Going Plastic Free in the Kitchen

By Laura Anderson

One action connecting us all is our every day need to eat. The majority of household waste is linked to our consumption of food and, within a society run on plastics and disposables, one great place to make a huge personal impact is in the kitchen. 

So where do we start?

Begin in your kitchen with a walk-through -- Open up your pantry, fridge, and cabinets. Note the single-use plastics and compare those to reusable plastic products.

Now, let’s tackle the single-use products -- food wrappers and containers, beverage bottles, plastic baggies, cling wraps, etc. 

This is where the majority of our plastic kitchen waste originates from. 
You may find many of your favorite brands come wrapped in plastic. That is okay! Going plastic-free doesn’t happen in a single day. Change happens over time and in these beginning stages, we just want to acknowledge which objects use plastic. With this knowledge, you have the power to brainstorm alternative and creative solutions.  

Shopping
Grab your reusable bag and let’s go shopping! When it comes to decreasing food packaging, “precycling” will become your guide. “Precycling” is the practice of seeking to reduce consumer waste by buying unpackaged, reusable, or recyclable products. 

These are the main things to look for: 

1. Little to no packaging on products
2. Bulk or concentrated products
3. Long-lasting products
4. Reusable or easily repurposed containers holding the products
5. Recycled materials used in product packaging
6. Swap plastic packaging for aluminum, glass, or stainless steel
   1. Did you know that aluminum and glass do not decrease in quality, no matter how many times they’ve been recycled? And, on average, aluminum cans can be recycled and back on the shelf within 60 days!
7. Avoid purchasing disposable products like plastic baggies, bottles, cups, and cutlery

Remember: Refuse, Reuse, Repurpose, and Recycle -- in that order*

So, now that we’ve precycled, what comes next? Time to use the rest of your disposable plastics and begin replacing them with reusable alternatives!

Storage
When it comes to food storage, there’s an alternative for everything. 
Big fan of ziplock bags? Try out reusable fabric or silicone snack bags!
Ready to ditch plastic tupperware? Try reusing glass jars, mason jars, or glass storage containers. Or, skip the tupperware all together! Silicone lids are available that can be stretched to fit any ceramic dish.
Love cling wrap? Step it up with some stylish beeswax wraps (I’ll be exploring ways to make your own Beeswax wraps tomorrow, May 14th. So stay tuned!) 


Eco Chef it Up
When it comes to cooking, plastic products are risky.  They can chip, melt, and leach toxins into your food. Avoid these risks by switching over to cutting boards and cooking utensils made from bamboo! Unlike plastic mixing bowls, stainless steel will last a lifetime. These switches decrease your plastic use and add a beautiful aesthetic to your kitchen.  

Dinner Time
Set the table with reusables and avoid single-use plates, cups, and cutlery. Exchanging your disposable napkins with cloth ones not only adds an elegance to your dining, but you’ll never have to buy napkins wrapped in plastic again!

Have children? You can replace their plastic dishware with silicone, stainless steel, or bamboo alternatives.

Clean Up
Cleaning products are frequently packaged in plastic and designed for quick disposal. Try switching out your bottled dish soap for soap bars, soap concentrate, or refillable liquid soap from bulk containers at the store. You can also cut down plastic by making your own dish soap and homemade cleaners. We’ll be covering Homemade Household Cleaners on May 19th and DIY Soap Nuts on May 20th!

Love your foaming soap dispensers? You can refill these with liquid soap, diluted with water and you’ll never have to buy another dispenser again. 

Classic dish sponges are intended to be thrown away. As they wear down, they break off synthetic microparticles that go down the drain. At the wastewater treatment plant, these particulates are too small to be removed and make their way back into our streams! Avoid this issue by switching to a plant-based dish brush that is designed to last or try plant-based sponges. 
Even your recycled paper towels come wrapped in plastic, so you can ditch the packaging and single-use by using old rags instead. 

Practice Patience
Cutting out plastic is a gradual practice and having an all-or-nothing mentality can sabotage even the best thought out plans. There is no need to put pressure on yourself to replace everything right away. Use what you already have and if items are still doing their jobs, keep them until they’re no longer of use or choose to donate them instead. Change happens with small, intentional steps. Once you get the hang of it, buying plastic-free will become second nature. 

Be patient with your process, and remember, we don’t need a handful of people going plastic-free perfectly, we need millions of people doing it imperfectly.

​







Laura is Asheville GreenWorks’ Water Quality Coordinator, AmeriCorps Member, and Co-Staff Liaison of the Plastic Reduction Task Force. She’s dedicated to stopping single-use plastics at the source -- keeping it out of our waste streams and our waterways! Together we can make a better tomorrow. 




​

---