I Finally Quit Plastic Food Containers, Thanks to This Brilliant Find

A few years ago I learned just how much microplastics can affect your body — and not to mention the environment — just by living your daily life. What something is made of plastic — like a food storage container or a water bottle — it leaches microparticles of plastic into your food when heated up, cleaned, or just used over time, and those can enter your body in a number of ways. In fact, the Environmental Working Group’s research shows that the average American ingests as many as 150,000 particles of plastic per year, which is the equivalent of 12 plastic bags. When ingested, these tiny bits may increase your risk of conditions like diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and more — and if that isn’t enough to scare you into using less plastic in your home, I’m not sure what will.

It’s a complex scientific area of study I won’t pretend I totally understand, so to be safe I set out to eliminate as much plastic as I could from my home — to keep it out of me, the oceans, and landfills. First I switched to always using a metal water bottle (my beloved Owala FreeSip!), and never touching the single-use ones. Next I stopped using plastic wrap on my food, and opted for reusable bags and wraps instead. And then came the biggest culprit in my kitchen cabinets: the jumble of plastic food storage containers.

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Over time, my cabinets became full of (free!) plastic containers from takeout orders that I used for everything. But this type of thin, cheap plastic is one of the worst microplastic offenders. Luckily the swap for glass food storage containers was easy: Editor-loved storage brand Bentgo just launched its first-ever all-glass food storage container set!

While it comes in sets of four pieces to as many as 18 in a few different colors, I opted for the $49.99 10-piece set, which includes three round containers (1.6 cups and 4.1 cups) and two larger rectangular containers (2.7 cups and 6.3 cups) with lids for each. While it isn’t on sale, it’s totally worth every penny if you want to add this 8-piece set for $44.99 to your cart for Amazon Prime Day. Not only are the bottoms made of BPA- and PFAS-free glass, but it’s also durable borosilicate glass, which is even stronger than standard glass (as well as heat-resistant). 

In the past, I had a set of glass food storage containers with plastic lids, which kind of defeated the purpose. These Bentgo lids are made of the same sturdy tempered glass with a silicone seal that’s totally leak-proof — even when I toss them in my bag to take on the train to work. Plus, both sides are safe to go in the dishwasher, oven, microwave, and freezer. And they’re totally microplastic-free (including the silicone!).

And please, a moment for the brilliant technology: Each lid has a built-in silicone steam valve that you can open for properly vented, splatter-free microwaving. For keeping food fresh, you just unplug the valve, pop the lid on the base, and then plug the valve back into its hole. Just like that, it creates an intense vacuum effect that makes the lid essentially impossible to get off without opening the valve again.

Most importantly, they actually save space in my kitchen cabinets because they nest! When not in use, they stack nicely into one another to take up minimal room in my limited storage. And I know they’ll last me a long time!

And to be clear — I didn’t toss all of my plastic food storage containers, and you shouldn’t either. There are plenty of brilliant ways to use them for storing non-food or prewrapped items, like using the bottoms to organize jar lids or snacks and the lids as spoon rests or coasters. I also like to make a makeshift “bus bin” with taller containers to make dishwashing easier!

So while many microplastics in the world are somewhat unavoidable (at least for now), it’s the small changes that can help us do what we can to keep our families healthy and safe — one swap at a time.

Buy: Bentgo Signature Leak-Proof Glass Food Storage, 8-Piece Set, $44.99

This post originally published on The Kitchn. See it there: What Made Me Finally Quit Using Plastic Food Storage Containers Forever