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 |
|
Read more...
|
