Cut the kitchen plastics

Your Challenge

Plastic pollution is a growing problem for people, nature and the planet. This challenge is all about looking through your kitchen to see how many different plastics you use, whether any could be swapped for more sustainable alternatives and which ones might be putting you at risk of exposure to microplastics.

Many plastic items used for cooking and preparing food can shed microplastics. For example:

Cutting on a plastic chopping board can shed fragments of plastic into food.^[1]
Non-stick pans are coated in a plastic-derivative which stops food from sticking. However, over time, tiny chips and scratches appear in the pan, meaning the coating sheds into our food.^[2]
Plastic spatulas can chip and fall apart over time also leaving microplastics in your food.^[3]

You could reduce your exposure to microplastics at home by using alternatives, such as:

Wooden spoons and chopping boards.
Stainless-steel, iron or copper pans (which can be made non-stick – search online for a how-to guide).

You can buy FSC-certified wooden items to ensure these products have been made from sustainably sourced wood. Or buy second-hand ones, lovingly passed down through generations.

Why you're doing this

Plastic has many uses and has made our lives much easier. But the volume of plastic in our world is now contributing to the microplastics crisis, as highlighted by the documentary ‘Plastic People’ produced by journalist Ziya Tong, who is also a trustee of WWF-Canada.^[4]In her documentary, Tong highlights how we are exposed to microplastics through the food we eat, the water we drink, and even the air we breathe.

There is growing awareness of visible plastic pollution in our seas and oceans, and some action is being taken to tackle this. But microplastic pollution is often not visible to the naked eye, and is less well known. Despite this, scientists have confirmed that microplastics have been found in a variety of human organs and tissue.^[5] Not only are plastics affecting our health, but they are also made from fossil fuels, which release greenhouse gas emissions when burned and contribute to climate change.

How you'll make a difference

Cutting down the demand for plastic will help keep fossil fuels in the ground and slow climate change. It will also reduce plastic pollution, including exposure to and consumption of microplastics.

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