There’s a reason plastic is so popular. Developed in 1907, plastic is a synthetic polymer that can be molded to different shapes. While this is excellent for applications that require airtight, watertight or antibacterial uses, plastic has a big downside when it comes to everyday items. Plastic bottles can take at least 450 years to decompose, while plastic bags can require up to 1,000 years. According to EcoWatch, we have produced more plastic in the last ten years than in the last century, and 50% of the plastic we use, we simply use once then throw away.
Our consumption of plastics is overwhelming, but there are many ways we can help stem the flow. The ideal place to start is by reducing the use of plastic in your kitchen—and it’s easier to do than you think.
Next time you’re in the kitchen, take a look around you and think about what single use plastics you can replace with longer-wearing materials. Use a critical eye when grocery shopping, particularly when looking at packaging, and make choices that will benefit the environment. It’s truly easier than you think to reduce the amount of plastic waste you produce, so make the switch and do your part for planet Earth.
Discover more short-term choices that can have long-term environmental impacts.
Photo Credits: ITTIGallery / Shutterstock Inc., Aleksandra Suzi / Shutterstock Inc., Jacob Lund / Shutterstock Inc.
The first time I saw a persimmon, I thought it was a tomato that I was expected to eat raw and whole. It’s not, of course – it’s much better. Or at least it’s much better for those of us who don’t like eating tomatoes out of hand like apples, and who do love the sweet tang of this unique fruit. Asian persimmons (Diospyros kaki) are best suited to growing in USDA Hardiness Zones 7-11, while American persimmons (D. virginiana) are hardy to Zone 5.
Shallots aren’t always easy to find in US grocery stores. At least, not for me up here in Alaska, where it’s also difficult to find a strawberry for sale in the wintertime. If you opt to grow your own, there’s nothing as sweet as looking out at your own garden and seeing the long green leaves rising from the soil. Beneath them lies a growing bulb that can fill your cooking with flavor and life. If you can figure out how and when to harvest it, that is.
Corn gets a bad rap these days. It’s in everything from breakfast cereal to dog food to skin care products, so how can it be healthy? Well, my friends, it is. Especially sweet corn, which is loaded with fiber, vitamin C, folate, thiamine, magnesium, and potassium, all of which are essential to human health. It’s the processed products you have to watch out for, not garden-grown deliciousness. Corn is, in fact, a whole grain! So, say you planted some nutritiou
With regrets to all the lettuce lovers out there, I must proclaim that there is no better base for a salad than freshly grown arugula. I planted the leafy green in my vegetable garden last summer and was surprised by how quickly and easily it grew. If you’ve never tried to grow arugula, Eruca vesicaria, now’s the perfect time to start. You can grow it in your yard, or even indoors. For complete instructions, check out our guide to growing and caring for arugula.