| Utensils and Accessories |
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While these may not have such an obvious environmental impact as washing machines and fridges, given the amount of washing-up brushes and kitchen cloths that we will get through in a lifetime it is still important to seek out green alternatives where possible. The main way to make a difference is to avoid all plastic in your kitchen. Much of it can easily be replaced with wood - you can buy wooden washing-up brushes with natural fibre bristles made from sustainable resources, preferably with replaceable heads, for example. Metal, especially stainless steel, can also be more green than plastic; look for metal sieves, potato mashers, and so on. Getting rid of plastic washing-up bowls and using the metal sink is also advisable, from a hygiene, as well as a green viewpoint. Washing knives used to cut raw meat, for example, can leave a washing-up bowl harboring particularly nasty germs. In your quest to avoid plastic you may be tempted by natural alternatives such as bamboo mats, but do not assume that they are necessarily eco-friendly. While bamboo can be grown sustainably it is not always done so, and there are concerns about the impact of bamboo harvesting on pandas in China, for example. There is also the pollution to consider as a result of the mats having been shipped halfway across the globe, and the question of toxic treatments, such as DDT or lindane, being used on the bamboo. TIP Wrapping your food in either clingfilm (saranwrap) or foil is a habit worth breaking. Not only is the production of both the low-density polyethylene, used in clingfilm (saranwrap), and the aluminum, used in foil, wasteful in terms of energy, raw materials and pollution, but they could also pose quite serious health threats. Soft plastics contain plasticizers, which are known to be hormone disrupters. These can leach into warm and fatty foods in particular and so wrapping these in clingfilm (saranwrap) is not advisable. Neither should you opt for foil instead. The aluminum can also leach into food - particularly acidic food - and it has been linked with a variety of health problems, such as Alzheimers disease. The safest alternative for wrapping your food is greaseproof (waxed) paper or cellophane, which is made from wood pulp. Try to do away with wrapping altogether and store your food in glass or china bowls instead. If you cannot give up on foil then make an effort to recycle it, using it again for covering foods or taping it down under an ironing board cover to reflect extra heat onto your garments. There will still be some areas where there is little choice but to go for plastic - refuse sacks, for example. But you should recycle them at every opportunity - if the 455 million kg (1 billion pounds) of plastic refuse sacks, along with the 20 billion plastic bottles, currently used in the USA were recycled, the need for landfills would be reduced by 30 per cent. So you can make a difference by using recycled plastic or by using them more than once by keeping a large rubbish container into which you empty your sacks of rubbish. Or better still - have a compost heap. When it comes to choosing a set of pots and pans, you should be looking for those made from stainless steel or cast iron and try to buy the most expensive set you can afford, since they are likely to last a lot longer and thus reduce waste. Aluminum is a big no-no for both environmental and health reasons. Non-stick coatings on pans can release toxic fumes if they are overheated, and although glass is great for casseroles and baking, it does not conduct heat that well so is inefficient as a cooking pan. The non-plastic message applies equally to plates and cutlery - even if you are keen on picnics or have a family of small children. Stainless steel bowls will not break when tossed over the edge of the high chair and can be taken on picnics every year. Teach children to use silver or stainless steel cutlery from an early age and wrap the cutlery in a tea towel for taking on outings with you. If you would rather avoid glasses when out and about then the greenest option is waxed paper cups - at least they can be recycled. If for some reason plastic cutlery and cups are essential, do not trash them - take them home, wash them and use them again, even if it is only for storing screws or as jam spoons. Kitchen paper and other paper products are popular kitchen accessories, but here it is essential that you buy recycled. Choose unbleached paper if available; the manufacture of white paper requires large amounts of chlorine bleach, which pollutes the waterways downstream of paper mills. It also leads to the production of cancer and disease-causing dioxins, some of which have been found at low levels in bleached paper products for the kitchen, especially milk cartons and coffee filters. |
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