I’m not a big fan of plastic, and never have been. From replacing my plastic straws for glass ones, and swapping plastic bags for reusable ones, I’ve slowly, over the years, ditched my dependence on plastic.
We all know that plastic is destroying our oceans and environment, but are we actively taking part in doing something about it? Making the simple decision to just STOP buying plastic needs to be a conscious decision that we make not only for ourselves, but the future generations, the wildlife, and the planet.
6 Reasons Why Glass Is Better Than Plastic
Once you understand the benefits of using glass over plastic, you’ll slowly overcome the need to use anything from baggies to straws and storage containers.
Here are 6 reasons why glass is superior to plastic:
1. Helps The Planet
Using glass instead of plastic reduces landfill waste by a long shot. It also saves energy on the inefficiency of plastic recycling. Plus, glass storage containers last longer than plastic ones, reducing the amount of times you’re needlessly throwing away. Glass containers essentially last forever, unless you break one. Even then, recycling glass is far more environmentally friendly than that which goes into recycling plastic. Recycling glass uses less energy, and no toxins are produced in it’s recycling (unlike those released when plastic is recycled).
2. Enhances Food Flavour
I cannot stress this point enough. Storing your food in glass will significantly extend the flavour and quality of your food. I am extremely sensitive to smell and taste, and I can always tell when something has been sitting in plastic for too long. Glass helps repel food odours and residual flavours. Plus, food reheated in glass tastes much better than food reheated in plastic (plus, reheating in plastic releases harmful toxins into your food, no matter how safe a company claims their product to be).
3. Keeps Food Safe
Glass is overall much safer to store food into than plastic. Although there is a huge trend with BPA-free plastic containers, that isn’t the only chemical we should be worried about in plastic. In fact, many companies that make their products BPA-free replace BPA with similarly harmful chemicals like bisphenol S (BPS) and bisphenol F (BPF). These chemicals from plastic containers may migrate from the plastic, into your food (especially considering that plastic is so porous). If you tend to reheat your food in plastic containers, this increases the likelihood that your food contains harmful leached chemicals.
Fortunately, glass containers do not leach unwanted, poisonous chemicals when in contact with food. Glass is inert, non-porous, and natural. It can be used over and over again, and reheated with food inside, without any threat of chemicals leaching into your food.
4. Durability
After some use, plastic containers will have scratches, discolouration and can lose their shape. Glass food storage containers are designed to last longer, as they are more durable and do not break down over time, unlike plastic. Glass containers can be reused repeatedly, and washed over and over again in the dishwasher at the highest temperature without ever sacrificing shape and durability. Unless dropped, glass containers are by far superior to plastic ones.
5. Cleanliness
Glass storage containers ease food prep, serving and clean-up. You can effortlessly move your glass containers from the freezer to un-thaw in the fridge (or counter). Then you can heat it up, and eat it right out of the glass dish if you want. Plus, using glass means that you can see your food through the container and decide whether it needs to be eaten soon before it goes bad (thus, reducing food waste). Washing and cleaning glass is also so much easier than cleaning plastic. Plastic is more porous than glass, and so it tends to absorb the smells and food particles of whatever was stored inside. Glass doesn’t do this!
6. Saves Money
Although glass storage containers are more expensive than plastic, they last longer, and could potentially last a lifetime if not broken. This means that by the time you’ve cycled through 100 plastic containers, you’d still have your original glass containers. Imagine all the money that could be saved? Think in the long-run when buying food storage containers!
What Kind Of Glass Should I Buy?
When it comes to glass storage, you should always keep in mind the type of glass you’re using. I was recently sent some glass jars from Infinity Jars, who uses a special pigmented deep-violet glass that is thicker and more durable than your standard glass. It is smell-proof, blocks harmful UV light, and is visually discreet.
Compared to other jars (like amber or clear), Infinity Jars have the ability to preserve cosmetics (like lip balms or lotions), dried herbs, essential oils, cooking oil, or other homemade creations for over 6 months without anything going bad. They slow down the decaying process of organic matter, while maintaining the freshness of whatever you put inside. By blocking out all harmful visible light rays, and selectively allowing infrared and UV-A rays, these jars ensure your herbs, spices, cosmetics and oils last long, and taste great (in respect to anything you store in them that you may consume).
Because I juice a lot, and I’m always taking my juices with me, I require proper jars that will preserve all the nutrients in my juice for longer periods. Most of the glass jars I’ve used previously were clear glass and did not protect from visible light rays, the main source of light that can quickly oxidize fresh plant matter (this does not include beneficial UV-A light, which the jars allow to permeate). The deep violet glass that Infinity Jars uses helps greatly with maximizing nutrient quality – plus they have the perfect 1 litre bottle, with a BPA-free plastic cap that creates an airtight, leakproof seal.
When you make a juice, they should normally be consumed within an hour to prevent oxidation of nutrients. However, with Infinity Jars, this oxidation rate slows dramatically, because the juice is not exposed to the light that enhance degradation. You also need to keep in mind the amount of oxygen that reaches the top juice layer, so always topping up your juice with a little bit of water until it hits the very top will help minimize oxidation even further.
The 1 litre bottle can also be used as a water bottle, which I have also been using it for. It can be brought on hikes, to work, or anywhere you’d normally take bottled water. Plus, it is environmentally friendly! Getting rid of your plastic bottle habit is probably one of the most important steps you could take to save the planet of dreadful plastic waste.
The other Infinity Jar that I was sent was the 1 litre screw top wide mouth jar. I absolutely love this jar for storing my freshly made almond milk, or for using it to store smoothies in. You could also use it to store tea blends in, homemade granola or trail mix blends. It is watertight and airtight, smell proof and leakproof. It also prevents harmful UV rays from entering, while permitting beneficial light like infrared and certain ultraviolet waves to permeate. This means longer lasting goods!
Although Infinity Jars do not sell food storage containers, they are still great for everything else (and they have SUCH a huge selection of glass jars – you really need to check them out)! If you’re interested in purchasing from Infinity Jars, or want to see what they’re all about, check them out here.
Disclaimer: All views and opinions are my own. This particular product review was not sponsored or paid for in any way by the manufacturer. However, the manufacturer did give me the product for testing and review purposes.
Leave a Reply