In our plastic-filled world, avoiding plastic can be pretty challenging. But finding alternatives to common items like plastic bottles and plastic packaging is becoming increasingly easier—and not a moment too soon for our plastic-choked planet.
Two of the most common questions consumers ask today are what are the alternatives to single use plastic and what can be used instead of plastic packaging. The answer to both is multi-faceted, and starts with taking a look at where plastic and your life intersect.
Where’s the plastic in your life?
If you answered everywhere, you’re probably not far off. This versatile material is in our appliances, computers, clothing, and so much more. Some of the most common places we find plastic is wrapped around the things we buy every day. After all, it’s an effective way to keep food and cosmetics clean and fresh.
But plastic is also lurking in some little known places. When you take a careful look around your home, the sheer number of things you’ll find containing plastic may surprise you.
- Food packaging. Cereals, crackers, snacks, and many teas and coffees come in plastic. Most cheese, meat, and yogurt is packed in plastic, as are many condiments.
- Milk (including soy and nut milk) cartons. Waxed cardboard contains approximately 20% plastic and 80% paper.
- Metal cans are often lined with plastic.
- Personal care products. In addition to coming in plastic bottles and tubes, many shampoos, gels, creams, moisturizers, and make up contain synthetic polymers (read: plastic). Some may also contain microbeads.
- Dental floss and disposable razors are also often made from plastic base materials.
- Synthetic fabrics. Polyester, nylon, rayon, and acrylic yarns and fabrics are all made from plastic. When washed, these materials shed millions of microscopic plastic fibers that eventually wind up in waterways.
- Baby wipes and diapers. From their inner layer to their waterproof outer cover, disposable diapers are made from plastic. Super absorbent polymer makes up the absorbent inner core, while the outer layer is usually a petroleum-based plastic or a plastic-treated fabric.
- Feminine hygiene products. The average disposable sanitary napkin contains about two grams of plastic.
- Wrapping paper is often a mix of plant fibers and laminated plastic. Tape, glitter, and stickers also contain plastic.
- Chewing gum. Yes, even gum. One common ingredient included in the “gum base” listed gum labels is polyvinyl acetate.
- Cigarette filters contain cellulose acetate, a form of plastic.
- Glues, including school glue and wood glue, contain polyvinyl acetate, a type of plastic. The glues used to seal tea bags include polypropelyne, another plastic.
- Coffee cups. Even those that appear to be made from paper often have plastic in the lining.
Best alternatives to plastic
Would you like to see less plastic in your home and less plastic waste in the world? Wondering what you should use instead of plastic bags? Here are some long-lasting plastic alternatives available right now.
Stainless steel
Tough and easy to clean, stainless steel options for reusable food and beverage storage have multiplied in recent years. You can replace single-use cups, kitchen storage, lunch boxes, and more with this durable metal.
Glass
While not biodegradable, glass is inert, inexpensive and infinitely recyclable. And since many food items come packaged in glass, upcycling glass jars into food storage is a no-cost way to give your food packaging new life. Jars from jam, honey, pickles, nut butters, and so much more can be added to your no-waste toolkit for shopping from the bulk bins. They can also be repurposed to store leftovers and homemade drinks, or decorated and turned into homemade gifts.
Platinum silicone
Made primarily of sand, food grade platinum silicone is flexible and durable. It’s also heat tolerant, so you can boil, bake, and cook in these products without danger of denaturing. Look for silicone products without plastic fillers.
Beeswax-coated cloth
Used primarily as a replacement for plastic wrap and platic bags, beeswax-coated fabric is easy to use and easy to clean. It also smells great.
Natural fiber cloth
Natural cloth can replace plastic bags. Sustainable clothing made from organic cotton, wool, hemp, or bamboo won’t shed plastic fibers when washed. Felted or recycled wool is a versatile, safe, and compostable material for children’s toys, household containers, and more.
Wood
A renewable resource, wood from sustainably-managed forests can replace plastic in household items like cleaning brushes, kitchen utensils, and cutting boards.
Bamboo
This fast-growing renewable resource can replace plastic in items like tableware and drinking straws. It is lightweight, durable, and compostable.
Pottery and Other Ceramics
Around for millennia, pottery and other fired ceramics offer a stable, waterproof alternative that’s good for food storage and tableware. Look for non-toxic glazes.
Paper
In days gone by, many things were packaged in plain paper. And while better than plastic, paper can’t be recycled infinitely because every time it’s reused, the fibres get shorter, limiting its use. Luckily all paper except the glossy kind is safe to put in your home compost.
Cardboard
Cardboard is fully compostable at home as long as it’s not coated in, you guessed it, plastic. Many companies are now packaging their products in plain cardboard to cut down on waste. You can also use cardboard boxes to replace storage containers in your home.
Keep in mind that anything you buy has an environmental footprint. Though longer lasting than plastic, things made from glass, metal, and so on still take energy to make and transport. For these swaps to make sense, you need to use them over and over and over again. Buying well-made, durable products will help ensure you get the most use from whatever you choose.
What about bioplastics?
Bioplastics are biodegradable or compostable plastics made from natural substances instead of petrolem. The idea is that these new, earthier plastics can replace the harmful ones in our food and around our home. This seems like a great alternative, doesn’t it?
Unfortunately, most bioplastics don’t break down in home composts, landfills, or loose in the environment.
Unfortunately, most bioplastics don’t break down in home composts, landfills, or loose in the environment.
Most require commercial composting facilities, which aren’t always available to the average consumer.
Bioplastics can also contaminate municipal recycling programs when people unknowingly add them to their recycling. Many bioplastics even contain significant amounts conventional plastic.
Scientists and manufacturers generally describe bioplastics in the following ways:
- Non biodegradable. These bioplastics aren’t easily broken down by organisms. Like anything (even conventional plastic), they will eventually degrade after many years.
- Partially bio-based, “durable” plastics that are not compostable. Microrganisms can break these down, but the process generally takes longer than 3-6 months.
- Biodegradable, compostable plastics that need commercial facilities to decompose. While some newer bioplastics carry the claim that they will break down in a home compost, these are not yet the norm.
Made from a range of materials like cornstarch and sugar to mushrooms and agricultural byproducts, bioplastics are the latest attempt to prolong our disposable lifestyle.
The solution, according to plastic pollution experts, is not to continue our reliance on single-use products with different materials, but to avoid single-use products altogether.
Natural alternative packaging
Many companies are working on fully compostable (in some cases edible!) packaging. Here are some examples already on the market.
Mushroom packaging. A combination of agricultural waste and mycelium (mushroom) root, this home compostable product is “grown” on a hemp-flour mixture, and then dried to halt the growth process. It’s most commonly used to replace Styrofoam packaging.
Seaweed-based packaging that comes in edible and biodegradable grades.
Pressed hay is being used as egg cartons in Poland.
Banana Leaves. In Thailand, where the plastic problem is reaching crisis proportions, one supermarket has opted to go plastic-free in favour of banana leaf-and-bamboo packaging. And while banana leaves may only be practical where they’re readily available, this does reinforce the idea of using local, compostable materials.
How to break the plastic habit
There are many easy swaps we can all make that will help begin to cut plastic pollution. As more of us demand non-plastic options from the companies we buy from, the amount of plastic being mindlessly produced and tossed will finally begin to decline. Start with some manageable first steps that can cut down your plastic use significantly.
Use plastic-free beverage containers. A long-lasting water bottle means you never need to buy a bottled drink or use a plastic straw. Bringing your own reusable cup to your favorite coffee shop means you can skip the cup, lid and straw. This is just one of the many alternatives to plastic cups.
Replacement of plastic bags. A staggering trillion plastic bags are used every year. Bring your own reusable alternatives to plastic bags, and help show others we can buy produce without plastic with reusable produce bags. Bring your own containers when shopping the bulk bins so you don’t need the plastic ones typically provided.
Switch to non-liquid soaps. Liquid soaps, shampoos, and detergents have added enormous amounts of plastic waste to the environment. Look for bar soap and a shampoo bar for the bathroom, and opt for powders packed in recyclable containers for the laundry and kitchen.
Some stores also carry liquid soaps in bulk so you can refill containers repeatedly, but the footprint of bar soaps is still smaller.
Choose glass, metal or unlined paper packaging whenever possible. You’ll often find you have a more environmentally friendly choice than plastic when you’re selecting honey, oil, or dry goods.
Some swaps are easier to make than others. Find something that works for you, integrate that into your life, then choose another.
Find some items that are easy for you to swap so you can feel successful and ready to tackle another. Some swaps are much easier to make than others — finding cheese without plastic, for example, is still quite difficult, but local honey is readily available in glass, as are items like mustard and oil. (You can also try eating less cheese, which has additional environmental benefits.)
Choose things that are doable for you rather than beating yourself up about the things you don’t do. The more of us who do, the better for the planet.
Here’s a quick and easy list to some of the most common plastic items used every day—and what you can use instead.
25 plastic products to replace now
Shopping
Single-use plastic shopping bags: Reusable bags (to replace single-use plastic bags) or baskets.
Single-use produce bags: Reusable produce bags or leave your produce loose.
Items packed in plastic: When possible, opt for unpackaged or choose glass or metal packaging.
Plastic bulk aisle bags: Reusable cloth bags or containers from home.
Eating Out
Disposable cups: Dine in or takeaway in stainless steel or glass reusable cups.
Single-use cutlery: Dine where they have reusable cutlery or bring your own.
Disposable straws: Reusable straws in glass, stainless steel, bamboo, or silicone.
Plastic lunch baggies: Reusable lunch box or beeswax wraps.
In the Kitchen
Food storage containers and bags: Silicone bags, metal or glass containers.
Liquid dish soap: Use a powder for the dishwasher and a bar for handwashing. If you prefer liquid soap, you can make your own from a soap bar.
Cleaners in plastic bottles: One alternative to plastic bottles is making your own cleaners with ingredients packaged in glass, metal, or cardboard. Use baking soda or a kitchen stone for tough cleaning jobs.
Plastic sponge and scrubber: Use a natural sponge, luffah, or wooden brush.
Disposable tableware: Skip disposables and use metal or bamboo plates and cutlery.
Plastic cutting boards and utensils: Bamboo cutting board, wooden or bamboo spoons
Plastic plates and cups for young kids: Bamboo bowls and metal cups.
In the Bathrooom
Liquid soap: Bar soap
Lotion in plastic bottles: Lotion bar or oil in glass bottle
Disposable feminine products: Menstrual cup or reusable cloth sanitary napkins.
Plastic toothbrushes: Bamboo toothbrushes.
Liquid shampoo in plastic bottles: Shampoo bar or ‘no-poo’ method.
In the Home
Plastic trash bags: Reuse paper bags, line with newspaper, or skip the bag.
Laundry detergent in plastic bottles: Try plastic-free laundry strips or powdered laundry detergent
Polyester carpet: Choose wool, cotton, or jute.
Fabric softener or dryer sheets: Use dryer balls
Clothing, bedding, towels: Choose organic cotton, wool, bamboo, or hemp; If you do wash synthetic fabric, wash infrequently in full loads, in cold water on slow spin cycles, and consider purchasing a bag that can capture fibers and keep them out of waste water.
Ready to do more? Here’s a guide to get you started on the path to zero waste.
Lead the way to a plastic-free future
As you eliminate plastic from your life, you’re not only cutting your own contribution to the waste stream, you’re modeling more sustainable living for those around you. Celebrate your successes and help spread the word about how important it is to reevaluate our daily habits and what we expect from the companies we buy from. As demand for more sustainable business practices grows, companies will continue to respond and the massive increase in plastics use can reverse course—the sooner the better.
