Many products we use today are made from plastic and are often single use. Basic plastics take at least 100 years to break down by themselves. As such, a lot of plastic ends up in landfill and in the ocean. Over time, plastics can also leak chemicals such as BPA and phthalates which further harm the environment.

Reusable products are a great way to reduce plastic waste and help the environment. A few years ago, reusable coffee cups became very popular. Since then, many more reusable products have become available.

Here are some wonderful reusable products that you can invest in:

Beeswax food wraps – these are a great alternative to using plastic cling wrap to cover food and food containers. The beeswax allows the wraps to stick on themselves creating a natural seal. They can be cleaned and reused again and last between 6 to 12 months.

Silicone food bags – if you like to store snacks and sandwiches in plastic bags, switch to silicone food bags. There’s a variety of options coming in different sizes and colours. Most are safe to use in the microwave, freezer and dishwasher.

Reusable produce bags – we often accumulate a lot of plastic bags when going grocery shopping. Eliminate the plastic bags by investing in a set of reusable mesh bags. They come in a range of sizes to fit all types of produce and can be put in the washing machine.

Metal or glass straws – if you enjoy drinking out of a straw, make the swap to metal or glass straws. They won’t disintegrate like paper straws and you can wash and reuse them. Some reusable straws come with cleaning brushes.

Here are a few other ideas to reduce plastic:
• Save glass jars to store food, herbs, sauces and dressings
• Buy food staples from organic bulk foods stores where they don’t use plastic bags
• Buy fresh produce from local farmer’s markets where they use less packaging.

There are so many great plastic alternatives that make switching to reusable products easy. And you won’t have that bag or drawer filled with plastic bags!