This action costs nothing but could be highly effective
Plastic cling film as a food covering in the average western household is a very poor use of non-recyclable single use plastic.
In other articles we have suggested cling film as something to permanently delete from your shopping list; today’s action builds on these by suggesting alternatives that will mean you never have to buy cling film for your food again.
Please use these alternatives, it’s better all round and costs you less too!
Why is this important?
Cling film is a horrendous and inefficient use of plastic. It is non-recyclable, and the nature of it’s use means that it is very often discarded directly into our environment. For example, people will use it to wrap food for a picnic, which then gets left on a beach or in the countryside.
Cling film does not get recycled, because it invariably has food scraps on it which contaminate the recycling system.
Cling film is particularly damaging to wildlife, it can easily suffocate or choke animals and birds.
It’s also an unnecessary expense, alternatives can be free. So why would you want to use it?
What to use instead
There are quite a few options which do not involve single-use plastic:
- If food is being stored for a short time, say between one meal and the next, in the fridge, it may not need covering at all
- For lunchboxes, use greaseproof (baking) paper or beeswax paper
- Use reusable containers, plastic is OK in this context, for example Tupperware
- Reuse other items such as take-away food containers, margarine tubs and ice cream tubs
- Aluminium foil is also an option. It’s not perfect but at least it is recyclable and avoids plastic waste
- Leave food in the pans and put the lids on!
- Casserole dishes with lids and similar containers are great for leftover meals
- Simply cover things with inverted bowls … a good example is a block of cheese on a plate
- Consider buying food huggers!
Bonus advantages
Buy using an alternative and not buying cling film you will also:
- save money; cling film is an unnecessary expense
- exercise your consumer power; send a message to retailers and manufacturers that cling film is unnecessary
Take action
This is an easy action, please use the alternatives listed above instead of buying cling film for your food storage.
If you haven’t done so already, please sign up to our bulletin “Take Action” using the form below, and thank you for your support.