14 Ways to Go Plastic-Free with Food

Here are 14 ways you can eliminate plastic at grocery stores and restaurants right away.

We all eat 3-5 times per day, so these can make a real difference!

This guide does not contain any affiliate links, nor was I paid to review these items. These are all products I have tried myself and recommend!

1. Refuse plastic bags.

REFUSE plastic shopping bags, every time. This was the first change I made many years ago – I switched to reusable shopping bags. There are endless choices! Please note that many of the lightweight bags sold at the grocery store (or the free bags vendors give out) are made of a polyester-like material, which is plastic. The best place to purchase these is usually the craft store. They sell canvas and cotton bags for $3-$10 that you can even decorate. Get your creativity on and help the environment! Bonus if you use decorating materials that you already own, or found second-hand.

Extra tip: You can also elect for paper bags if you forget your reusable bags – it happens. They are made from trees, but many laws require paper bags to contain a certain percentage (often 40%) of post-consumer recycled content.

2. Buy a reusable water bottle.

Stop buying water and soft drinks in single-use disposable plastic containers. Buy a reusable canteen or water bottle for all drinks (soda, water, juice). When I go walking and pick up litter, I would estimate that 80% or more of what I pick up are drink containers or parts (bottle caps, plastic lids, straws). There are literally thousands of choices at supermarkets, department stores, and online. I like Kleen Kanteen products, like the stainless steel one pictured below. My son used the Kid Classic Sport for years, though now he has an Owala. I now also have a Stanley that my spouse bought me.

3. Purchase a travel coffee mug.

Stop buying coffee in disposable cups and plastic lids. They are lined with a plastic film, which makes them unrecyclable, and the plastic can leach into your hot beverage. Purchase a reusable coffee cup if you are regularly visiting the local coffee shop. Again, there are hundreds of choices in shops and online. I personally use Hydro Flask’s insulated coffee cup, which I’ve found keeps my coffee hot for as long as a few hours.

Hydro Flask also sells water bottles, tumblers, food containers, and even beer containers! My spouse, a craft beer enthusiast, has the True Pint Cup and loves it. He says, “The True Pint is actually the best vessel I’ve ever found for enjoying beer, because of how well it keeps the drinks cold. I often recommend it and have purchased it as a gift for friends.”

Extra tip: If you do happen to forget your reusable coffee cup, you can request no lid on your coffee cup. “It’s what we in the zero-waste community like to call ‘going topless,'” according to Kathryn Kellogg of goingzerowaste.com.

4. Make coffee at home.

This avoids the travel mug vs. disposable cup problem. If you buy coffee out every day, this will also save you a lot of money.

Use a French Press for making coffee at home – this creates zero waste. Or pour-over coffee is good, too, since you can buy compostable filters and compost the coffee grounds. You can also use coffee grounds in your garden.

If you’re using a pod machine, such as a Keurig, buy a refillable K-Cup and use your own coffee. The disposable K-cups are #7 plastic, which is bad for the environment and your health, as #7 plastic can be potentially toxic. The refillable pods will likely provide a better cup of coffee, too.

We used to have a Keurig machine because we received one as a wedding gift. However, the waste it created bothered me. I sold the machine and switched to a French Press. I currently use a Bodum Chambord French Press (previously I had an OXO French Press), but any French Press will do – just look for one constructed primarily of glass and metal.

If you’re a tea drinker, you can eliminate plastic by switching to loose tea leaves. Teabags are often made with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic or polypropylene (PP), and nylon (also plastic), and these release toxins and phthalates into hot water. You can purchase a metal infuser or strainer. Tea Forte is my favorite type of teaware, as they make cups and teapots that come with a fitted infuser. My favorite loose tea is Arbor Teas because their packaging is fully home compostable!

5. Refuse the straw.

Skip the straw. Just don’t use one. You don’t really need a straw for most drinks, especially at sit-down restaurants. Their drinkware is sanitized through a dishwasher with a much hotter temperature than most homes. At restaurants, I’ve started saying, “No straw, please” when I first order a beverage, because they often serve one automatically. Once that straw is opened, it’s going to the landfill whether you use it or not – so it’s better to request no straw upfront.

Or bring your own! There are many options for reusable straws these days. I have a plain stainless steel straw, but for Christmas, I received a FinalStraw. It folds and comes in its own cute little carrying case.

6. Invest in a set of reusable produce bags.

Or, DON’T bag your produce. I know this seems unusual, but the grocery store does not require that you bag your produce. They can weigh lemons unbagged just as easily as if they’re in a bag. Some fruits and vegetables even grow their own protective covers. Corn and bananas, for example, come in their own packaging, so they don’t need a bag! There is a myth that plastic keeps foods “fresh” or “sanitary,” but the truth is that you need to wash off your produce anyway. Also, avoid buying produce prepackaged in plastic and polystyrene. This just isn’t necessary.

“Plastic keeps food from getting dirty, but food literally comes from dirt, from the ground…It doesn’t sprout from the soil wrapped in three layers of plastic.” -Kathryn Kellogg, 101 Way To Go Zero Waste

You can bring your own produce bags. I use them mostly for lettuce and kale, and choose not to bag most other produce. You can buy these almost anywhere online and in some grocery stores. Just try to find cotton bags instead of mesh ones made out of polyester (which is plastic). Or, you can make your own! A fun DIY project if you’re handy with a sewing machine.

7. Go to the Farmer’s Market.

Buying at the farmer’s market is another option, especially in the summer and autumn months. Just remember to bring your own bags! Buying local supports the local economy, is better for your health, and is better for the environment.

8. Limit the food you buy in packaging.

This one can be difficult because so much of our food does come in plastic packaging. Sometimes this is for sanitation, but most often this is for convenience. Often, packaging contains air to make the package look fuller than it actually is, to trick people into thinking they’re getting a better deal.

Food that comes in packaging is often processed, if not ultra-processed, and these foods are now tied to many diseases, including diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. These foods lack nutrition, often contain toxic chemicals, and are bad for the environment. You can be good to your body and the environment by avoiding, or at least limiting, these items. Focus on shopping the perimeter, buying whole or minimally processed foods, and limit the packaged foods as much as you’re able. If you buy meat and dairy, avoiding packaging is sometimes just not possible. Do your best.

LIMIT the amount of processed foods, a.k.a. convenience foods, that you eat. There’s so much plastic in frozen microwave meals, microwavable soups, applesauce or tuna packets, and dairy products like single-serve yogurt cups or pouches. Canned soups and vegetables are often lined with BPA, and if they’re not, they’re often lined with something else that has not yet been tested on human health. The cardboard cartons that contain broth, soups, non-dairy shelf-stable milk, etc., are lined with plastic and foil, and these cannot be recycled because they contain too many materials that have to be separated. You can learn more about those in Part 4 of my Packaging Series.

“Despite…packaging breakthroughs, the actual safety and nutritional value of processed foods is often questionable.” -Daniel Imhoff, Paper or Plastic

9. Buy from bulk bins.

If you have access to a store with bulk bins, use those whenever possible. If you can find a food item in bulk, you’re able to skip the packaging altogether. Grains, beans, granola, spices, nuts, dried fruit, candy, flour, and cornmeal are just some of the items you can find in bulk, depending on where you live. Referring back to #4, I regularly buy my coffee from bulk coffee bins at Whole Foods. I can grind the beans at the store and take them home in a reusable jar or coffee bag.

I now bring my own glass Ball jars to Whole Foods. They weigh the jars at customer service and take off the tare, or weight, of the jar at checkout. This works best for me since I’m going to store my food items in glass jars anyway. I save time and mess by not having to transfer the food from a bag to a jar. You can buy them at almost every supermarket these days!

Buying from bulk bins allows you to buy the exact amounts you need, which can save you money and limit waste.

10. Bring your own leftover containers.

Carry your own take-out/leftover containers. I know this sounds crazy, but it’s not – and it’s easy! I keep two glass Pyrex containers with lids in my car, next to my reusable bags. When I go to a restaurant, I just grab one to take home my leftovers. No one objects, and often I get compliments from the restaurant staff for doing this. Last, leftovers are often boxed in styrofoam or polystyrene, which contains chemicals and toxins you don’t want in your food.

I also like Ecolunchbox and IKEA glass containers.

11. Stop buying plastic wrap and switch to beeswax wraps.

Historically, plastic wrap was made from petroleum-based plastics, such as polyethylene (PE), polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), or polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Modern food-grade plastic wrap is made from low-density polyethylene (LDPE), which is considered safer, but it’s still disposable plastic.

Switch to beeswax wraps, which are usually made of cotton and a blend of beeswax, jojoba oil, and/or resin. These are generally safe for all foods. Avoid wrapping hot food in them because it can melt the wax. Also, don’t use these for raw meat.

You can purchase them in an array of colors and designs, or even make your own. I personally find that the Abeego brand lasts a really long time, but these are now sold everywhere online, and you can sometimes find them at craft fairs.

Extra tip: These now come in a vegan option, if beeswax doesn’t work for you. Just search for “vegan reusable food wraps.”

12. Invest in a set of silicone zipper bags.

Stop buying Ziploc bags, since these are also made of disposable plastic. Many brands sell silicone reusable zipper bags, and many grocery stores and supermarkets now carry them. Just make sure you purchase real silicone and not a plastic knockoff.

I personally like and use Stasher brand bags, since these are real silicone, the zipper works perfectly, and they are top rack dishwasher safe. They are a little expensive, so we actually bought one or two per month for a while to build up our little collection.

Extra tip: If you still have Ziploc bags in your home, use them! You can wash these a few times before you have to throw them away. But don’t buy more going forward.

13. BUY milk and juice in refillable glass jugs.

Some stores sell milk and juice in reusable glass containers, often by the quart and half-gallon. You pay a deposit and receive the deposit back once you return them – it’s a great system! We did this for several years, and I loved doing it! We’ve since gone mostly dairy-free in our home, but it’s still an option I use for the occasional milk product or juice.

14. Fill a jug.

REFILL water in your own refillable glass jug if you buy water by the gallon. You can even use a growler (just make sure you wash it well if switching between beer and water). They look like the one pictured, but often, if a grocery store has a water station, they also sell jugs for filling. I bought mine at Whole Foods for $9.99 (a cost I’m happy to cover instead of having a plastic jug end up in the ocean). Since then, I found several others at Goodwill for just $2 each! I sanitized them, and now we have plenty of containers for water (or beer!).

Extra tip: If you’re a draft beer connoisseur, you’ll refer to these jugs as “growlers.” These are an eco-friendly way to drink draft beer!

Another option is to implement a water filtration system in your home. We have a Berkey Water Filter system, but there are many types of water filtration systems available.

My brother-in-law and his wife installed an under-sink water filter in their house. They installed it where the sink sprayer used to be, and they only have to change the filter every 6 months! There’s a ton of DIY instructions online if you want to install one.

Final Thought

Anne-Marie Bonneau, the Zero-Waste Chef, noted that if you do the shopping for your household, you control what comes into your home. So, if you don’t buy and bring disposables home, everyone in your home will make do with what they find in the kitchen. This is such a good point to remember!

I hope this guide is helpful to you! Leave me questions or comments below. Thank you for reading.

Additional Resources:

Series of articles, “The Packaging Industry and How We Can Consume Differently,” written by Marie Cullis at becauseturtleseatplasticbags.com.

Book, Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too, by Beth Terry, Skyhorse Publishing, New York, 2015. ISBN 9781632206657.

Article, “100 Steps to a Plastic-Free Life,” myplasticfreelife.com, accessed November 5, 2020.

Book, 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste, by Kathryn Kellogg, The Countryman Press, New York, 2019. ISBN 9781682683316.

Book, Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life by Reducing Your Waste, by Bea Johnson, Scribner, New York, 2013. ISBN 9781451697681.

Book, The Zero-Waste Chef: Plant-Forward Recipes and Tips for a Sustainable Kitchen and Planet, by Anne-Marie Bonneau, Avery, New York, 2021. ISBN 9780593188774.