We use plastic everyday – we drink from it, eat from it, heat and store food in it.
But is it really that safe?
A leading toxicologist, Professor Ian Shaw from the University of Canterbury, says ‘no’. Chemicals in plastic appear to be effecting everything from premature puberty to infertility to cancer.
It is compounds like BPA which are causing the most concern and it's a controversial issue.
New Zealand regulators say the amount in our diet is safe – other countries, like Canada, disagree.
But when so much is at risk is it time that the plastics industry start looking for alternatives?