We’re celebrating Plastic-Free July, a global movement to reduce single-use plastic waste every day at home, work, school, and within your community. By choosing to refuse single-use plastics, a small change by many can make a huge difference in the world’s plastic pollution problem. Join us in imagining a world without plastic waste. We’ll be posting Plastic-Free July tips and blog posts with ideas all month!
Next up, we bring you some suggestions for going Plastic-Free in the kitchen. Check out our ideas:
Use reusable food wrap!
Did you know that each year, Americans buy enough plastic film to shrink-wrap Texas? That’s 268,581 square miles of unnecessary plastic. Wax wraps are a great alternative to plastic wrap. You can purchase them or make them on your own. There are even vegan options available! Ditch the plastic wrap and cover it with a beeswax wrap instead. You can rinse the beeswax wrap and re-use it over and over again.
Wooden cooking utensils
Next time you’re in need instead of plastic cooking tools opt in favor of wooden or stainless, an easy swap to go Plastic-Free in the kitchen. They’ll last a lot longer than their plastic counterparts. And they won’t melt or leach chemicals or strange tastes into hot foods like plastic ones may.
Cooking at Home
Cooking at home is a great way to avoid single-use plastic. No takeout containers or plastic utensils. Eating at home means you can avoid to-go food packaging, plastic doggy bags, straws and more. Challenge yourself to cook a version of your favorite takeout!
Swap out your plastic dish sponges!
Did you know a year’s worth of discarded sponges from one household could take up landfill space for upwards of 52,000 years?! So next time you need to replace your kitchen sponge, swap it out for a non-plastic one!
Composting
While composting won’t help you avoid plastic, it will help slow climate change! Did you know that in landfills, food and yard waste doesn’t break down the same way it does in nature? In a landfill, there’s no oxygen because all of the materials are too tightly packed. Instead, as it breaks down it releases methane gas, a more potent greenhouse gas, into the air. We shared 5 reasons you should try composting plus a basic how-to here.
Sustainable hand wash and lotion
Keep Plaine Products hand wash and lotion by the sink!
Avoid dishpan hands and make it easy to avoid single-use plastic by the kitchen sink! Our use of aloe will help keep your skin from drying out while also stopping germs.
Loose Lea Hot Tea
Did you know tea bags often contain plastic? Not to mention the packaging. And because of the plastic content, conventional tea bags cannot completely decompose and are not compostable. Instead, try drinking loose leaf tea with a tea strainer and avoid drinking plastic tea!
