Ever since I read The World Without Us, I have been a bit obsessed with cutting as much plastic out of my life as possible. Intellectually, I have always known how bad plastic is, but for some reason, this book really drove the message home. One thing that I have discovered, is how easy it is to replace most of your plastic leftover storage with glass jars.
The wonderful thing about the glass jars is that they’re usually free. The next time you make spaghetti, just rinse the jar out and put it into the dishwasher. It’s amazing how quickly you will build up a good-sized collection.
The only downside is spooning the food into the jar. Sometimes it can be messy, because the mouth is narrower than most plastic containers. I have two solutions for that problem. The first, and easier, is to use a spoon that is slightly smaller than the opening, that way food won’t dribble down the sides. The second, is to use a canning funnel. This is a funnel that has a wider mouth, and is used to pour homemade jams into jars. You really don’t need one to make this work, but if you found a cheap one, it might be worth it.
The upside of using glass jars is enormous. My plastic containers don’t last all that long, so over my entire life, I imagine that I would go through quite a bit of them. Each one is going to be around for tens of thousands of years, leaching nasty chemicals into our environment, and getting eaten by unsuspecting animals.
Also, little known is that these containers usually have chemicals in them that are know or suspected to cause all sorts of health problems. We didn’t evolve with the ability to handle these chemicals because we have created them only recently. Glass jars don’t have this problem. Glass is nonreactive, and won’t add any unsavory chemicals to your food. This alone I think makes it worthwhile to make the switch.
Past posts on sustainability:
I haven’t read the world without us, but I had a similar epiphany. I read an article that talked about a “trash vortex” in the ocean where all of the plastic that gets washed into the ocean ends up. This vortex is miles and miles wide and they have found plastic from crashed WWII planes trapped in there. That’s how long plastic lasts and what kind of a problem it is creating.
I am still trying to limit my plastic but it is difficult. It is in everything! I also tried to move to glass for food storage. I wanted to reuse, and I have quite a bit but I became concerned about the plastic lining the metal lids of the glass jars. I ended up buying anchor hocking glass refrigerator storage containers in all sizes for my leftover food. The lids and containers are pure glass. They seal the food in surprisingly well. One thing about them that might interest a new old fashioned gal like you is that they are reproductions of containers anchor hocking sold back in the 1930s.
I had that same revelation when I was in Viet Nam last year. The town where I stayed had no trash pickup, and plastic trash is a real problem there. Around every less-traveled corner is a pile of defunct shopping bags and cracked plastic bottles (in good condition, these things are reused several times). My hosts actually burned these things in their yard (eek! toxic fumes!) We may have trash pickup to keep it out of sight, but it’s not like we have actually come up with some magical way to make it go away.
My cabinets are now full of re-purposed glass pickle- and peanut-butter- jars.
Mimi – I agree about the plastic on the lids being less than absolutely perfect, but I think that as long as you don’t fill up the jars all the way so that the food isn’t touching it, it should be pretty much fine. Certainly significantly better from a health/sustainable standpoint than plastic. I am a big believer in taking the easy steps first, and I think that this would be easiest for most people
I would love to know where you got the glass anchor hocking jars. I’ve only seen ones made out of plastic. I think that I will go google them and see what I can find;) By the way, that plastic vortex was fully discussed in The World Without Us, and it was creepy!
Cordie- Thanks for sharing. It’s amazing to me how much of this junk must accumulate when there’s no trash pickup!
The anchor hocking containers can be found online through Amazon. I have also seen them at OSH hardware store and our local grocery for a cheaper price. Restoration hardware had them years ago for an expensive price. I have also seen the original vintage containers at an antique store so I am wondering if you can find them for next to nothing through a thrift store or craigs list.
This is a great suggestion. I have been freezing stuff in glass jars and recently trying to remember to put leftovers in them, but old habits are hard to break and I usually forget and put them in our plastic containers.
I was lucky enough to score a great find off my local Freecycle. A woman was helping her elderly neighbor clean out her basement and I was the lucky recipient of this woman’s entire canning collection!! It was dozens and dozens of jars. Some are small half pints with the wire and glass dome lids and some were jelly jars that had a metal lid, but not like our modern ones, the just sit on top with no screwing on and no plastic lining. I think maybe they were to just protect the paraffin wax topped jellies and jams.
There are so many ways to easily reduce plastic use and consumption. It is very important to do so.
Lisa – I thought that freezing stuff in glass jars would cause them to burst, so I have been sticking to plastic. I will have to try it now and see how it works.
I too have gotten a lot of old canning things off of freecycle, and have had a wonderful time using them!
Mimi – I will check out the local hardware store, and scout out for them on Craigslist. Thanks for the suggestion!
Just make sure to leave enough head room. I haven’t had one explode yet. I have heard of people who have, but I figure, even if it happens once in a great while, the savings will be worth it.
I really like your blog. I look forward to reading more.
Lisa – Thanks for the suggestion! I suppose that I just assumed that they were more fragile than that, although now that I think about it, I’ve dropped them before without them breaking, so they are quite durable.
PeregrinJoe – I’m glad you like my blog! I’ll look forward to “seeing” you around here more!
Hi, new to your blog! Am enjoying reading your posts. Thought I’d add my 2¢, late as it is: Glass is fine for freezing, but leave the lid off or at least not tightly sealed until the contents are frozen. Some folks leave the jar inside a plastic bag until its frozen, though that kinda defeats the point! You can buy freezer jars, too, usually stocked in the same section of a store where canning jars are kept.
Jay – Thanks! I’m gad that you’re enjoying my blog. That’s a great idea to leave the lids loose until the contents are frozen. Thanks!