The plastic-free kitchen: update

Last year I wrote about trying to rid my kitchen of plastic. Just to bore you, I’m going to chime in with an update on how things are going.

Wondering why I don’t like plastic? This story about how plastic releases estrogenic chemicals is a good starting point. (Hello, breast cancer?) Plus, plastic is made from non-renewable oil, it persists in the environment forever, and it’s impossible to recycle (it can only be downcycled in a very limited way). Also, I think it’s ugly!

Since last November, I replaced a little more plastic:

• We lost a chefs knife (how does one LOSE a big knife?) and I replaced it with a wood handled one.
• Our old steak knives had gotten too dull to cut steak; enter pretty new French knives with olive-wood handles.
• Klean Kanteen came out with a completely plastic-free water bottle (even the lid is plastic free). I bought two. (At home, I still mostly use my LifeFactory glass water bottle, without the plastic lid.)
• I replaced a lot of my plastic-lidded glass Pyrex containers with more Weck jars and vintage Corningware with glass lids. My Pyrex is getting old and the plastic lids are cracking, so I’m looking for alternatives. I have my eye on some vintage refrigerator dishes with glass lids.
• I tried a stainless-steel ice cube tray, and we actually like it a lot! It makes nice blocky cubes. It reminds Joel of one his grandparents used to have.
• I replaced the plastic potato ricer with an inexpensive stainless-steel one from Ikea.

I’ve been working on my plastic-free project for years now. It feels good to be 95% of the way there. I don’t know if I will get get to a 100% plastic-free kitchen (though I now believe it’s possible!), but just stating this as a goal has made me see things with new eyes. I used to not notice the plastic attachments on everything, but now I pay attention.

Here’s a list of the plastic that still lives in my kitchen drawers:

• Plastic lids for my Pyrex containers. There are fewer of them, but I still have lots. Why does this matter, since the food doesn’t often touch the lid? Well, it might not matter at all. But if all plastics leach estrogenic chemicals, and I’m tossing these in the dishwasher with all our eating utensils (and plastics leach more when exposed to heat), then we are potentially eating those chemicals off our forks. (Hmmm, maybe I should be separating and hand-washing all the plastic lids?)
• Plastic resin handles on three knives. Plus some small plastic handles on several utensils, like my manual can opener and and a rubber handle on the cheese grater. No big deal, but if I was replacing any of those, I’d go for a plastic-free version.
• Plastic water bottle lids and a plastic lid on my glass pitcher. (Only a couple of them, since we have the plastic-free Klean Kanteens now.)
• Small electric appliances. The business end of most of our small appliances is stainless steel, but there are lots of plastic handles, housings, and cords. I should probably simplify my (kinda huge) collection of small appliances. All you really need is a good sharp knife and a cutting board, right?

I also have quite a few silicone items, like spatulas, baking mats, and pot holders. Since silicone isn’t a plastic, I had assumed it to be safe. But I recently read this comment by Stuart Yaniger (one of the authors on the linked study):

Silicones can be formulated to be free of EA [estrogenic activity], but most of them are not. We’ve seen even expensive, high-purity medical grade silicones leach easily detectable amounts of estrogenic chemicals. The low molecular weight silicones (e.g., the ones used for parchment paper) can be highly estrogenic.

Yikes. Well, I guess I won’t acquire any more silicone stuff.

I’ll keep plugging away at the last 5%, but now it’s time to officially choose a new plastic-related project. So next on my list is a biggie: To eliminate plastic packaging from the food we buy. I’m starting January 1.