Tag: sustainable kitchen

The kitchen is the hardest room to go plastic-free.

We are in a serious cost-of-living crisis, and many of us don’t have a choice when it comes to choosing zero-waste food.

It makes no sense that plastic-wrapped food is cheaper than loose food.

And why is it impossible to find a cucumber without plastic wrap?

If you can relate, instead of feeling stressed about the plastic on your food, it may be more useful to email the supermarkets you use to ask them to get rid of the packaging on certain products.

An eco-friendly lifestyle is a privilege. If you’re on a low income, don’t have access, or are not physically or mentally able to do what is required to go plastic-free in the kitchen (or any room), that’s ok.

You can still be a valuable part of the zero-waste movement. We all have different strengths.

I like to say, focus on what you can do instead of what you can’t.

Now that’s out of the way, let’s focus on the rest of that single-use plastic in your kitchen.

Here are 18 tips to help you go plastic-free (ish) in the kitchen.

• Plastic-free kitchen: how to get started?

• 18 tips for going plastic-free (ish) in the kitchen on a budget

  Plastic-free kitchen: How to get started

  When you’re trying to go plastic-free in the kitchen, the simplest way to get started is to observe what you throw away.

  One method for doing this is a bin audit (you can find simple steps for doing a trash audit in my blog post

  You can either:

  Count Your plastic at the end of the week

  Some people prefer to count their plastic rubbish at the end of the week.

  This works best if your council takes your food waste. If they don’t, you’ll want to keep food waste in a separate bin.

  Do a tally chart

  Keep a piece of paper near the bin. On it, write each time you throw plastic away in a list format. You can then start a tally next to each name and at the end of the week you’ll be able to see which type of plastic is thrown away the most.

  This is my preferred method, but it can get tricky if many people throw rubbish in the bin. Getting my partner to remember to note down what he throws away is a nightmare.

  There is no right or wrong way to count your plastic – do whatever works for you.

  After that, whenever you’re running low on something disposable or made from plastic, such as cling film, check out my list below for budget-friendly, zero-waste alternatives.

  18 Tips For going Plastic-Free (ish) in the kitchen

  Here are my best tips for reducing your single-use plastic in the kitchen on a budget. I’ve included the environmental issues relating to each point, and some places to to shop for plastic-free products.