There has been quite the stink raised lately over this thing called Bisphenol-A, or BPA. Rightfully so. This chemical found in polyvinyl chloride (PVC, recycling symbol 3), polystyrene (PS, recycling symbol 6), and polycarbonate (PC, recycling symbol 7, if labeled at all) has been found to leech from the plastic and into the food it contains, especially when heated. New research is linking BPA to abnormalities in mammary and prostate glands. Canada has declared BPA to be toxic, and the US is still deciding whether or not to ignore it.

This issue is causing a lot of stir, and some people are even going back to glass for baby bottles. We've gone through the cupboards and tossed several plastic sippy cups and kid cups to the recycling bin if they had a 3, 6, or 7 on the bottom. Our biggest dilemma came as it did for most people - baby bottles. Most are made from shatterproof PC, and carry no recycling symbols. You can reduce the risk of contaminating the contents with BPA by not storing liquids in them, and by warming them in a different container. But what to do if you don't want to use them, nor ditch them in the landfill?

For one, Wired's GeekDad has issued a challenge to find ways to reuse these little devils. They show some examples and have set up a flickr pool for people to submit their ideas.

Also, Playtex is offering a free sample of their BPA-free drop-in style baby bottles.