Plastic has become a part of our normal lives and this has become a huge problem for the environment. If you are thinking about reducing or eliminating plastic use altogether in the kitchen where the majority of plastics in the house is used, there are a few tips and trips that you can adopt.
Just because you have finished using the plastic, the life of that plastic item will not end at that point. Because it doesn’t break down, it can stay in the environment for so many years disrupting food chains and natural life. But people are more aware of how they are contributing to pollution and many have started to frequent more and more eco shops to make sure they are making responsible purchases. It is best to reuse the plastic that is in your home already so that you are not contributing to it ending up in a landfill.
But there are so many places that plastic is used in daily life that we almost become blind to it. Take a look at the lids of glass jars and the bin bags that you are using to store rubbish. All of this is plastic! So what can you do to reduce your reliance on this material? First of all, you need to stop buying any new plastic items. So if you are going shopping, you need to carry reusable shopping bags with you so you are not bringing in polythene bags from the store. Make sure that there are a couple of bags in your vehicle so that you don’t forget this. Gradually, you will be able to stop polythene from being added to the house.
When you are replacing your tupperware, make a conscious decision to ditch plastic options and go for other alternatives. You can use glass jars, Pyrex containers etc. You can also reuse the glass jars that come from the store such as jam bottles. When we are packing food to take to the office or anywhere out of the house, we tend to use cling film for convenience. But this can become a problem when a majority of people on the planet use it every day. Think of how much waste it can produce. You can go for healthier alternatives like beeswax paper that will cling to itself similar to what cling wrap does and use a lunch box to keep your meals in.
When you are going out to eat and you order a takeaway option, they will give you plastic cutlery. Make sure that you ask for utensils that are either metal or wooden. If this is not an option, you can ask them to forgo the utensils. You can always use the metal cutlery in your home to eat this. Another thing we don’t notice is the plastic in our cooking pan. Non-stick pans get that property because there is a type of plastic coating on the top. So to avoid this, whenever you are buying a new pan, you can use a cast iron or stainless steel pan.
