Dishwashing liquid and other kitchen cleaning products
Ditch the single use plastic bottles you have lying around your kitchen, such as dishwashing liquid, surface spray, rinse aid and hand soap, and opt for refillable products instead. Think of every time you throw one of those in the recycling bin…it’s A LOT of plastic. So choosing plastic free refills is a great way to go.
Many bulk and eco stores offer refillable options or head to my shop for delivered refills. You can refill pretty much every household and cleaning product nowadays so it’s worth checking out what you can refill in your home.
Dish brushes, scourers and cloths
Next time your plastic brush or wire scourer has the bomb, check out some great wooden, bamboo and coconut alternatives. These are often biodegradable or compostable and are of course, plastic free.
I love coconut scourers, they work just as well, can be put in the dishwasher and are compostable at the end of their life. I use compostable dish cloths that come delivered with my subscription of toilet paper, however there are different varieties available at eco, including online, stores. They are machine washable, have funky designs and are compostable when they’re done.
Cling wrap and sandwich/snack bags
There are heaps of different silicone and wax wraps on the market, all being reusable and wax wraps being compostable.
I use silicone sandwich/snack bags that open and close similarly to plastic ones as I’ve found other silicone bags with a clip across the top difficult to use.
There are great silicone baking mats available, and I use them instead of baking paper. I also have a number of different sized wax wraps for covering items in the fridge, some are better than others, it’s a bit of trial and error. Or I just cover bowls, plates etc with another bowl or plate.
Bin liners
I’ve not quite got the stage of no bin liner yet, or lining with newspaper, however, these are options many zero wasters use. I opt for compostable bin liners instead.
You can buy many different types of ‘eco’ bin liners, however, some may look more ‘eco’ than they are. For example, plant based liners. These may only be made up of a small percentage of plant based materials and hence still contain plastic and don’t break down. Similarly, nor do degradable liners.
Compostable liners can take some getting used to as don’t have the same strong structure as plastic, holding all the liquids etc as well in them, however, I like to know I’m not adding to the huge single use plastic bag problem. We may have banned them in the supermarkets but think about how many of those are used in bins.
Food storage containers
Everyone’s got ‘that drawer’ of plasticware (that you can never find the lids for the right containers when you need to) and I am in no way suggesting throwing out all plastic containers and replacing with eco alternatives. The best low waste option is to use up what you have.
However, when items need replacing it’s worth looking at other options to replace them with. There are some good glass brands, that can also be used in the oven. Items that have a number of uses also assist to reduce waste. And if you really do like a particular container in plastic, it’s worth looking into brands that offer a guarantee to be long lasting, hence not having to replace often, with more plastic.
Moving towards a plastic free lifestyle is different for everyone, and we all have different needs and wants and access to different resources. Never any judgement here. Here are just some of the ways I’ve found it easy to replace plastic in the kitchen in my home.