When we recently learned that some receipts can release far more BPA than many plastic bottles, we wanted to understand what that means for everyday life. While this topic isn’t strictly DIY, it matters for a safe, healthy home—especially around Earth Day. We’re also into simplifying life (it was even my 2010 resolution), and the simple change we made after researching this issue helped reduce clutter and stress. Who doesn’t want a more organized wallet, purse, and home?
Here’s the short version. Science News reported that certain thermal receipts are coated with a powdered form of BPA that can easily transfer to skin and surfaces. That’s notable because most of the public attention around BPA has focused on plastic containers and bottles, where the chemical is typically embedded and leaches in tiny, nanogram amounts only under certain conditions like heat or aging. By contrast, many receipts can contain 60 to 100 milligrams of BPA in a loose, transferable form—orders of magnitude more—and therefore are more likely to spread to hands, clothing, or food.
There’s still debate about the full scope of BPA’s health effects, but major health organizations have raised concerns. The Centers for Disease Control considers BPA an endocrine disruptor, and studies have linked it to issues such as altered hormone activity, developmental concerns in infants, and possible associations with conditions like obesity and certain cancers. The FDA has said there is “reason for some concern” about its effects on fetuses and children, and public-health experts recommend reducing exposure when reasonably possible. The tricky part is that BPA-coated receipts look identical to non-coated ones, so you can’t tell which is which just by looking.
Our approach is pragmatic: we aim to reduce exposure without becoming obsessive. We’ve switched some household items—glass containers instead of plastic Tupperware, filtered tap water in a stainless steel bottle, and glass bottles for the baby. Still, discovering how common BPA-coated receipts are made us realize we were likely handling them regularly, sometimes right before eating or after washing our hands. That felt unsettling, especially during pregnancy, when it’s natural to be more cautious.
Fortunately, the practical fix is simple: when possible, ask the cashier to discard the receipt for you. If the receipt never reaches your hands, purse, wallet, or home, you avoid bringing BPA-coated paper into your living space. In our experience, roughly 80% of receipts we’re offered aren’t necessary—gas, food, and routine purchases we don’t plan to return don’t need to be kept. For business expenses, credit card statements often serve as adequate records, so many paper slips aren’t needed for bookkeeping anymore.
There are situations where a receipt is necessary, of course, but many retailers like Home Depot and Target can look up purchases by the credit card used. We rarely need paper slips to process a return at those stores if we paid with a card. Using a credit card that you pay off each month can also simplify record-keeping and reduce the pile of paper in a purse. For receipts you must keep, store them in a closed container—an accordion file or small envelope—until you can handle them and wash your hands afterward in case they contain BPA.
It would be great if opting out of paper receipts became a wider habit. Our ATM offers the option to decline a printed receipt and we always do—it saves paper and keeps our purse tidy. If more retailers adopted an opt-out or digital receipt option, that could reduce both waste and potential BPA exposure. Choosing to go receipt-free when feasible is an easy step that cuts clutter, lowers paper waste, and may also reduce a source of chemical exposure.
What do you think? No need to don gloves or panic—simple measures like leaving receipts at the register and washing your hands after handling them can go a long way. We try to strike a balance between caution and convenience. On the topic of creating a healthy, happy home, what small changes are you making? Any babyproofing, low-VOC paint trials, or organization wins that have simplified your life?
Update: The Washington Post later covered this topic in more detail.