These days, everyone has become aware of the problems that the plastic crisis pose – after all, every single-use plastic bag you utilize outlives you for hundreds of years, even taking around a thousand years to decompose. Even after this eyewatering period, plastic breaks down into microplastics. So, we must be more careful about what we consume.
Thus, you might want to consider purchasing fruit and vegetables without plastic packaging and learning how to store these foods optimally. By doing this, you could make all the difference to our ecosystem. Read on to discover more!
Store some vegetables at room temperature
Not all of your veggies have to be chilled in the fridge to last. Vegetables maintain freshness for the longest in a dry and cool environment, and you can store some products, such as parsnips, carrots, and sweet potatoes, at room temperature. You should keep these items away from heat, light, and moisture. Thus, a kitchen cupboard usually works well for these vegetables. Just ensure that it is not placed too near your oven!
Grab a paper bag
What’s eco-friendlier than swapping out a plastic bag for a paper bag? Some stores offer brown paper bags in the fruit and vegetable aisle, encouraging customers to pack up their groceries in a material which is less harmful to our environment than plastic. As long as you avoid stuffing too many products into one singular bag, your produce should keep fresh for a reasonable number of days.
Use a fruit bowl
Just as you can keep some vegetables at room temperature, you can also do the same for most fruits. Consider investing in a fruit bowl to help your stone fruits ripen over time before moving these fruits to the fridge when they are soft enough to consume. Banana trees are also an excellent investment!
Cloth bags
Reusable cloth bags have become a renowned plastic alternative for shopping over the years. But as well as shopping with them, you can also store your produce in them to keep them fresh without having to use any plastic. Cloth produce bags are designed to take your vegetables, fruit, and other goods home from the market and can be stored straight in your fridge at home. If this wasn’t good enough, the natural fibres in these bags are breathable, meaning that food products can stay fresh for a considerable amount of time.
Key Takeaways
- Firstly, there are many different approaches we can take to store food. Hopefully, this has shed light on the fact that plastic isn’t always necessary in our daily lives!
- Secondly, many businesses may be able to benefit from encouraging consumers to take eco-friendlier approaches. By selling products such as cloth bags, paper bags, and fruit bowls, companies may be able to attract a broader customer base by showing they care about the planet.
- Finally, every individual shopper impacts our ecosystem. You can start taking a step towards sustainability by saying no to plastic!
