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Are you looking for plastic-free food storage options? Perhaps you’ve heard the awful stories of plastic containers leeching microplastics into our bodies. It freaks me out, too!
These are the best plastic-free food storage containers that I use every day. The best thing? As well as being free from plastic, they’re also infinitely reusable and won’t degrade over time, shedding microplastics into our food and drink.
And if, for some reason, they do become unusable in the future, they can be recycled. So these reusable plastic-free food storage solutions are a win/win for our health and our planet!
So Why Should You Swap to Plastic-Free Storage for Your Food?
It’s been shown that we all accidentally consume a credit card’s worth of plastic a week! Which is really quite horrific. There is so much plastic pollution that it is embedded in the food chain. Plastic has even been found in human placentas. Apart from how gross it is, having plastic in our bodies is also terrible for our health.
According to the Guardian, “Plastics are responsible for wide-ranging health impacts including cancers, lung disease and birth defects, according to the first analysis of the health hazards of plastics across their entire life cycle – from extraction for manufacturing, through to dumping into landfill and oceans.”
Plastics are also endocrine disruptors which have far-reaching implications, according to many sources. One source is a 2023 scientific paper from Frontiers in Endocrinology:
“Microplastics and nanoplastics have deleteriouse impacts on mammalian endocrine components such as hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid, adrenal, testes, and ovaries.”
So, we should all switch from plastic containers to store our food, as they leech microplastics, especially when heated. But it can be expensive to find plastic-free food storage. So here I’m sharing lots of food storage solutions to choose from, and some are even free.
FREE PLASTIC-FREE REUSABLE FOOD STORAGE
Reuse Your Glass Jars
Reusing your old glass jars is the free option to store your food with no plastic. I love Bonne Maman jam, as it tastes delicious, the founder’s family apparently sheltered Jews during WW2, and the jars are so cute and reusable. I use them to store my nuts and seeds and have them on display as they look so nice. I also bought the plastic-free glass bottles with metal lids to store rice, pasta and popcorn. My label maker has come in handy to label them too! You might need a stainless steel funnel to get your rice and pasta in safely!
PLASTIC-FREE PUDDING POT LIDS
Reuse Your Gü Ramekins
Do you, like us, have a cupboard full of Gü ramekins? (I may have more than usual, as I wrote the copy for their website, so I had to taste them to be able to write about them accurately!) I love these reusable Pudding Pot Lids! They fit the ramekins perfectly (so much better than the Pringles lids, which I never managed to make seal).
GENUINELY PLASTIC-FREE FOOD CONTAINERS
Zero Plastic Pyrex Food Storage Containers
I grew up with Pyrex bowls and jugs and I recently invested in these Zero Plastic food containers. I’d been looking to replace my old plastic ones for years, but the only options I could find had plastic lids, which didn’t cut it for me! But these sturdy glass storage containers have glass lids and a removable silicone seal, so they tick all my plastic-free boxes! They are oven, freezer and dishwasher safe (though remove the silicone seal before you use in the oven) and will nest inside each other for storage.
THE NON-PLASTIC FOOD STORAGE BAG
Silicone Plastic-Free Food Storage Stasher Bags
I’ve written about my love for plastic-free Stasher Bags a few times before, as I think they are brilliant. Stasher Bags are such a great space saver, as well as being an ideal plastic-free food storage solution for both the fridge, freezer and cupboard. Because they are squashy, they can fit in all those nooks and crannies in the freezer, making the most of your space. And some of them have flat bottoms so you can stand them up.
PLASTIC-FREE LUNCH STORAGE
Stainless Steel Bento Boxes Are The Perfect Alternative to Plastic Lunchboxes
Stainless steel bento boxes are a great way to reduce plastic, as they are pretty light weight and have a silicone seal to keep them water tight. We use ours as a lunchbox and it keeps sandwiches fresh without the need for plastic clingfilm. But we also use it to store food in the fridge and freezer, making it a great all rounder that will last for decades.
PLASTIC-FREE DRINKS BOTTLES AND CUPS
Stainless Steel Reusable Bottles With Zero Plastic
I’ve had my Ohelo water bottle for years now and it still looks as good as new! This etched, PA, BPS and BPF free insulated bottle is plastic-free. It’s also lead-free, which is not the case with most other brands. They are also dishwasher-safe, which as amazing for me as a parent with kids who take water bottles to school! They also do reusable cups too.
PLASTIC-FREE LIDS
MooPops Plastic-Free Silicone Lids
Because our milk comes from the milkman, to save plastic, we use MooPops silicone lids as they have a better seal than the foil lids. We also use the larger version for yoghurts, cream and dips. Silicone MooPops are plastic-free, reusable and dishwasher safe. They also look cute.
PLASTIC-FREE FOOD WRAP
Beeswax Wraps Are the Plastic-Free Way to Wrap Food
I use beeswax wraps a lot, for covering half used pots of food in the fridge, and wrapping a half used melon, lemon or avocado. They work so well. They are made of cotton fabric, infused with wax. They’re sturdy and mouldable to whatever food you want to store. I do have a roll of plastic clingfilm for meat, as you can’t wash them at high temperatures, or they start to melt. But for all other food wrapping needs, these plastic-free wax wraps do a great job! They are also great for wrapping sandwiches too.
I hope you’ve found this review of the best alternatives to plastic food storage containers useful. And I hope it will inspire you to make more healthy and eco friendly choices for your family! Please Pin this for later.
