Just say no – to plastic in the kitchen
April 14, 2009 by Jennifer
Clearing out the plastic in your kitchen sounds tough, but once you start making these changes, it gets easier; you start thinking in terms of non-plastic all the time.This week we’ll look at why it’s smart to ditch plastics, and learn some tips for clearing out the plastics in your kitchen.
Why say no?:
More and more studies pop up all the time that note the dangers of plastics. Plastics can leach toxins into our food and drink and then into our bodies. The most dangerous plastic threats continue to be BPA loaded plastics, but other plastics can contain chemicals as well.
While some plastics are made with plants now vs. oil, most plastics are still made with non-renewable resources and while some are recyclable, many plastics are not tossed into the recycling bins. If plastics aren’t recycled, they’ll languish in the landfills for god knows how long. Other plastics are downcycled into products that can’t be further recycled. Furthermore it’s super expensive to recycle plastics and doing so causes its own set of environmental problems.
The worst plastic offenders for our health:
If you aren’t up for clearing out all the plastics in your kitchen just yet, at least avoid the following..
- #3 – PVC usually used in plastic wraps and bottles (such as salad dressing).
- #6 – PS used for meat trays and styrofoam cups.
- #7 – 7 plastics are an odd bunch. It basically means it’s not a plastic 1-6. Most of these contain BPA and are usually used in baby bottles, water bottles, metal can linings, many Tupperware containers, and more.
Plastics #1, 2, 4, and 5 are less toxic to humans but still not ok for the planet.
Next up in the plastic kitchen series, ideas to reduce your plastic use in the kitchen.
Are you using tons of plastic gear in your kitchen? Do you know what types of plastics you still have around? If not, it might be time to start sorting them out.
[image via stock.xchng]
Pyrex makes great glass containers for leftovers. Much better since you can re-heat in them and not worry about the Rubbermaid plastic stuff.
Due to the fact that our son has had severe allergies and sensitivities to chemicals causing Eczema (thank the Lord that his special probiotic healed him) we have really changed our ways as a family. I have been trying to get rid of plastics and am glad to read your article. What are some inexpensive alternatives? I have been using glass pickle jars to save leftovers etc. but am having an issue with packing my hubs lunch without plastic. Any suggestions?
Caroline *mom of 2 (one with a missing front tooth and the other healed from Eczema-yay for Zorbee!)
@Peggy, the only issue I have with glass containers is they still (mostly) use plastic lids! It’s so lame. BUT not all do, and at least it cuts out plastic containers.
@Caroline – I’m posting the next two parts of this series in the next three days or so, and one of those posts will have some ideas for alternative food storage. If you want one idea right now, I’d check out my post on reusable lunch and snack bags – http://www.treehuggingfamily.com/green-product-review-plum-creek-mercantile-reusable-cloth-snack-bags/ they’re really good for lunches, and not plastic but cloth and organic cloth. Later I’ll round up more ideas though.