Plastic Food Storage Containers Put in Recycling Cart/Bin Make sure containers are empty and scraped before tossing in the recycling. Buy Durable Reusable Containers Buy reusable food containers that are durable. Avoid flimsy ones that will need to be thrown out soon after you buy them. Don’t Reheat Food in Plastic All plastics contain harmful chemicals that can leach into your food when they’re heated. Before reheating food in a microwave, transfer it from a plastic container to a plate or glass dish. Don’t put plastics in the dishwasher, which uses hot water and steam, wash them by hand with lukewarm water instead. Ways to Reduce Glass and Ceramic Are the Best Options Cut down on your plastic food storage containers by purchasing glass or ceramic food containers, which last longer than the plastic ones. Furthermore, glass and ceramic containers can be microwaved more safely than plastic containers, and you can put them in your dishwasher. Did You Know? Which Plastics Are Safest? According to National Geographic’s The Green Guide, plastics #2, #4 and #5 are the safest for repeatedly storing your food. If you reuse items made from plastics #1, #3, #6 and #7 (some Tupperware products are made from #7), you run the risk of having toxic chemicals leach into the contents.
