Plastic Free Living: six easy kitchen swaps
Since climate change became the forefront of global conversation, finding ways to be part of the solution through plastic free living is a priority for many environmentally friendly souls. They say the kitchen is the heart of the home, which is certainly true for myself being a big food lover. I’ve always enjoyed cooking, hosting dinner parties and savouring dishes in small rituals such as my daily mantra of homemade granola with seasonal fruit to start my day strong.
So for me, this was the best place to start my journey into reducing and removing single-use plastic from my life. The kitchen was definitely the source that attracts the most waste in my house, so it was an easy choice to commit to reducing plastic use.
This month it’s Plastic Free July and the perfect time to share my easy kitchen swaps with you. You can join their campaign too with millions of other people, myself included, to be part of the solution.
If you are looking for some inspiration, read on for my top six plastic free swaps for the kitchen….
Six easy plastic free kitchen swaps
1. Beeswax Wraps
If you haven’t made this step yet I highly recommend it. All though expensive initially, unless you make your own of course – give it a go, I love this guide from Goodhousekeeping, it’s so worth the effort. These sweet bee design ones are from the wonderful souls at Park Farm Cottages and some of the best I’ve tried, I highly recommend the bread bag too!
2. Dishwashing Soap Bar
We may easily embrace bar soap for washing our hands and even our hair, but did you know you can also use dishwashing soap bars? They are effective at cleaning our dishes, but the lack of bubbles can take a little getting used to, similar to eco washing up liquid. It also looks so much nicer than a ugly plastic bottle, invest in a good soap dish/tray to make it last as long as possible.
3. Loose Leaf Tea
According to The Tea Division, tea bags have 10 times the carbon footprint of loose-leaf tea and are only 70% biodegradable! Meanwhile, loose leaf tea does not contain any of this plastic, so you can sip happily in the knowledge that no unnecessary plastic waste was involved in the making of your cuppa.
4. Water Bottle and Coffee Flask
I can’t remember the last time I left the house without my water bottle from Passenger and coffee flask from Uneeka. Flaske explain why taking a water bottle with you everywhere is so important, “Billions of single-use plastic bottles are produced every year and only a small percentage of them are recycled.
Even plastic waste that is recycled can only be reused a certain number of times as the fibres degrade. Therefore, most of the world’s plastic waste ends up in landfill sites or in the oceans where it leaches chemicals, pollutes soil and harms wildlife.” As a coffee lover, I apply this ethos to my caffeine life too.
5. Home Grown herbs
A super easy swap is to invest in kitchen herb seeds or take a cutting from green fingered friends. Our kitchen window sills can easily be turned into a haven of delicious fresh herbs for culinary delight.
Simultaneously, by avoiding shop bought herbs, in plastic containers, often wrapped in an extra layer of plastic to keep forced grown herbs looking something near healthy is an added bonus. Mint, thyme, oregano, coriander and basil will all flourish in a sunny kitchen spot.
6. Storage jars for bulk buys
Many moons ago, I was kindly gifted a set of three Daylesford storage jars and I’ve never looked back. I use these for seeds, loose leaf tea and coffee grounds which I can all buy in bulk. Further reducing my plastic waste and leaving me a few pounds up. Since, I have invested in more and store many of my pantry items this way, perfect for grains, pulses and pasta.
It’s worth saying though I only recommend making these swaps when your existing items are no-longer usable, and using what you have first is always the most sustainable option.
