Wanna stop eating microplastics?
Easy swaps and upgrades to keep them out of your mouth 👄
Microplastics. Every day there are new depressing studies about how they’re linked to heart attacks, strokes, neurotoxicity, male infertility, how we eat one credit card’s worth of microplastics every week. Avoiding exposure feels impossible; plastics break down from vehicle tires, stretchy yoga pants, garbage bags, and our to-go coffee cups. Arctic seals can’t avoid their exposure, so what the heck can we humans living in urban environments do?
It’s exhausting to make individual changes when the systems around us aren’t changing fast enough. Though it’s easy to become nihilistic, it’s actually easier to make a few swaps in your home and call it a day. Like with anything, toxicity is in the dose, so even a few changes can lower your dose.
Here are the easy upgrades I’m working on in my home, in case you’re interested. Some of these changes (microplastic-capable water filter, glass food storage) I’ve been practicing for years, but I’m still in the implementation phase for others (kitchen utensils, toothbrush heads, loose leaf tea).
All links are independently chosen, a few are affiliates. I may make some monies if you buy through these links, thanks for supporting!
Filter your drinking water 💦
As a two-person household that goes through a lot of water for drinking and cooking, the Aquasana Claryum 3-stage Max Flow ($197) water filter is the one under our sink, specifically for its ability to filter 99% microplastics while retaining minerals like magnesium and calcium. The faucet is a breeze to install. The water tastes great which motivates me to fill up my water bottle before I go out. Every six months, a replacement filter arrives ($68), so it’s about $140 per year. The Aquasana Claryum 3-stage is slightly smaller and cheaper; the replacement filters are $100 per year.
I peeped the gorgeous Boroux ($300) at my friend’s house, and the water tasted beautiful. My kitchen is too small and I, too lazy to refill water into this separate vessel. You also have to scrub inside of it once a week. Still, it’s a cult favorite for a reason. It filters out 98.9% of microplastics, and the filters ($160) need to be replaced just once a year. The smaller ceramic Walter ($425) holds 1 gallon of purified water and the filter is $42 per year.
If I didn’t cook much at home, I would buy this sleek 7-cup glass LifeStraw water pitcher ($65) that filters microplastics and bacteria alike. This is the only microplastic filtering pitcher on the market. Don’t fall for aarke’s glass water pitcher, which is beautiful but like Brita, does not filter microplastics.
Examine your hot beverage station 🧉
You may find that plastic is lurking in all sorts of crevices, like a drip coffee maker, electric water kettles, and bags of tea. If you’re not sure, open up the top of your kettle to ensure it’s a plastic-free interior inside the lid.
Boil your water in plastic-free kettles, like this White Electric Kettle ($75) or Viante Electric Glass Kettle ($50). You can make tea directly in the Viante, which is kind of neat. Other beautiful plastic-free tea kettles: SMEG Retro Style Kettle ($190), Alessi Il Conico ($335), stoneware Theo Teapot ($125).
☕️ Some coffee lovers swear by the Aeropress and even travel with it, but you’re essentially pushing hot water through plastic, eep! Good news for fans: the new glass and aluminum Aeropress ($145) just launched this month. One day I would love to have an elevated version of Mr. Coffee at home: the Ratio ($345).
The most affordable non-plastic options for home baristas is this metal/bamboo French Press ($30) by a small Etsy maker in California. Since there’s no glass, it’s also easy to pack for travel. If you, like me, want to see the coffee inside: this glass, metal, and bamboo Sivaphe French Press ($30) is my pick. I enjoy the pour-over with Chemex ($47).
🍵 For tea: drink loose leaf tea instead of pre-sealed teabags. Most tea bags are made with plastic or have plastic sealant. This one is the hardest for me, as I love the convenience of tea bags and still have so many left. I’m not going to throw them out, but will use the teabags for coldbrewing tea instead. If you have favorite loose leaf sources, please leave me a note!
Chop on non-plastic cutting boards 🔪
I used to love plastic cutting boards because it felt more “sanitary” to throw it in the dishwasher. It’s only this year I saw a video about chopping vegetables on TikTok where a microscope shows all the teeny pieces being scraped off the board, flying like confetti, with each chop, that I finally made the switch. I haven’t thrown out my Material reBoards, even though I learned recycled plastic is even more toxic for you in terms of microplastics. I still use them when my wooden cutting board is dirty, but I use them much less.
Non-plastic cutting boards include wood, marble, glass and silicone: all with their pros and cons: wood cannot be thrown in the dishwasher and requires conditioning with a food-safe oil; marble is great for cheese but stains and dulls knives; glass is also dull knives and is slippery; composite smells like formaldehyde.
The most affordable swap is this Farberware 4-Piece Bamboo Set ($13), and you can find bamboo cutting boards at Target and Ikea.
If you must throw your cutting board in the dishwasher, check out the Tempered Glass Cutting Board (2 for $20) or Silicone Cutting Boards ($43 for 3). Almost as cheap as plastic and won’t smell like garlic.
This reversible cherry wood John Boos Block ($118) is the object of my desires, and I’ve envied friends who flaunt it in their kitchens. As for me, I bought my walnut cutting board ($64) from JonesCuttingBoards based in PA and I’m extremely pleased, I hope to have it for life. Unfortunately for you, the seller is currently taking a break, but you can sign up on email to be notified when they’re back.
Heat your food in non-plastic devices and containers 🔥
This includes swapping out your plastic airfryer for a stainless steel one like the Cuisinart Airfryer + Toaster Oven ($230) (my silky pick), Nuwave Airfryer +Toaster Oven ($112) or the Cosori 11-in-1 ($130).
When you microwave foods, use a glass or ceramic plate. It’s even easier if they’re already stored in non-plastic containers like the ones below.
Store food and drink in non-plastic containers 🍝
I’m a fan of these IKEA bamboo and glass containers ($7), the lids are bamboo and the seal is silicone. Costco carries this 10-piece glass Pyrex ($50) where the lids are also glass and silicone instead of plastic. Both can go in the oven or microwave without the lids, woohoo!
If you’re wondering what the difference between silicone and plastic is: silicone is made of quartz ore and does not leach out microplastics.
I bought some Stasher (2 for $19) silicone bags as a Ziploc replacement, and plan to get more when I see them on sale. You can also sous vide in these half-gallon bags! These silicone Moonkie containers ($18 for 4) intrigue me as well, though they’re technically for babies, since they function a lot like plastic.
I’m personally not a fan of eating from metal, but these Onyx metal containers might be a good option for kids, or for foods that won’t be reheated like salad or fruit.
For beverages, here are glass water bottles (6 for $27) with metal lids for storing beverages that you might buy in plastic containers. I use it to store homemade hemp milk.
Oh, here are glass salad dressing bottles that I’m admiring, and reusable cotton mesh bags (9 for $17) for produce, which keeps your veggies from rotting in the drawer (if you had kept them in plastic).
Throw out the old take-out containers you’ve been hoarding. Apparently the black plastic in take-out containers is the worst, as they have high amounts of illegal flame retardants called polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDE. If you can’t let go, use them for storing non-food items.
Stir with wooden or metal utensils 🥄
There’s new evidence that plastic utensils are leaching harmful chemicals into your food. Ugh, I’ve been cooking with plastic spatulas for decades :-( Now I’m slowly making the switch. Though I own some wooden and metal utensils, I’ve been slow to replace the black plastic utensils I don’t use very often. Maybe I’ll suddenly need it, just one more time!! And I’m reluctant to buy something I’ll only use a few times a year.
Wood: I’d love this olive wood spatula ($14) that looks good enough to turn pancakes and eggs. These handmade cherrywood Jonathan’s Wood Spoons, especially the squiggly one, have my heart. These Earlywood pieces can also scoop and slather peanut butter.
Metal: IKEA has stainless utensils like this steel spatula ($6) with a wooden handle and a 4 piece kitchen set ($10) for great prices.
Silicone: I’m skeptical that silicone is actually safe in heat as utensils, it looks so much like plastic in my eyes. I think it’s best to use it for cold things like stirring mousse or cake batter until there’s more research.
Swap your oral hygiene tools 🪥
Electronic toothbrushes: I haven’t switched out my plastic toothbrush heads yet, as I still have a bunch left. Out of all the brands I saw online, I chose Mabel for pioneering Sonicare-compatible bamboo toothbrush heads (4 for $20). Their bristles are made of castor oil and plastic-free, and the toothbrush heads are biodegradable, though you need to pull out the bristles first. *added 12/20: use code SILKY15 for 15% off from the Mable website.
Manual toothbrushes: The Sea Turtle bamboo toothbrushes (4 for $7) have adult and children’s versions. I love that these toothbrushes are compostable!
For floss: Dr. Tungs ($28 for 6), which I love for its cardamom flavor and plastic-free packaging. I wanted to love the biodegradable silk floss from Radius ($13 for 3), but it just doesn’t get out as much gunk as Dr. Tungs. *Edited on 11/19* to add Mother Earth bamboo floss, a vegan, biodegradable floss (recommended by
in the comments)Toothpaste is a controversial topic, and I remedy that by mixing it up. Uncle Harry’s is a crunchy brand that I like, PerioBiotic Silver Hydroxyapatite Toothpaste is also in the rotation. Many readers suggested Huppy toothpaste tablets!! Just don’t pick the ones with microbeads, as they are tiny pieces of plastic.
Lather on plastic-free lip stuff 💄
Most lip products, especially the ones under $5, contain petroleum (plastic). But there are also $100 lipsticks out there that use plastics for that smooth, saranwrap-like feel. Scientists are just now discussing the impacts of microplastics in leave-on cosmetics (versus rinse-off like toothpaste or shampoo). Even knowing all this, I can’t resist a mainstream lipstick once in a while, because I don’t have any babies to kiss and use crunchy lip products 80% of the time. Yes, I live dangerously.
Crunchy: YayforEarth is an incredible brand and their organic lip balm has no plastic in the packaging. If you’re vegan (avoiding beeswax, for example) these Hurraw! Organic Lip Balms are perfect. You’ll never find me without black cherry but I wanna try root beer.
Scrunchy: If you’re putting Vaseline on your lips (or anywhere else) the Alba Un-Petroleum Jelly ($12) is the perfect plant-based alternative. Same consistency without any polyethylene. They also make Alba Coconut Cream Lip Balm (2 for $10) but I just put the jelly on my lips, it’s more bang for the buck.
Silky: This RMS Lip Balm is the one currently in my purse. I bought it earlier this year in LA when my lips were so dry and the Hurraw! wasn’t thick enough. I’ve also enjoyed Ilia’s lipsticks since 2016, when I stumbled upon the brand in Colette Paris (RIP). The Balmy Tint Hydrating Lip Balm ($28) has luxe packaging while maintaining a plastic-free ingredient list.
If you want to check on the ingredients of your beauty products, type in the product or copy-and-paste an ingredient to EWG's Skin Deep® database.
Even if you implement all of the swaps above in your home, you’ll still have to venture out into the world and eat plastic. You’ll meet a friend for lunch where the salad is chopped on plastic cutting boards, the soup heated in plastic bags, the water unfiltered and the drip coffee brewed in a plastic coffee maker.
But like anything, toxicity is in the dosage. Reducing your exposure at home with even one step, like getting a non-plastic water kettle or replacing your plastic cutting board, is going to make a difference to your health. Hopefully that can help you feel less anxious about the inevitable and unavoidable exposure outside… I know it’s been helpful for me.
What swaps have you made in your kitchen? Did any of my recs interest you?
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Cool article, glad that someone is accumulating this sort of stuff.
I work in the plastics industry and agree with a lot of your recommendations. See below for a few thoughts I had while reading.
I would add the distinction between products that pose a risk for ingested microplastics and products that pose a risk for ingested "leachables". Your cutting board example is a great example for a product which probably results in the user ingesting small pieces of plastics, aka microplastics. Your example of microwaving black take-out food containers is a great example of a product which probably leaches chemicals into your food (plasticizers, fillers, colorants, stabilizers, FR additives, etc).
Silicone is not as pure and safe of a material as you may be led to believe. It is often loaded up with fillers and other leachables, same as plastics are. It is food-grade, yes, but so are all of the plastic products you warn against in your article. This goes double for sketchy silicone parts sold from drop-shippers on Amazon-- it is very possible they are actually selling non-food-grade silicone which uses an industrial catalyst system (peroxide cure system) which is prone to leaving leachable impurities in the final product. No one is checking these goods when they come into our ports. I have specific expertise in silicone manufacturing and it certainly is an amazing material but is not this magic fix-all for the kitchen that some people assume it is. Non-silicone rubbers are typically even more sketchy than conventional plastics.
Metal parts are also not as pure and safe as you may think either. I am less familiar with these processes but a lot of food-contact metal components are actually coated or painted with a polymer material. Notably, aluminum soda cans have an epoxy coating throughout the inside. If you have a copper part that is somehow holding its nice reddish-gold sheen over time-- it is probably coated with a polymer. Like silicone, a metal component is not necessarily safer-as-a-rule. Stainless steel is a possible exception; I've never heard of a coating being applied to SS.
Thank you for all your excellent research/detective work finding all these alternatives and providing all the links. This post surely took some time and effort!
It is disheartening, though, the reality that no matter how much we try to, let’s say, replace all the things, like you said, there’s still all the things ‘out there’s that we can’t control. And as for the dosing, I’d figure at 58, my body is replete with microplastics and no swap over to loose tea or otherwise will turn the tide on whatever’s already at play in me. Then I think of my 22 year old and can see in my mind the many meals he ate on IKEA plastic dishes or juices he drank from plastic bottles or every plastic toothbrush he’s stuck into his mouth…
It seems it always comes down to the individual to discover and try to protect themselves. Wouldn’t it have been wonderful if industry and government had listened to the scientists over the years and protected all of us, not just the ones who did their own research and had the money to do what little they can about it. It’s like we’re all really just doomed becuz it is bigger than all of us.