Zero Waste Kitchen Swaps

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Hello again! I’m finally stepping into some zero waste tips and wanted to share a quick post of my top recommended Zero Waste kitchen swaps. Check out my video for all the details!

1. Cloth Towels & Napkins

Replace paper towels and paper napkins. I use these for drying my hands, wiping down counters, cleaning up spills, and drying dishes. I just hang dry them after using them and throw them in the wash with my weekly load of laundry. We have had the same set of kitchen towels for over seven years, so they’ve been way more cost effective for us than if we’d continued to use single-use paper towels and napkins! Here are a few 100% cotton options too choose from on Amazon:

2. Wooden & Plant Fiber Dish Brushes

Replace plastic and plastic bristle brushes, disposable sponges & brillo pads. You may still have to keep some basic steel wool around for those times when you burn food (hopefully that’s rare!) but these should be able to replace a majority of your needs. These options are also close to the same price as plastic alternatives but are 100% compostable. I’ve linked a few options from Amazon but No Tox Life is an awesome, zero waste company I recommend you support!

Tampico/Sisal fiber brush – This is the brush I use for a majority of my dish-washing needs. Tampico fibers absorb liquid, making them great for this use. I also have a tampico fiber bottle brush for cleaning glasses, bottles, muffin tins, etc.

Palmyra/Union fiber brush – Palmyra is a stiff bristle typically used for grill brushes, making it great for scrubbing pots or when you need something a little stronger than the tampico brush to get off stuck-on food.

3. Dish Soap Bar

Replaces liquid dish soap in a plastic bottle. You can find zero waste DIY options for liquid dish soap, but we transitioned to a dish soap bar years ago and have never looked back. We used to use Dr. Bronner’s pure castile bar soap which is a great option, but No Tox Life has one that we’ve used the last 5 months and we’re only halfway through! Dish soap bars are easy to use and have minimal packaging when purchasing, and last us for a very long time (even in a household like ours where we wash a TON of dishes). Ours just sits in a soap dish on our sink and I wet our tampico dish brush before rubbing it over the top of the soap bar before scrubbing away.

4. Wood Cutting Board

Replaces plastic cutting boards. I’ve never personally liked the idea of plastic cutting boards, because I always imagine little bits of plastic getting into my food. Not only are plastic cutting boards non-biodegradable, but the general consensus now is that wood cutting boards are actually more sanitary than plastic ones. Since wood is a softer material than plastic, the cuts made with your knife actually deeper, and push the bacteria into the wood grain, causing the bacteria to die rather than sitting on the top of the cutting board and continuing to grow and contaminate your food. If you have a plastic cutting board, the recommendation is actually to dispose of it once every three months or so because once you have too many deep nicks in the plastic, you aren’t able to wash out the cultivating bacteria. Wood cutting boards, on the other hand can last you for 5-10 years with proper care! Look for a sustainably-harvested hard wood cutting board like acacia, teak or maple.

5. Wood & Stainless Steel Utensils

Replace both plastic and silicone utensils (or even worse, disposable plastic utensils). Wood is compostable and can therefore be responsibly disposed of at the end of its useful life, and stainless steel is endlessly recyclable, meaning it can be melted down and reformed into another useful item with the same level or durable it had the first time; this process can be repeated over and over again, endlessly.

6. Reusable Glass Containers

Replace reusable and disposable plastic food storage (such as seal-able plastic bags – i.e. Ziploc). This is a large category that can include: a) mason jars (screw cap, wide mouth, hinged, etc.); b) reusable food storage such as Pyrex or Anchor, c) any other glass containers with lids. I would recommend tackling this in pieces, starting with what you need or need to replace and building up over time based on what you need – look especially for times when you feel you’re lacking in a type of container and then go on the hunt for that specific thing. You also do not need to buy new, and can purchase used from places like Craigslist, Goodwill or Salvation Army, but can find on Amazon, Home Goods or art supply stores. Here are a few options from Amazon to get you started:

Pyrex Glass Storage Set & Large Round Set
Anchor Round Glass Storage Set & Rectangular Set
Large Hinged-Lid Glass Jars, 67oz here, 32oz here & 25oz here
Standard Mason Jars, 16oz 4-Pack & 32oz 2-Pack
Wide-Mouth Mason Jars, 64oz 2-Pack & 32oz 2-Pack
Small Hinged-Lid Jars, 3oz 24-Pack

6.5. Silicone Storage**

I’m recommending this with a huge caveat. Silicone is arguably better than plastic, but can be difficult to recycle (requiring special facilities to do so) and oftentimes ends up in landfills anyway. There is also a lot of greenwashing in the silicone market, and many products aren’t food grade. While I understand the appeal of a flexible, lightweight option for food storage, I would only recommend purchasing silicone food storage if you have a specific requirement that cannot be met with glass food storage and to purchase it from a high-quality company such as Stasher.

7. Loose Leaf Tea & Infusers

Replaces bagged tea. When you steep a regular tea bag, millions of micro plastics are released into your tea. On top of that, the bag (being made of plastic) typically isn’t biodegradable or compostable. Even many tea bags that claim to be biodegradable require special or industrial composting facilities, so they end up not breaking down.

Loose Leaf Tea

There are a few companies that have truly compostable tea bags, but I prefer to stick with loose leaf tea to minimize packaging altogether. I just recently purchased from Arbor Teas, whose loose leaf teas have backyard compostable packaging and are sustainable, fair trade, and organic.

Stainless Steel Tea Steepers/Infusers

You can purchase ball and chain steepers, but I prefer the infusers that are more like a mesh strainer because they have less moving parts and are easy to clean. I also have a mug set with a steeper and lid that absolutely LOVE and use every morning.

8. Composting

Reduces how much food waste you’re putting into your trash. Backyard composting such as compost pile system, worm composting or bokashi is always best because you can use what’s produced for your own yard or garden, but some of us are not lucky enough to have an outdoor space for composting. I currently live in a community complex condo and don’t have a backyard. Instead, I use a small, stainless steel bowl (part of a set gifted to us years ago) on my kitchen counter when I’m doing food prep, and then transfer it to a large, sealable container in the fridge. I empty the large container once a week into our neighboring complexes compost bin – because our community doesn’t have recycling or compost right now! You can also check to see if a local farmers market will take your kitchen waste. If you use a green bin, you’ll definitely want to check with your local municipality to make sure you aren’t putting in food waste that will have the bin get rejected.

9. BONUS! Reduce Food Waste in General

Planning out meals, buying only what you need and eating what you have are the best ways to save money and reduce waste in the kitchen. Having less in your fridge will help you to see what you have so you actually eat what you bought before it goes bad. This will also reduce how much you’re throwing into the trash, putting down the garbage disposal (or hopefully composting). While it’s important to have spare food on hand for emergencies, those foods will be pantry items (dry and canned goods) that can easily be eaten and replaced before they go bad – always remember to practice FIFO (first in first out) with your dry and canned goods too, though, so you don’t end up throwing away expired food!

Check out my video and let me know if you try any of these swaps in your own kitchen! Please also share with me by commenting or tagging me in a photo on Instagram @plantsnotplastic. Until next time!