My name is Renee Koval. I am the Rise Above Plastics (RAP) Coordinator for the Gray’s Harbor Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. I was born, raised, educated, I worked, raised a family and retired here, in the Pacific Northwest. I’ve long been worried about the welfare of our planet, and I am happy to have found the Surfrider Foundation which provides a way I can participate in taking care of our environment.
When I learned that compostable and biodegradable plastic bags and wrap really aren’t compostable or biodegradable, my hopes for finding suitable replacements were dashed to the sidewalk and trampled all over. Even if I were able to bring them to an industrial facility, as is required, I still couldn’t be certain that the “compostable” bag would actually fully decompose and not just break into more nano-plastics. I wracked my brain over what I could use instead. After all, nothing like plastic can keep food clean, contain odors, or guarantee freshness like oh so cheap and so convenient plastic does.
But once I started exploring storing my food in other ways, I found it wasn’t hard to find good alternatives to plastic wrap. In fact, not only have I not bought any for over a year, but I also still have what’s left on the old roll. In the past, I used plastic wrap to cover bowls of leftover food, such as salad, cooked vegetables or pasta. But it was easy enough to transfer these leftovers to lidded glass or pyrex bowls, or even reuse old jars of tomato sauce. In addition, I used to cover the unused part of a can of catfood with plastic, but when I saw that stretchy silicone lids were available in a variety of sizes, I found that they worked very well. These covers are available from several sources, one of which is Zero Waste Outlet.
There are some times when plastic wrap seems irreplaceable. Items such as cut avocados or the uneaten portion of pies scream out for the protection of an airtight plastic cover. After all, don’t we want to keep these foods clean and free from any bacteria-carrying dust that might be floating in the air? However, now that I’ve learned more about the dangers not only of nano-plastics, but also of cancer-causing and endocrine disrupting chemicals leaching from that plastic into that food, such wrapped food looks to me as if it’s been poisoned. If, as studies have shown, we humans have enough plastic floating around in our brains to make 2 bottle caps, I certainly don’t want to add enough for a third! Now I use beeswax wrap for halved avocados (available from also zerowasteoutlet.com among other sources) or simply aluminum foil (which is easier to wash and reuse than plastic). I also simply place halved apples cut-side down on a ceramic plate.
Another problem I grappled with was how to wrap sandwiches to bring along for lunch. I mentioned before that as a schoolgirl I welcomed the arrival of Saran Wrap which held my tuna fish sandwiches together much better than did the wax paper my mother used. Nowadays, when preparing for trips, I enjoy creating towering sandwiches of bagels, cheese, vegetables and hummus, but wonder how I’ll be able to keep these masterpieces together without plastic wrap. Would I have to revert to the unreliable wax paper I used in the old days? Fortunately, I found that paper sandwich bags, available from Sunset Pharmacy in Ocean Shores, and from Safeway and Walmart in Aberdeen, work just as well. But be careful not to be tempted into believing that the “compostable” plastic bags on the same shelves are as they claim to be. You can fold these paper bags tightly around any sandwich, and if necessary, keep it in place using a rubberband. If you need a container for box lunches and feel that glass ones might be too heavy to carry in a backpack, consider using a tin or stainless steel one.
Do you remember when throw-away plastic food storage boxes and zip-lock bags came on the market? These items quickly became indispensable for food storage. I remember improvements to zip-locks, such as double locks and the addition of a little plastic glider that helped to easily close the bag. However, as I’ve said before and will say again, these conveniences bring with them hazards to both our environment and to our health. It wasn’t hard for me to dispense with the cheap, limited use plastic boxes for food stored in the refrigerator once I got a nice supply of glass containers. However, freezing food posed a greater hurdle. How could I safely wrap uncooked meat or store soups without these convenient containers? I personally don’t feel that aluminium foil is airtight enough, and, unlike many people, I haven’t been satisfied putting glass or tin containers in the freezer. Fortunately, I’ve found a product that, although isn’t perfect, it seems to solve the problems I have with freezing food. On the market you can find thick, flexible airtight bags made of silicone. I regularly shop from Stasher (stasherbag.com). These bags have many of the desired properties offered by plastics, including an air tight zip lock. They come in an array of sizes and shapes. The rounded bowl shape works very well for freezing foods such as stews and soups, and I use the sandwich and stand-up bags for meat, berries, fruit, and homemade flatbread.
But, is silicone better for our environment and safer for our health than petroleum or bio-based plastic? These products are fairly new, and I haven’t been able to find a definitive answer to this. However, I was able to find a good description of silicone on an informational page from a favorite website, Life Without Plastic, Silicone.
Gleaning from this and other trusted sources this is the information I am adhering to as of now: Silicone is derived from silica, which is found in beach sand, and processed into a polymer; and it’s these polymers that give it its plastic-like durability. Additionally, like plastic, certain chemicals are added to give silicone products certain properties. However, silicone is much more stable than plastic, which means that there is far less leaching, or migration, of chemicals into food and environment. That said, although it’s advertised that these bags can be put in boiling water to cook food sealed inside, I don’t do this because heat is one of the factors that encourage chemical leaching, as with traditional plastic products. (So, if you’re still using individual plastic bottles of water, make sure to keep it out of the sun.) Another advantage is that silicone bags are made to be used over and over again, outlasting by far plastic zip-lock ones which were meant to be used only once. Stasher makes no false claims that their products can be recycled; rather they encourage reuse and suggest repurposes if a bag is damaged. Additionally, Stasher takes the responsibility for end-of-use by providing an easy method for sending bags to a facility that will dispose of them (although the method of disposal is unknown). Even though silicone is not a perfect alternative to plastic, I’m convinced it’s a much better and reasonable one.
There are still a couple of occasions where I’m still looking for a suitable replacement for plastic bags. Examples are lining my outside garbage bin or cleaning up during a dog walk. I invite anyone to provide suggestions for these, or to share any other alternatives you find helpful. I’d also like to hear your questions.