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We are drowning in plastic.

From beauty products to grocery bags to water bottles to our daily cup of coffee, plastic is present in every aspect of our lives. Most of these items are designed to be used once and thrown away, usually heading to the landfill.

Some of the plastic that we think can be recycled, like drink lids, straws and utensils, end up in the landfill because they're either too difficult to recycle or there's no market for the end products. Even recyclable plastic such as water bottles are becoming harder to recycle.

The most effective approach to reducing our plastic waste is to REFUSE, REDUCE, and REUSE.

In January 2019, GreenWorks spearheaded the creation of the Plastics Reduction Task Force -- a group of motivated volunteers dedicated to reducing single-use plastic in our environment. 
​
Join the plastic-free movement and break free from the plastic ties that bind us.
Donate now for a plastic-free future
Mind Your Plastic May is meant to encourage and challenge us in our journey to live plastic free. These posts are created by GreenWorks staff, Plastic Reduction Task Force volunteers, and other plastic-free advocates in Buncombe County. If you've found these posts helpful and encouraging, please consider making a donation to support this work. If you have any questions, please email [email protected]
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Going Plastic Free in the Kitchen

5/13/2020

2 Comments

 
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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.

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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. 





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2 Comments
Mike Stevenson
5/16/2020 08:42:16 pm

Maybe I can chase some of these good suggestions down myself, but it would be helpful to have businesses, locations, or sources for such things as a plant based dish brush to replace the sponge for example. Silicone snack bags? where might I find those? But I love this series of encouraging steps to take! And I think a letter writing campaign to our state legislators to submit and debate for a BOTTLE BILL in our state.

Reply
Chelsea
5/17/2020 09:05:22 am

I love this article. I struggle with what to put my fresh fruits and veggies in at the grocery store as well as meat. Do you have any suggestions? I also wonder what else to freeze bulk meats in? I usually use freezer bags because I feel like they store the food the best.

Reply



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​Asheville GreenWorks is a 501(c)3 non-profit environmental organization, governed by a Board of Directors. Established in 1973, GreenWorks mission is to inspire, equip and mobilize individuals and communities to take care of the places we love to live.
  • Hard 2 Recycle
  • Programs
    • Bee City USA Asheville >
      • Native Pollinator Plants and Nurseries
      • Pollination Celebration
      • Pollinator Garden Certification
    • Rivers & Roads >
      • Adopt-a-Street
      • Clean Streams Day
      • Cleanup Supply Stations
      • Trash Trout
      • WNC Big Sweep
    • Education
    • Urban Forestry >
      • Adopt-a-Spot
      • Cool Green Asheville
      • Food Tree Project
      • RRI
      • Tree Nursery
      • Treasured Trees >
        • Treasured Trees Calendar
    • Waste Reduction >
      • Asheville Bag Monster
      • Composting Information
      • Flip Your Lid
      • Plastics Reduction Task Force
      • Recycling Information
      • Smash Don't Trash
  • Get Involved
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