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Use glass instead of plastic in the microwave

Why This is Green

Environmental health experts agree: don’t put plastic in a microwave. If you’ve done it in the past, don’t fret. Just don’t do it going forward. When you heat plastic in a microwave, it releases its chemical components into your food. Depending on what kind of plastic it is, this could mean the hormone disrupting chemical bisphenol-A (BPA), or the nefarious chemicals that make thin PVC (vinyl) film flexible.

If something is stamped “microwave-safe” that just means how hot the material can get before it loses its shape, not that it won’t leach chemicals into your dinner, though those levels are supposed to be low. There is no government agency charged with verifying or certifying that these “safe” plastics are actually safe for microwaves. There’s also no government agency making sure everything stamped BPA-free is actually free of BPA.

This can be scary. To be safe and avoid confusion, adopt a no plastic in the microwave policy. This is a simple way to avoid allowing questionable chemicals to get into your food. Glass is as safe as it gets. Lead-free ceramic works as well. Using either also reduces the resource drain and waste associated with plastic.

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How To

Make sure you have glass or lead-free ceramic containers on hand. Then shift your habit. Once you get used to avoiding plastic, you’ll wonder why you didn’t make the switch earlier.

Not everything needs a container. A potato does just fine with nothing. And you’ll be surprised how little you need plastic wrap.