By Lena Milton, Guest Writer Photo by Luisa Brimble Many of us have heard that going plastic-free is a great way to reduce your personal environmental impact. However, removing plastic from your life, and especially from your kitchen, sounds like a daunting task. Trust me, I get it – plastic is so convenient! A plastic-free kitchen is possible. This guide will first explain the benefits of a plastic-free kitchen, and will then provide you with some simple tips on how to achieve the sustainable kitchen of your dreams. Photo by Nana Bertolt-Jensen Why Ditch the Plastic? The two main reasons to get rid of plastic in your kitchen are plastic’s negative environmental impacts and its negative health impacts. Environmental Impacts of Plastic First, plastic production contributes to climate change. Plastic is a man-made polymer made from petroleum, a fossil fuel. Additionally, each step of plastic manufacturing emits greenhouse gasses, even if production occurs within an environmentally responsible supply chain. In fact, in 2019, the production and incineration of plastic added around 850 million metric tons of greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere. For context, if plastic production grows as expected, emissions could reach 1.34 gigatons per year by 2030. This would make it significantly more difficult to keep global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees C. Plastic production is also very water-intensive. In fact, it takes 22 gallons of water to make a single pound of plastic. Lastly, plastic is not biodegradable and takes up precious land space in landfills. When plastic sits in landfills, it can leach toxic chemicals into the groundwater or soil, harming the natural environment and wildlife. Unfortunately, lots of plastic doesn’t even make it to a landfill. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates that 14 million tons of plastic ends up in the ocean every single year, putting animals at risk of ingesting plastic debris and polluting valuable marine ecosystems. Health Impacts of Plastic Many plastic food containers may contain dangerous chemicals like BPA or PFAS that can leach into your food. When you then eat food that was stored in the plastic container, you risk ingesting these chemicals, especially if the container was heated. At high levels of exposure, the chemicals in plastic can disrupt your hormones and cause disease and other health problems. As there are thousands of chemicals used to create plastic food containers, scientists don’t even know the health impacts of most of these chemicals. While they may be harmless, the vast majority of chemicals used in plastic food containers have not been studied enough to know. Your best bet is simply to reduce the amount of plastic you use in the kitchen. How to Ditch Plastic in the Kitchen Use Reusable Cups & Dishware One of the simplest ways to reduce the amount of plastic in your kitchen (and life in general) is to stop using disposable plastic cups or silverware. While disposables may be convenient (recycling them is certainly easier than doing dishes), disposable plastic has a high environmental impact. Try and stop using disposable plastic wherever you use it in your life, whether that’s every day or only when hosting large get-togethers. When you get takeout, make sure to request they leave out plastic utensils. Switching to reusable dishware can have a large environmental impact almost immediately. For example, this comparison shows that using a glass cup as few as 6 times makes it a more eco-friendly alternative to disposable cups. When choosing which reusable containers to use, opt for glass or pure ceramic containers, rather than plastic. These materials have fewer health risks. Use Plastic Wrap Alternatives A six-month long study found that over five million Americans went through more than 10 million boxes of plastic wrap. While we depend heavily on plastic wrap in the kitchen, it has negative health and environmental effects. Plastic wrap is often made of PVC, which can release the toxic chemical dioxin in landfills. It is difficult to recycle, and creates plastic pollution in the ocean. Rather than using plastic wrap to store food, consider using an alternative, such as a silicone lid that fits to the top of a bowl, or flexible beeswax wraps that are reusable and naturally biodegradable. Use Plastic-Free Cleaning Products Unfortunately, cleaning your kitchen is a part of life. Most cleaning products come in plastic bottles and packaging which you need to dispose of when you’re done. Consider switching to a plastic-free cleaning product like EcoRoot’s plastic-free block of dish soap or Meliora’s dish soap that comes in a reusable tin. Use Fully Natural Sponges While some dish sponges are made primarily from natural fibers, most sponges you buy at the grocery store include polyester or nylon components, which are both plastic-based fabrics. Sponges may also contain the toxic chemical triclosan, a pesticide often used in conventional sponges to reduce bacterial contamination. Triclosan can cause health problems. Instead, use plastic-free, biodegradable sponges. Many natural sponges are made from plant fibers such as coconut shells or walnut cellulose. These sponges are just as durable and can scrub away even the toughest grime. Grocery Shop With Reusable Bags While this is a more kitchen-adjacent tip, using reusable bags can help reduce your plastic use. While reusable bags take more energy than plastic to produce, the more you use the bag, the lower its environmental impact. Reusable, non-plastic bags also help reduce the amount of plastic waste in the ocean and environment as a whole. While using reusable tote bags to carry groceries has become more and more popular, many people still use smaller, thin plastic bags to buy produce. Take your commitment to plastic reduction even further by using small reusable mesh or organic cotton to buy fruits and vegetables. Some grocery stores also have the option for you to bring your own reusable containers to buy food in bulk. Check with your local bulk food store, if available, to see if you can use a glass jar or other non-plastic container rather than a disposable plastic one. What’s Next? Try not to be overwhelmed. While a truly plastic-free kitchen is a lofty, admirable goal, taking any one of these steps to reduce your plastic use has a positive impact on the environment and your health. You don’t need to do it all at once. If this sparked your excitement and you want to do even more to achieve a sustainable kitchen, no need to stop here! Consider making other eco-conscious choices, like making environmentally-responsible food choices or buying energy-efficient kitchen appliances.
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