A couple of days ago I posted about the new
plastic food storage containers I bought. Plastic in the kitchen presents a real dilemna. Over the past couple of years I have been working to eliminate as much plastic as possible in the kitchen especially for food storage however this is actually a bit more challenging than it appears. There is no doubt that food storage is a necessary aspect of any kitchen. While a variety of wraps and bags are available these are not eco-friendly or frugal choices. Food storage ranges from dry to refrigerator to freezer so containers used must be flexible. Tupperware® was all the rage years ago when were newlyweds but it was something I never did get into. I only have 4 pieces of this higher end plastic food storage/serving containers, two of which are the old harvest gold which gives their age away. Several years ago I eliminated plastic wrap and food storage bags other than for freezer use in favour of inexpensive, disposable containers (eg. GladWare, Ziploc). The problems with these containers is:
- they do break when frozen
- they create an incredible amount of clutter
- lids go missing
- they end up adding to landfills
- snap on lids can come loose and leak
However, they are inexpensive so are perfect for gift giving and I don't mind if they go missing. When I decided to eliminate more plastic from the kitchen these were my first targets. Years ago I bought glass baking dishes that came with plastic lids. The lids have stood the test of time so I looked for storage ones that would go from freezer to oven. Canadian Tire puts sets of Anchor Hocking glass bakeware on sale so I bought 3 sets to be used for food storage in the refrigerator and baking in the oven. Still the lids are plastic which really is a trade-off but are better than plastic wrap or disposable containers. At some point plastic food storage containers are necessary for freezer use especially since I don't like using glass in my freezers and for use in the boat, picnic, and dock/pool areas where glass breakage has the potential for personal injury. I have revised my use of plastic in the kitchen from eliminating entirely to minimizing. My requirements for kitchen plastics are:
- BPA free
- heavy duty, not disposable
- spill free plastic containers - screw-on or locking type lids
- lids on glassware are heavy duty, sealing securely
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Would it, in the end, be far more economical, not to mention more environmentally friendly, to spend a bit more money on better plastic food storage containers than those disposable ones.
ReplyDeleteHi Plastic Food Storage and thanks for visiting. I pointed out my requirements were 'not disposable' so yes it would be more economical. However, glass is likely better with the exception of those situations where plastic is safer.
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