{Ad} This is a paid collaboration, and may contain affiliate links. All opinions are honest, as always.
Are you looking for easy ways to cut the amount of plastic in your kitchen? When you think about it, it’s actually quite scary how much single-use plastic the average kitchen contains. From bottles and packaging, all the way to sponges and even some tea bags! The good news is it’s getting so much easier to find more eco-friendly, plastic-free and reusable options for your kitchen.
These sustainable kitchen swaps are easy to use, and also look good in your kitchen. From washing up to wiping up, from keeping food fresh to composting food scraps, there’s a plastic-free solution just waiting to be discovered! Read on to find out how to make these easy swaps for a plastic-free kitchen.
Why is Plastic a Problem?
Plastic itself isn’t a problem – it’s not that simple. When used responsibly, and recycled at the end of its life, it has a lot of benefits. But our over-reliance on plastic, and the problem of where it all goes (particularly single-use plastics) cannot be over stated. An of course, plastic comes from fossil fuel, which is being used up and can’t be replaced. The effects of plastic pollution are widely documented.
Although the big global corporations are responsible for producing plastic, we are the ones who buy it and then need to dispose of it. According to Greenpeace, Coco-Cola, Pepsi-Co and Nestle are the biggest plastic polluters. So what can we do about it? Recycling does help but it’s not the solution. Avoiding single-use plastic in the first place is really the only way to go! And supporting more ethical companies who minimise their environmental impact by making viable alternatives is the way forward. And it’s not as difficult as you might think.
How To Work Towards a Plastic-Free Kitchen
Let me introduce you to the my top easy eco swaps for a plastic-free kitchen that you can make today, with SaveMoneyCutCarbon. Read on to find the benefits of swapping from a plastic sponge and washing up brush, cling film, scourer and much, much more!
Sustainable Washing Up Solutions for a Plastic-Free Kitchen
Washing up brushes are generally made of plastic. Did you know that the average supermarket sponge or scourer is also made of plastic? They are so cheap for a reason! As you use them they shed microplastics, and when you’ve finished with them, they go into landfill. Far from ideal. But what if you could use plastic-free alternatives that work just as well?
Here you see everything you need for plastic-free washing up and wiping up, all from SaveMoneyCutCarbon:
- Sustainable FSC certified wooden dish brush with non-scratch natural tampico bristles, silicone handle and replaceable head from EcoLiving
- EcoCoconut sustainable, biodegradable, recyclable, plastic-free, naturally antibacterial bottle brush, ethically made from coconut fibre in Sri Lanka – ideal for baby bottles and wine glasses as well as reusable water bottles
- Sustainable, biodegradable, recyclable, plastic-free, naturally antibacterial scourers, ethically made from coconut fibre in Sri Lanka, also from EcoCoconut – ideal to use on pots and pans, stove tops and baths
- Steel scourers for tough cleaning, which are plastic-free and recyclable when you eventually need to, from EcoLiving
- Compostable sponge cloths from EcoLiving, which are reusable, washable (washing machine or top rack of the dishwasher, and 100% biodegradable, made of 70% plant cellulose and 30% cotton
I store my sustainable washing up tools on a wooden tray on my windowsill above the sink. I find washing up brushes need air to circulate so are best left to dry in an old repurposed glass jar. Our washing up liquid is in an old bottle that I’ve had for years and refill, and our plastic-free dishwasher tablets are also in an old glass bottle.
I used a steel scourer to clean my oven shelves, and it worked a treat. I just used washing up liquid and a little bit of elbow grease: no chemicals required.
Pin me!
Reusable Alternative to Kitchen Roll
You may not immediately think of plastic when it comes to kitchen roll, but each roll comes wrapped in plastic. You can often recycle it at supermarkets, but I bet a lot of people don’t do that. With this reusable roll, there’s no plastic at all. But that’s not all – paper towels are often not made of recycled paper, and are bleached white.
So I’m excited to use a reusable option like these bamboo towels from EcoEgg. You get 20 perforated sheets on a cardboard roll, so you can tear them off. You can wash and reuse each sheet up to 85 times, which means you get 1700 uses.
They’re made of renewable bamboo, which is a fast growing, sustainable crop that doesn’t need pesticides. The sheets are really soft and absorbent, and when they’ve been washed I just pop them in a drawer with my tea towels for next time.
Mess-Free Food Caddy Liners
If you’ve been putting off getting a food waste bin because of the mess (which I totally get by the way!) these biodegradable caddy liners are for you. Just lift your bag out of the caddy to pop in your compost bin, or food waste bin for collection.
These liners are made of renewable vegetable starch. They are thin, so don’t be tempted to over-stuff them! I find wet things like tea leaves can make them compost before you’re ready, so my tip is to not put them in first.
You can get plastic-free compost caddies, but I have a plastic one that I’ve had for years. It goes into the dishwasher, and comes out as good as new. For me, it’s not about never using plastic, it’s to do with making a considered choice, and using what you have for as long as you possibly can.
Plastic-Free Alternative to Cling Film
Last month, I reviewed silicone reusable Stasher Bags, which are an easy way to cut down on cling film. These handmade beeswax wraps from Bee Zero Waste are a great complement to them. You can use them more like clingfilm. These cotton cloths are coated in beeswax, which has natural antibacterial and antifungal properties.
These reusable UK-made wraps come in a variety of different sizes so you can use them for lots of different things. Just use the heat of your hands to mould them round whatever you’re covering.
When you’ve used them, wash them in cold water with washing up liquid, and air dry. Don’t use them with hot water, or the wax will melt off! They should last over a year with proper care, and can be composted when no longer useable as they are 100% biodegradable.
You can use the cardboard pouch they come in to store the wraps, but I have a wooden peg in my pantry that I hang them on as we use them all the time so this is easier access!
So now you have all the info on easy plastic-free kitchen swaps, you can check them all out at SaveMoneyCutCarbon and start your plastic-free kitchen swap journey today!
Please Pin this for later, and spread the word about easy eco choices!
