Living on a boat, surrounded by the ocean every day, you are even more aware of the importance, of NOT adding to micro-plastics or causing single-use plastic pollution.
The problem is that living in the heat of the Caribbean at anchor, also means that you don’t get to shops and markets that often. So you really need to store all of your fresh produce in the fridge or freezer immediately. Fresh food without preservatives can spoil very quickly in this heat, so taking the time to portion your food, slice your bread and chop up your ripest fruit to freeze, before you become guilty of wastage, has become very important to me.
I don’t buy cling film to wrap cut fruit and vegies, as there are now great silicon alternatives to seal in the moisture of partially used produce. Cling film can only be used once and then it must be discarded.
I have abundant air-tight containers to store leftovers in or protect my tomatoes from being bruised in a crowded fridge, but I have also had to come to terms with using single-use plastic bags and take-away containers in my fight against food spoilage and keeping us safe from food poisoning.
It is true, I use a couple of boxes of “Zip-Lock” type freezer bags every year, along with the 20 microwave-safe plastic take-away containers I bought three years ago in Greece, and yes, these are single-use plastic food storage containers.
I am guilty of using this plastic, but never for a single use. I wash my bags and boxes after each use like I wash the dishes – until they get a hole in them, crack or disintegrate. I use them over and over again, as nothing else performs like they do.
I have tried the silicon “Zip-Lock” type bags, but they are hard to clean properly and damage the food when you take the food in and out of the bag as they are quite rigid, and the opening is small. So, I have stuck with the convenience of the plastic bags, and just re-use them up to 10 times each, discarding them when they get too manky in the same way I have always done.
Just because a product is marketed as “disposable” doesn’t have to mean that you should only use it once and then dispose of it. I hope if we were to use quality, heavy-duty disposable products to the full extent of their useable life, simply by washing them, re-using them and disposing of them responsibly, we don’t have to feel so bad about the convenience they provide, or further damage to the environment.