Plastics made from fossil fuels are just over a century old. Production and development of thousands of new plastic products accelerated after World War II, so transforming the modern age that life without plastics would be unrecognizable today. Plastics revolutionized medicine with life-saving devices, made space travel possible, lightened cars and jets—saving fuel and pollution—and saved lives with helmets, incubators, and equipment for clean drinking water.
The conveniences plastics offer, however, led to a throw-away culture that reveals the material’s dark side: today, single-use plastics account for 40 percent of the plastic produced every year. Many of these products, such as plastic bags and food wrappers, have a lifespan of mere minutes to hours, yet they may persist in the environment for hundreds of years.
Do you know Dangerous Plastic Game?
Some key facts:
Where’s the Plastic In Your Life?
If you answered everywhere, you’re probably not far off. This versatile material is in our appliances, computers, clothing, and so much more. Some of the most common places we find plastic is wrapped around the things we buy every day. After all, it’s an effective way to keep food and cosmetics clean and fresh.
But plastic is also lurking in some little known places. When you take a careful look around your home, the sheer number of things you’ll find containing plastic may surprise you.
Food packaging. Cereals, crackers, snacks, and many teas and coffees come in plastic. Most cheese, meat, and yogurt is packed in plastic, as are many condiments.
Best Alternatives to Plastic
Would you like to see less plastic in your home and less plastic waste in the world? Here are some long-lasting plastic alternatives available right now.
Stainless steel
Tough and easy to clean, stainless steel options for reusable food and beverage storage have multiplied in recent years. You can replace single-use cups, kitchen storage, lunch boxes, and more with this durable metal.
Glass
While not biodegradable, glass is inert, inexpensive and infinitely recyclable. And since many food items come packaged in glass, upcycling glass jars into food storage is a no-cost way to give your food packaging new life. Jars from jam, honey, pickles, nut butters, and so much more can be added to your no-waste toolkit for shopping from the bulk bins. They can also be repurposed to store leftovers and homemade drinks or decorated and turned into homemade gifts.
Platinum silicone
Made primarily of sand, food grade platinum silicone is flexible and durable. It’s also heat tolerant, so you can boil, bake, and cook in these products without danger of denaturing. Look for silicone products without plastic fillers.
Beeswax-coated cloth
Used primarily as a replacement for plastic wrap and platic bags, beeswax-coated fabric is easy to use and easy to clean. It also smells great.
Natural fiber cloth
Natural cloth can replace plastic bags. Sustainable clothing made from organic cotton, wool, hemp, or bamboo won’t shed plastic fibers when washed. Felted or recycled wool is a versatile, safe, and compostable material for children’s toys, household containers, and more.
Wood
A renewable resource, wood from sustainably-managed forests can replace plastic in household items like cleaning brushes, kitchen utensils, and cutting boards.
Bamboo salad servers
Bamboo
This fast-growing renewable resource can replace plastic in items like tableware and drinking straws. It is lightweight, durable, and compostable.
Pottery and Other Ceramics
Around for milennia, pottery and other fired ceramics offer a stable, waterproof alternative that’s good for food storage and tableware. Look for non-toxic glazes.
Paper
In days gone by, many things were packaged in plain paper. And while better than plastic, paper can’t be recycled infinitely because every time it’s reused, the fibres get shorter, limiting its use. Luckily all paper except the glossy kind is safe to put in your home compost.
Cardboard
Cardboard is fully compostable at home as long as it’s not coated in, you guessed it, plastic. Many companies are now packaging their products in plain cardboard to cut down on waste. You can also use cardboard boxes to replace storage containers in your home.
Keep in mind that anything you buy has an environmental footprint. Though longer lasting than plastic, things made from glass, metal, and so on still take energy to make and transport. For these swaps to make sense, you need to use them over and over and over again. Buying well-made, durable products will help ensure you get the most use from whatever you choose.
How to Break the Plastic Habit
There are many easy swaps we can all make that will help begin to cut plastic pollution. As more of us demand non-plastic options from the companies we buy from, the amount of plastic being mindlessly produced and tossed will finally begin to decline. Start with some manageable first steps that can cut down your plastic use significantly.
Use plastic-free beverage containers. A long-lasting water bottle means you never need to buy a bottled drink or use a plastic straw. Bringing your own reusable cup to your favorite coffee shop means you can skip the cup, lid and straw.
Ditch the plastic bags. A staggering trillion plastic bags are used every year. Bring your own shopping bag, and help show others we can buy produce without plastic with reusable produce bags. Bring your own containers when shopping the bulk bins so you don’t need the plastic ones typically provided (and unfortunately used by most shoppers).