Use Less Plastic Challenge
I have had a goal to reduce my use of plastic products for some time. My four reasons for doing so are:
- Plastics are a petroleum product, which pose financial, health, and environmental risks. Lessening our dependence on this commodity would be good for our families, our country, and the world.
- I wish to save money by using fewer disposable items.
- I wish to reduce our family’s waste products that go to the landfill, such as disposable wrappers and bags.
- I wish to maintain a high standard of health for my family. Plastics are not the healthiest food storage option, as plastic particles may leach into our food.
This is no easy task. Anyone out there using no plastic at all? I can certainly use your help. What do I use for freezing, if not plastic? I use mason jars for some foods, but many things do not work in a mason jar. That is one area in particular where I could use guidance.
In the last month I have been able to use less plastic, by storing fewer and fewer foods in plastic containers or in plastic wrap. Consider my refrigerator.
Where the fridge would normally be full of ziploc bags and bowls covered with plastic wrap, I am instead using glass or ceramic bowls that I cover with dinner plates. I also store leftovers right in the stainless steel or cast-iron pans in which they were prepared. However, there is still plastic in my fridge. If you look carefully, you’ll see it. I need this challenge to figure out how to use less plastic myself.
So, what is the challenge?
Simply put, commit to using less plastic products in your kitchen and/or your life. Make a personal goal — to use less plastic in one area of your life, to lessen plastic use, or to eliminate all plastic use.
Consider this inexhaustive list of plastics:
- plastic bags — ziploc, shopping, sandwich
- plastic containers, cups, and lids
- plastic wrap
- plastic water bottles
- plastic buckets
Some plastics are better than others. According to Life Without Plastic, the safest plastics to use for our food are those labeled with #2, #4, #5, and #7 (not polycarbonate). But even some of those are iffy. Most probably, you’ll find the rating imprinted on the bottom of any plastic container. For more information on all the plastic ratings and for tips for what other things to use, visit Life Without Plastic.
Using glass and stainless steel wherever possible will be a good start. There is an initial cost for these items, but if you watch thrift stores over time, you may be able to save quite a bit in acquiring useful pieces of glass, ceramic, or stainless steel. This is how I have built up most of my kitchen’s non-plastic options.
How do you participate?
- Comment below and let me know you’re in on the challenge.
- State what your personal goals are for lessening plastic use.
- Add some tips (we all need them) for reducing plastics in our homes. Submit a question if you don’t have any tips. Your thoughts are greatly appreciated and will benefit the general discussion.
- If you have a blog, write about this challenge on your site and link to this post: http://gnowfglins.com/2008/06/12/use-less-plastic-challenge/
What’s in it for you?
Good question! Not only will you be — 1) lessening our world’s dependence on petroleum products, 2) saving money, 3) reducing what goes to the landfill, and 4) not eating plastic particles in your food — you may be rewarded! Yes! At this challenge’s conclusion — Friday, June 27, 2008 — I will choose a winner, at random from all the commentors, who will receive a glass or stainless steel kitchen bowl at my expense. To keep things perfectly objective, one of my children will draw the winner’s name.
What’s next?
Add a comment and get started. I’m anxious to hear your thoughts, tips and perspectives.
Ooh Wardeh, this is something that I have been thinking of for a while. I so STRONGLY believe that plastics are bad for you, even if they have a tiny affect, think of the cumulative affect. The most awful thing is that I have not switched to glass bottles for my baby yet. I will write more later!
I love it, I’m in! I have been trying to cut way back on plastic too, but not just in the kitchen! I’m realizing, I’m just not keen on plastic anywhere, the garbage cans, storage bins, animal feed troughs, lawn chairs, tarps, kids’ toys, it’s everywhere! Besides all of the global issues you mention caused by us perpetuating such a demand for the product, it just it looks unsightly! Especially the brightly colored stuff!
I have been trying to get rid of it in the yard and in storage areas too, so am instead choosing wood, metal, rubber, glass & ceramic, recycled cardboard boxes and baskets (I love baskets!) for storage in the pantry & elsewhere.
I’m trying to make better buying choices too, steering clear of bringing any more plastic home, and trying to let stores know I prefer them to carry other alternatives.
My local natural foods co-op sells a lot of things in bulk, like soap, peanut butter, etc; so you can bring in your own container from home to fill up. Neat! We could all encourage local stores to offer this kind of thing. Of course, bringing your own bags to the store is an easy change. Bringing your own containers when eating out, to replace styrofoam and single-use “to go” containers, is another idea.
In school, one of my German professors told a story about how the Germans backlashed against over-packaging, decades ago (Europeans are often so far ahead of us in environmental consciousness… ). People started unwrapping goods right in the store, and leaving the plastic containers and unnecessary boxes on the shelves. It became such a movement that stores were forced to ask their suppliers to cut down on the packaging! Now, maybe cluttering the store with trash is not the best, but if you politely left the extra shrink-wrap with the cashier to discard, the message might be well communicated!
[...] One of my favorite bloggers, Wardeh Harmon, has issued us a challenge: use less plastic. Check out her blog post to read all of her great reasons why. I don’t like plastic either: I worry about it leaching [...]
Great idea. I have also been trying to cut back on plastic. I am open to any ideas. So far I have been mostly using glass. What can you store cheese (cheddar, Monterrey Jack etc.) in besides plastic? Any suggestions? I try to save glass containers whenever possible. Canning jars are great for storing things in. However don’t store homemade chicken broth in glass canning jars in the freezer, they break, even if you don’t fill them all the way. I learned that the hard way.
I’d like to join as well, but I have to say I’m much farther behind than the rest of you! I bring my own bags when shopping at my local farmers market, but I still use the plastic grocery bags when I go to Kroger. So, my personal challenge will be to get a few extra bags this week and take my own to Kroger instead of using the plastic ones. Second, I am going to start paying closer attention to what I throw away - I told you I was just starting :). I’ve noticed that I just willy nilly throw things away, and our city even has a relatively easy to use recycling program. So, that is also on the list.
Thanks Wardeh, for challenging me to take those first steps!
Wardeh, I love the thought you put into the issues you raise in your blog that encourage all of us to be better stewards of the earth and the blessings God has given to each of us! In contrast to other approaches out there, you aren’t the least bit militant. Instead, you are an inspiration! I am a huge fan of reducing plastic in my home, but I have to admit, I’m not at all sure where to start. Like you, I don’t know how to manage freezing things without plastic. And I must also admit that I am somewhat addicted to reclosable zipper bags. How will I do without them?
I will be watching the contest with great interest for tips and ideas, and I will be doing some serious pondering about how I can personally reduce my use of plastic. Not sure if this counts, but with my last two babies I have used cloth diapers almost exclusively, which means I haven’t been discarding plastic bags full of used disposable diapers for the past three years! And our family recently made the switch from drinking out of plastic cups and bottles to stainless steel (although there are plastic components to the stainless steel drinking bottles we switched to. Sigh. Is there any escape? It’s funny: I remember reading the history of Tupperware, which told about how plastic was a scientific miracle whose invention was heralded as a huge breakthrough. I guess we need to go back in time to the days before plastic existed to see how people managed without it. You are continuing to challenge me, Wardeh! You’ve got me reconsidering not only my use of plastic, but also trying to figure out how to eliminate nonstick cookware and possibly my microwave oven. It’s all a bit overwhelming to think about, but one thing at a time, right? 
I have two 90-something grandmas, and my great-grandmas also lived into their 90s, one of which was a homesteader, so I have reasonbly good memory of how they did things “way back then” from all their stories. I am trying to think of explanations of food preservation in the pre-Tupperware era.
I think that freezing was not real available to people then, at most, they had one of those ice boxes on the top of their fridge, and they were very small. And of course before that, they cut ice blocks from lakes and stored things in root cellars. I think the best they could do for food preservation in the ice box was wrapping things in butcher paper. We know things freezer-burn easily that way, so though it’s an option available to us, it’s only good for short-term storage. Things still come from the butcher that way, after all, sometimes with plastic inside, sometimes without.
I think that canning was what they did most back then, my grandmas and great grandmas canned everything: meat, lard, jams, pickled things, and many fruits and veggies. So, it could be that for longer-term freezing, if we feel we are economizing greatly over not keeping an inventory of food, then maybe some plastic has to be tolerated as a tradeoff.
Sangeeta, Michelle, Tiffany, Kristen and Sonya ~
Welcome to the challenge! I’m glad you’re all taking part. So far everyone is sharing great tips and questions!
Sangeeta –
Did you see that glass and stainless steel bottles were mentioned in the link I shared above? I know it is easy to feel badly for the things we’ve done that we regret, but don’t beat yourself up. I did sooo many things wrong when my kids were little and I wonder if that is why they have allergies? But we none of us can go back, we must go forward.
Michelle –
I think you’re right that in previous generations, canning was the norm. But canning is not that healthy, so it is a trade-off. If we could use plastic sparingly, reuse it whenever possible, and keep the food from touching it as much as possible, then plastic bags can be seen as a helpful tool. Thanks for pointing out the trade-off. And I am in agreement with you completely — natural materials are so much more attractive!
Tiffany –
Cheese — I frequently wrap cheese in a cloth, parchment paper, or wax paper, or store it in a lidded Pyrex glass container. I am surprised that the chicken broth broke the glass. I wonder why it would have done that while other liquids wouldn’t? Did you maybe put the broth in the glass when it was hot, so the temperature extremes put extra stress on the glass?
Kristen –
There is no behind when we’re all moving forward! I’m glad to see you here! That is great that you’re going to be using reusable grocery bags. I need to make some cloth bags for us. I usually request paper instead of plastic at the store and always have many other uses for the paper. You’re blessed to be shopping at a Farmer’s Market!
Sonya —
You’re a sweetheart! Thank you for the kind words. I am so inspired by all my friends online who read here and at Such Treasures. You’re all great! Using cloth diapers is great. I never did that. Wish I would have. Oh, the things I didn’t know then…
But we can’t live in the past, we must move forward, right?
Love, Wardeh
Hi Wardeh-
This is a great challenge… and difficult one. I have been thinking about it myself recently. I think the first area that I can start is how I store foods - namely leftovers. I tends to use plastic for all of that. My challenge will be to start switching to other containers.
I recently started bringing my own bags with me to the grocery store. I love it. I hated all the waste of those plastic bags. Today I actually turned around after leaving the neighborhood because I forgot them!
Another area I use a lot of plastic is with the little one. Any ideas for kid-friendly containers for snacks on the go (I use plastic tupperware now) or sippy cups (also plastic cups with straws)? I at least felt that using the tupperware was better than a plastic bag that gets thrown away each time!
Dear Wardeh,
I love your blog, it is a sanity check for me in a sometimes crazy day. It reminds me what is really important.
Plastic has been an issue for me for a while. I am glad that people are now talking so much more about it. If I do a search, I am sure that I could find tons of articles on the harmful effects of plastic.
I do believe that we can greatly reduce the amounts of plastics that we use. Good substitutes are lovely, chemically inert glass and stainless steel.
REFRIGERATOR: Right now I use glass containers with plastic lids
Journey: I used to use lots of stainless steel containers (from India). Disadvantage- they are not see-through. Advantage: they stack well. I still get a lot of use out of these containers.
I have replaced with glass containers. I first tried glass containers with glass lids from Anchor Hocking- they were refrigerator, microwave and oven-safe and looked good on the table as well. A great deal, I thought!. But I found that they were very heavy and were not good for freezing because the lids do not fit tight. I think they work well for fresh produce, though. I have now replaced with glass containers with plastic lids. I think my favorite so far are from Target (http://www.amazon.com/Pyrex-Storage-10-Piece-Clear-Blue/dp/B00005B8K5/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1213671281&sr=8-1). Advantage: lids fit tight. Disadvantage: plastic lids however these do not have to come in contact with the food.
I do think that it is worth to get new glass containers because then you can get a set that stacks somewhat decently- great for space efficiency. This is a big issue because glass containers occupy so much more space than ziplock bags!
Wardeh, I noticed that you have pans with handles in the refrigerator, I used to do this too but it occupies a lot more space.
FREEZING: I freeze cooked food in stainless steel or glass. I store cooked food in “freezer safe” ziplock bags and often in store wrappings, which is not good because these plastics are probably not freezer safe.
Goal: to stop using ziplock bags and “store-wrappings. An alternative that I considered was freezer paper but I read somewhere that freezer paper has a plastic coating which kind of defeats the purpose! I am now looking at butcher paper. Need to research this more, though. I read somewhere that on prolonged freezing with butcher paper there is some freezer burn. It might work well with shorter freezing, though. As of right now, I envision a freezer full of labeled and neatly wrapped butcher paper packages with freezer tape! I would love to hear other ideas on this.
SMALL KITCHEN “GADGETS”: I use stainless steel wherever possible- for example, colander, measuring spoons, etc.
BABY: Glass bottles for baby (bought them will start using them this week) Alternative: BPA free Born Free bottle
I never have stored formula or breast milk in plastic bottles. I never used the freezer bags for milk either. And I never put plastic baby bottles through the dishwasher but hand-wash them instead.
For my older son, the goal is to replace plastic straw cup with a stainless steel one. But I am having difficulty locating one!
OTHER IDEAS: Do not use bottled water, filter your own and carry in water bottles. I think that using bottled water really clutters up the environment. Also, it would be great if we could stop being dependent on grocery store plastic bags. I keep meaning to take my own bags in but have not gotten around to it yet!
That’s all I can think of for now. I am sure that more will come to mind later!
Thank you for the link Wardeh. And thanks so much to the others for their useful comments, I learnt so much more!
Hi Wardeh,
I am so glad you brought this topic up because I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. So far we’ve replaced our plastic water bottles with glass ones, and we’ve reduced our use of plastic grocery bags. I’ve replaced my measuring spoons and cups with metal.We are also recycling the plastic we do use, but that still doesn’t seem like enough. My biggest challenge is also freezing. I grind wheat to make flour and then store it in the freezer to use during the next week or two. I currently use big ziploc bags for this as well as plastic bags to freeze baked bread in. How do you freeze your bread? I still use plastic in the refrigerator for left overs but I make sure the foods are cool before I put them in and I won’t reheat them in the plastic.
Another challenge is bulk items. I store my wheat berries and oats in big plastic buckets with lids. I also use plastic to store my nuts and dried fruits and beans in the cabinet. I guess I could find glass for the cabinet items, but what about the large bulk items?
Wardeh, I know you make your own soaps and personal products. How do you store these? I’ve been convicted of the wastefulness of the shampoo bottle and lotions that we use. I try to buy large items so that the packaging is somewhat reduced, but I’m not sure that helps much.
As I join this challenge, my goals are to get glass containers for pantry items, and to reuse the plastic bags/containers of that I must continue to use.
Thanks!
We are currently discussing a leap of going (non reusable) plastic free in our kitchen for three months. Only a few things make it scary for us.
Cheese someone asked about storage….how do you buy it without plastic? We have made our yogurt on and off for years. I’m willing to make cheese but keeping up with my families consumption and young tastes could be hard. I see it at the farmers market sometimes but most are goat in plastic or aged (give me headaches). Cheddar has always been acceptable but it looks pretty hard to make from what little research I have done.
Meat How do you buy it? I thought about farm direct but I think most butcher and vacum pack. Meat counter? I think that butcher paper has plastic coating on one side. Hunting? How do I store it after I butcher? CHickens fresh butchered from my yard seems to be the only choice. Perhaps I need a pet cow here in Portland???
Please help!!
Sara –
I agree that Tupperware is better than throwing away plastic each time. You might consider wax paper bags from Natural Value. I just read about them today. They are coated with paraffin wax, not a petroleum based plastic coating.
I have seen children’s water bottles and cups made from stainless steel. If she’s old enough to do a sport cap, I believe you can get it (mostly) plastic free. Otherwise the sippy cups unfortunately have a plastic lid.
Sangeeta –
Okay, I want some of those storage containers from India! How can we get some???
You made great suggestions. I appreciate the thoroughness of your responses.
Will you let me know your findings on the butcher paper? You’re right that freezer paper is coated with plastic. I suppose it could be used inside out? That defeats the point of not using plastic at all, but at least we could keep it away from our foods. If my powers of observation are correct, the beef we buy — 1/2 cow per year — comes from the butcher in butcher paper and taped with a paper tape. So I think that is the answer. It is double wrapped and truly I have never noticed freezer burn.
You’re right about the pot handles taking up space in the fridge. I have to nest them carefully.
Melinda –
I have the same issue with the plastic buckets. I don’t foresee changing the big ones, but will try to replace (over time) the plastic containers in the cupboard with glass.
Yes, I do make most of my own soaps. I store them in cardboard boxes in the bathroom cupboard. This is better for them than plastic, because they need to breathe or they’ll start getting gooey. I learned that the hard way.
For the shampoo & conditioner (which I do purchase) I recycle those containers. Are you able to recycle yours? That might make you feel better about not being quite so wasteful.
Jay –
You’re nearby to us! We’re in the Pacific Northwest, too.
How wonderful that you make your own yogurt! Your question on cheese packaging is one I have too. Currently, I buy goat cheese and it is wrapped in plastic. I will start making it as soon as we are able to milk our dairy goats. I foresee wrapping my cheeses in wax paper (coated with paraffin, not petroleum based plastic). If I freeze it, I will have to pop it in something for the freezer and I think wrapping in butcher paper would work.
The meat? I am thinking butcher paper, not wax paper. We buy 1/2 cow at a time and it comes in butcher paper (double layer) from the butcher and taped with a paper tape. We are going to raise our own beef soon and I foresee getting lots of butcher paper and paper tape. I think a chicken could be wrapped in the same way.
Well, I don’t think I’ve helped but it does encourage me that you are going plastic free for 3 months!
Everyone —
I think the less we rely on commercial goods, the more likely we are to get away from unnecessary plastic packaging. This is not something that happens overnight, but it is encouraging that we can work toward it!
Love, Wardeh
When we were in New Zealand, we were inspired by the waste-conscious lessons that the school was helping to teach the students. The kids were strongly encouraged to bring their food in reusable containers. In fact, for their morning “brain food” they were not ALLOWED to bring anything packaged. The kids were motivated by contests between classes to see who was able to produce the least amount of “rubbish”. (This addressed wasted food as well as packaging.) Along the same lines, the school also recognized the class that used the least amount of electricity each week, and handed out “caught ya!” awards to students that helped the environment by picking up litter, etc.
Another thought- when we were kids, my dad created a padded nylon velcro sandwich bag. It was washable and also had a pocket to hold a small ice pack so you could keep your sandwich chilled. (Of course, we were terribly embarrassed to have it in our lunch bags…)
And a question- Is there the same problem leaching problem with dry foods, like flour, in plastic containers as there is with liquids?
Kate, that is wonderful to hear what the school systems in New Zealand are teaching the children! There does seem to be an issue with plastic leaching into dry foods, but it depends on the plastic rating. The link above outlines the issues with each rating. Also, we just don’t know all the effects of plastic, and studies are ongoing.
Love, Wardeh
Just announcing that Sara is our winner! Yay! ~Love, Wardeh
Hey there! Here is a stainless steel option: containers and lids meant for steam tables in restaurants. They come in a variety of sizes and depths: https://www.surfasonline.com/productlines/153.cfm. I like square & rectangle vs. round because it’s a more efficient use of space and it looks like they would stack great.
Jen, thank you for that option! They look great to me and I believe others reading here will thank you for the tip. Love, Wardeh