How many times can you recycle paper?

Will exposure to Dioxin in paper plates everyday cause birth defects?

• Hi, I am 5 months pregnant and I just found out that Dioxins are in paper plates. I eat off of them everyday the whole time I have been pregnant because my husband has been deployed for the last 4 months and our dishwasher broke 3 days after he left and here in Germany the house we live in the kitchen sink is so small you can only fit like 3 cups in it at a time, so it was ideal of me to buy bulk in paper plates until he gets back and we recycle everything so I thought nothing of it. Do you think this is something I should be worried about? I am so upset since finding out that Dioxin (the same thing thats in Agent orange) is in all my paper plates that I eat off of some times multiple times a day. I just want to hide under a rock forever. What should I do? Will my baby be ok you think?????? :(

• Answer:

  I wouldn't worry about it. There is some sort of toxin in almost everything! So do you want dioxins in paper plates or the toxins from the shiny finish on most hard, porcelain plates. I'm eight months pregnant and can say from experience, spend your time worrying about more important things or you are going to drive yourself crazy! Like alcohol, OTC meds, fumes, dyes, fish, etc. You can only control so much in your environment. But if you are really, truly concerned about the plates, go organic.