The attention surrounding the suspect chemical bisphenol A (BPA) has put a local company into overdrive.
Dyna-Pro Environmental, a plastic manufacturing company, has been busy informing their clients that the plastic water jugs they produce are BPA-free.
Sylvia Lasko says her company's plastic water bottles do not contain PBA, a chemical the federal government says is dangerous to a person’s health.
Many water bottles, baby bottles and plastic food containers are made of plastics containing BPA. The chemical, which has been linked to cancer and infertility, can be dangerous to infants and the environment.
Sylvia Lasko, a spokeswoman for Dyna-Pro Environmental, said over the past few months -- and especially the past few weeks -- they have had several phone calls and e-mails from concerned Winnipeggers.
"Perception is reality," she said. "The customers are informed, so they're asking more questions."
Dyna-Pro's bottles are made of a material called polyethylene terephthalate-isophthalate (PTE).
The jugs are sent to hundreds of retailers across Canada, including grocery stores such as the Real Canadian Superstore and the Federal CO-OP. And as far as Lasko knows, they're the only company in Winnipeg that sells the type of bottles they do.
"Our goal is to provide the best possible service to our customers, so we conducted experiments to find the effects the bottles have on water. We found that bottles made from PTE have no leaching, so when you fill up your jug with water, it will stay pure and there won't be any plastic taste."
Lasko said their bottles have no BPA in them at all, but that their decision to use an alternative plastic came years before BPA was found to be dangerous.
"Our decision to go with PTE wasn't a matter of avoiding BPA," she said. "We did our own research to find the best possible product for taste and durability. We did the taste-testing ourselves."
Lasko said if the demand for their product goes up, it's possible they might look into expanding. She said Dyna-Pro, which has been in business for more than 17 years, is a green-minded company.
Their goal is to keep as much material as possible out of landfills, which is why their bottles are fully recyclable.
allie.walld@freepress.mb.ca
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