Nobody can possibly be unaware of the plastic problem. We’ve all seen the horrifying images of plastic in the ocean, in rivers, killing our wildlife and generally proving itself a particularly stubborn and dangerous menace to the environment.
If it were as simple as living a plastic free life, I’m sure we’d all be doing it. But plastic is everywhere. I’m trying, in 2019, to make a bigger effort to cut down on single use plastics in particular. And one of the areas I’ve identified I use a lot of plastic is in the kitchen.
Me and clingfilm have a love-hate relationship. It’s a terrible single-use plastic product (and I can literally never get it off the roll without it clumping up into an unusable ball). But it serves an important purpose. It keeps sandwiches fresh in lunch boxes and food fresh in the fridge. So I set about seeking plastic free cling film alternatives to use as a means of ditching the cling film once and for all. I’ve tried 6 different products now with varying levels of success.
I have not found a single product yet that can completely, on its own, replace cling film. My two main uses of it are wrapping food in packed lunches and covering bowls in the fridge etc. I’ve not found one product that can do both equally well, so have accepted it will take more than one product to do away with cling film altogether.
I’ve used all of the three below and these are the ones I’ll continue to use in my endeavour to ditch the cling film once and for all.
Bowlovers White Cotton Bowl Covers
These are so simple that it seems a shame it has taken until my 30s to discover them. Aside from being much easier to use than cling film, they’re made of cotton. Much more environmentally friendly.
At the time of writing, these particular cotton bowl covers come in at £13.50 for a set of 3. I found I needed more than one set (to allow for washing and similar and taking into account the set of three is made up of three different sizes). So they’re certainly not cheap compared to a single roll of cling film, but I fully expect the 3 sets I bought to last me the year and then some.
They’re great for covering food in the fridge or left on the sideboard and I can’t see any reason I’d consider going back to cling film for this purpose now.
Reusable Beeswax Wraps
How much prettier are these than cling film? And it’s not all about the looks either. These sandwich/food wraps are made from cotton and then a blend of beeswax, jojoba and coconut oil. They’re compostable and reusable.
Now, let me clear. They’re not a complete replacement for cling film. For a start, it does say they can be used to cover food but I didn’t think they were as good at covering bowls as the bowl covers above. But for wrapping sandwiches, they worked a treat. String and things are supplied separately if you want it. But you should also note that these beeswax wraps are not designed for hot food!
You can wash them easily and the description suggests they’ll last 6 to 12 months depending on usage. I’ve had mine 3 months now and I think it will be about 6 months use I get out of them personally.
Tava Snack Plastic Free Lunch Boxes with Lids
So, this might be more difficult to justify the cost of. But they’re pretty and they’re awesome. They’re stainless steel lunch boxes and food storage containers that have silicone lids. Although plastic tupperware is reusable and so less damaging than single use plastics, I still myself replacing my plastic containers more than I’d like. So I don’t consider them a real alternative to cling film in the battle to really reduce plastic waste.
But these are great. They don’t contain plastic and they keep food super fresh.
Help – Any More?
Any products you think I should be trying in my bid to ditch plastic food wrap. Drop me a line and let me know! 2019 will be the year when I ditch the dreaded roll for good.
