Plastics Purge Part IV: Plastic-Free Food Storage

Greener Living’s plastics purge series continues this week with Part IV where I delve into non-disposable plastic and plastic alternatives to single-use food storage products including  Ziploc bags, plastic cling wrap, and single-use to-go containers.

Since beginning this blog nearly seven months ago, I have endeavored to eliminate and reduce the waste I’m producing in my everyday life. From the get-go, I knew that my use of plastic cling wraps, disposable Ziploc style sandwich/storage bags, and single-use to go containers was an unsustainable pattern in my life.

I subsequently sought reusable alternatives to all of these and have been using these alternatives fairly consistently and effectively since then.

Growing up in a home of avid lunch packers (cold lunch kids for life!), plastic cling wrap was a staple in my household. Everything from sandwiches to dinner leftovers were typically wrapped in a secure bundle of plastic cling wrap. It got the job done and it was convenient. However, as with the numerous other sources of single-use plastics in our lives, this convenience did not come without a cost. 

Similarly, it was exceedingly convenient to grab a plastic Ziploc bag and toss some snacks into it.

And, when we would go out to eat growing up, we’d bring our leftovers home in single-use plastic containers, the worst of which were made of Styrofoam, which under certain environmental conditions essentially never breaks down. In fact, some estimates find that Styrofoam can take up to 1 million years to break down.

As with all single-use plastics, the disposability of these products has devastating environmental impacts. Once disposed of, these products end up in landfills where they take up to 1000 years to decompose, leaching chemicals into the environment all the while. Plastic products that are improperly disposed of contribute to the ongoing plastic pollution crisis whereby they enter our natural world and are further degraded into microplastics by exposure to sunlight or wave motion. This macro and microplastic pollution accumulates toxins, contaminates our waterways, and endangers wildlife by choking animals and clogging up their digestive systems. 

In addition to their environmental impact, these single-use plastic storage options can also negatively impact human health in their ability to transfer chemicals into our food, especially when exposed to heat.

Luckily, in our planet’s growing awareness around the profound problems posed by plastic pollution (read more about the historic agreement on plastic pollution reached by over 180 countries worldwide), reusable or more sustainable alternatives to these single-use plastic products are becoming more readily available and commonplace.

US households use an estimated 24 rolls of plastic wrap per year. However, single-use, plastic cling wrap can be avoided by storing food in reusable containers with lids. Likewise, sandwiches and other commonly-wrapped foodstuffs can be stored in reusable sandwich boxes or small Tupperware containers instead.

ETEE FoodWraps via Amazon

There also exists reusable beeswax food wraps. I ordered an assorted pack of these beeswax wraps, and although it took some adjustment and practice to get used to, I found that they function just as well as plastic wrap. Unlike the wasteful plastic/cling wrap which readily clings to itself, these beeswax food wraps are “heat activated” and need to be warmed by rubbing them in your hands before they stick to themselves. However, once activated they readily adhere to themselves or to the edges of dishes you may be covering. Best of all, they can be cleaned and reused up to 150 times.

There are a variety of beeswax food wraps available such as the ETEE reusable food wraps that I ordered from Amazon. I encourage you to shop around and explore the product reviews and information for yourself to get a better idea of how these alternatives to cling wrap work. (Please note: buying local whenever possible rather than ordering and shipping from online is better for the environment!)

Similarly, I phased out my use of plastic Ziploc bags by investing in reusable alternatives. With fun patterns and a variety of styles, these sustainable alternatives met my various snacking needs. I could fit sandwiches, chips, cheese and crackers, or really whatever I was looking to snack on at work or on the go. These alternatives can be made of cloth, silicone, or PEVA / EVA non-chlorinated plastics. The average US household uses 500 Ziploc or off-brand equivalent plastic bags each year, according to Design-Life-Cycle of the University of California, Davis Department of Design. Swapping out the single-use bags for reusable alternatives can therefore significantly reduce plastic waste output while simultaneously saving you money.

If you do continue to use plastic Ziploc bags on occasion or consistently, be sure to rinse and re-use these bags as they can be cleaned out and used multiple times.

Take-out and to-go orders have also contributed an estimated 269,000 tons of plastic pollution in the form of cups, plates, cutlery, straws, and containers. Many restaurants have invested in biodegradable, compostable alternatives to plastic/Styrofoam containers and cutlery. However, these products are often only compostable at an industrial level. Therefore, even when more eco-friendly alternatives exist, it is best to forgo the conatiner altogether by bringing your own to-go container in the form of a reusable Tupperware made of plastic or glass. Also, be sure to go without straws, napkins, or plastic cutlery that may be offered in conjunction with your to-go, and choose instead to use reusable straws, cloth napkins, and non-disposable cutlery—all of which will help cut down your plastic footprint. Pro tip: keeping a reusable spoon or other cutlery and a reusable napkin in your bag, purse, or car can help you have access to sustainable alternatives while on the go.

Additionally, I keep a Tupperware or two in my car. This way, when I go out to eat and have leftovers I’d like to take home, I can grab my Tupperware from my car.

Many of these alternatives are in fact plastic. Sometimes a sturdier, PVC/BPA-free plastic alternative is the best option in terms of portability and durability. However, it is also worth noting that glass containers, jars, and Tupperware offer plastic-free storage alternatives that are definitely worth consideration.

So, this week, I urge you to work on phasing out these single-use plastics from your kitchens and from your daily lives. If you feel intimidated by the prospect of doing away with plastic Ziplocs, cling wrap, and single-use to-go containers all in one go, pick just one to start with. Your goal this week could even be as simple as putting a reusable container into your car for future use.

Whatever you decide to do, know that you are taking an important step on your continued journey toward greener living, and, as always, let us know how it goes in the comments section below.

~Sam

Plastics Purge Part III: Reusable Water Bottles to the Rescue!

Greener Living’s Plastics Purge Series continues here with Part III. If you haven’t yet had the chance, be sure to check out previous posts in the series, including Part I  on disposable plastic shopping bags and Part II on single-use plastic straws.

In this week’s post, I’ll be delving into an additional source of unnecessary, avoidable plastic waste: single-use, disposable plastic water bottles—a topic near and dear to my heart.

In an alarming trend of disposability, roughly 40 percent of the now more than 448 million tons of plastic produced every year is disposable. This is according to a National Geographic article by Laura Parker, which details the problematic nature of our dependence on plastics.  Globally, only 18 percent of plastic is recycled, up from nearly zero percent in 1980. Even though plastic bottles are one of the most widely recycled products, they are still a serious contributor to our global plastics pollution problem. They are also seriously unsustainable in their oil and water consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and prevalence in landfills.

Last year alone, Americans used a staggering 50 billion plastic water bottles. With bottled water consumption reaching an all-time high in the United States and other parts of the world, the time to act is now.

Although it is easy to demonize plastic water bottles from an environmental standpoint, I would like to first acknowledge that plastic water bottles can serve a vital function in bringing safe drinking water to people who don’t have it. However, in the context of addressing superfluous waste in our everyday lives, the unnecessary nature of single-use plastic water bottles applies to those of us with access to clean, safe drinking water.

People with access to clean, safe drinking water who choose to utilize bottled water instead of tap water typically do so as a matter of convenience, status symbol, preference in taste, or perceived increase in health benefits or safety.

However, in both the US and Canada, tap water has more strict safety regulations than bottled water. Additionally, 45% of all bottled water is actually sourced from the tap, and, in instances of blind taste tests, the majority of people choose tap water as the better tasting alternative to bottled brands.

As for the matters of status and convenience, in a perfect world the sheer unsustainability of the bottled water industry would render the use of such a product as socially stigmatizing and unacceptable. Likewise, the few extra minutes in a day it takes to refill a reusable bottle from a tap or water fountain are far less costly than the alarming environmental ramifications of a continued reliance on single-use plastics.

Environmentally, single-use plastic water bottles are incredibly costly, requiring unsustainable levels of energy and resource input in their manufacturing, transportation, and disposal. For example, the manufacturing of a plastic water bottle requires three times the amount of water needed to fill it. Furthermore, the production of plastic water bottles requires up to 17 million barrels of oil and releases 2.5 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. Resources are needed to transport the bottled water as well, using additional fossil fuels and releasing additional greenhouse gases in the process, with some estimates finding that it takes 76 million barrels of oil annually to produce, transport, store, and dispose of the plastic bottles used in the US. That's enough oil to fuel 4.3 million cars for a year!

The water going into the bottles poses additional environmental concerns, as this water is often being sourced and harvested from water-scarce or water-insecure regions such as drought-plagued California and Fiji, ultimately draining local water supplies and framing access to healthy drinking water as a commodity rather than a human right.

The disposal of plastic water bottles poses yet another environmental concern. Each year, as little as 12-30% of plastic water bottles end up being recycled. The rest end up in landfills where it can take up to 1000 years for the plastic to decompose. Moreover, those bottles that are sent into the recycling stream aren’t truly recycled, but are instead often shipped to China where they are “downcycled” and converted into fabric, rugs, and clothing which requires additional fossil fuel use and energy inputs. 

With energy-intensive manufacturing, packaging, and transportation processes, low recycling rates, and inefficient recycling processes, the best thing we can do for the environment when it comes to bottled water it to avoid it altogether.

In addition to the positive environmental impacts associated with avoiding single-use, disposable plastic water bottles, your wallet will thank you too, as utilizing a reusable water bottle can result in significant financial savings. On average, a reusable water bottle costs anywhere from $5-$30. Single-use water bottles typically range in price from $1-$3. So although single-use plastic water bottles are cheaper at the individual price, they are much more expensive in the long run (both financially and environmentally). In fact, as clean energy provider Arcadia Power outlines in their blog post on reusable water bottles, you could save as much as $3,000 annually by using a reusable water bottle over single-use plastic ones—not to mention you'd be saving close to 1500 plastic bottles every year!!

In comparing the costs of bottled water vs. tap water, finance blogger Amy Livingston of Money Crashers cites data from both the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which points to bottled water being a staggering 600 times more expensive per gallon than tap water. Single-serve plastic bottles, which account for 65% of all bottled water sales, cost even more per gallon comparatively and are 3,785 times more expensive than what you’d pay for the same amount of water from a faucet.

Bottled water is expensive on an economic, environmental, and social scale. The ubiquity of bottled water and the power and influence of the big corporations that produce, market, and profit from the lucrative bottled water industry may seem overwhelming. However, you as an individual can make a difference by following these steps:
1. Avoid bottled water whenever possible.
2. Invest in a reusable water bottle. With so many different designs and styles out there, you can find a bottle that meets your needs and expresses your commitment to moving away from single-use plastics. Not sure where to start? Check out this list of the 26 Best Water Bottles of 2019.
3. If you do use a plastic water bottle, consider using it multiple times before making sure it finds its way into the recycling stream.
4. Don’t throw away plastic water bottles, as these will end up in landfills and take thousands of years to decompose.
5. Reduce your consumption of single-use plastic water bottles. Even cutting out as few as two single-use bottles per week prevents 104 items from polluting our planet every year.
6. Advocate for your friends, family, office, company, school, town, state, etc. to do away with single-use plastic water bottles. Learn more about how to raise awareness, educate others, and work toward enacting bottle bans at Ban the Bottle.

So, this week, let’s help out the environment by pledging to reduce our single-use plastic consumption. Literally, visit National Geographic’s Planet or Plastic? to pledge to cut out plastic bottles from your everyday life (along with other sources of single-use plastic). With the ability to customize your pledge, challenge your friends, and calculate the real impact of cutting down on single-use plastics, this tool is a great resource to help you say no to single-use plastics!

In the meantime, I wish you all a happy journey on your path toward greener living…
~Sam