Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumCommentary: 4 Ways To Reduce Plastics And Other Single-Use Disposables In Your Kitchen
Commentary: 4 Ways To Reduce Plastics And Other Single-Use Disposables In Your Kitchen
March 10, 20197:00 AM ET
The 40 days of Lent, which began last week, are a time when many Christians around the world decide to voluntarily give up bad habits or luxuries. This year, it might be time we all consider how to give up or at least reduce our reliance on disposable products.
A year ago, I decided to create a more environmentally friendly and sustainable kitchen, focusing particularly on reducing my use of disposable products such as plastic sandwich bags, aluminum foil and paper towels.
It's worth the effort: Americans toss 185 pounds of plastic per person each year while also going through 13 billion pounds of paper towels as a nation. Aluminum foil sounds like a "natural" alternative to a lot of people, but it can actually take a hundred years or more to biodegrade. If composting kitchen scraps or reusing old coffee grounds for a body scrub seems like a step too far, there are a few simple ways to reduce the environmental footprint of your kitchen without sacrificing modern conveniences.
I'm not going to sugarcoat my experience. It takes commitment and a willingness to change long-held habits. In creating my sustainable kitchen, I tried a lot of different alternative products and some plain old common sense; the result, however, has been worth the effort. I'm recycling more and relying less on single-use products. The kicker: I'm saving money too.
More at the link.
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/03/10/701684123/commentary-4-ways-to-reduce-plastics-and-other-single-use-disposables-in-your-ki
zipplewrath
(16,646 posts)Aluminum is an element, and a naturally occurring one at that. It doesn't "biodegrade". It oxidizes, and it does that almost instantaneously (which is why it makes a good element in solid rocket fuel).
PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)zipplewrath
(16,646 posts)You have precious little pure aluminum, if any at all. Aluminum, the element, oxidizes very quickly. It is also fairly "invisible". The alloying elements in the aluminum, which oxidize over longer periods of time, will appear generally as a white powder on the item.