen scraps. So little goes to the land fill for my garbage pickup.

You don't have to preach to me.

But are those levels toxic. Or are they a significant contribution to the accumulation in your body.

Geeze people, your effort to argue with me on this subject for water bottles only, should instead be put out as effort to educate your representatives and others about plastic and it's pervasiveness everywhere.

If every cyclist using plastic water bottles today stopped using them. And responsibly disposed of them, it wouldn't make one iota of difference to the build up of microplastics in their body or mine.

This is an attempt to educate "others" as you seem to feel that there is no significant amount of plastics being consumed. I already made it clear I am not speaking only concerning water bottles, but all products contaminated by plastics which we are currently consuming. I simply made the point that all of the contamination doesn't come from unproperly disposed of trash.

I think that most of us are educated. And are aware of the issues you and some others frequently bring up.

You are just preaching.

You are just arguing?

Any discussion where people have differing views is a argument. It's good that we argue.

If my friends agreed with me on everything, there wouldn't be anything to talk about. And I probably wouldn't want them for friends.

It's impossible for any modern human in a modern world to avoid plastics.

You can come very close. Just start with no single use plastic containers. That eliminates 80%.

It's likely impossible to avoid all plastics, however, it's easy-peasy to avoid plastic when you have a choice. Start with buying beer in brown, glass bottles rather than 2 liter plastic bottles

Stopping the use of single plastic and switching to multi use plastic containers, boxes, bottles etc doesn't eliminate exposure to plastics. You just end up re-using the same plastic over and over again. Just go to your local grocery store and see how many different foods are packaged in plastic and come in plastic containers. Impossible to avoid.

Actually I do buy beer in glass bottles, I've never seen beer in a plastic can or bottle. Aluminum yes, but plastic no. As for bike bottles I always preferred stainless bottles because I just like stainless bottles, not because I am afraid of plastic.

Its easy to avoid. Go to a farm market. Buy stuff from the bulk bins. There's no single use plastic in my house. Hasn’t been in 50 years. Just say no. Don’t go to Costco.