2nd January, 2006

The kitchen can be a minefield when you are trying to be eco-friendly. Start with paper towels and paper napkins—a definite no-no. But how can we give up aluminium foil—it saves hours of pot scrubbing. The answer: 100% recycled aluminium foil, which uses a fraction of the energy needed to smelt aluminium. And the clingy plastic film that is so essential for wrapping up leftovers and covering smelly food? Instead use food covers made of 100% food-grade silicone which are reusable, pliable to fit all types of dishes and containers and good for the freezer. And then there are those plastic bags—so bad and so handy for just about everything… The answer: biodegradable corn starch bags which come in every size. They are now officially certified as fully compostable and made from 100% GM-free cornstarch. For the garbage can: large bin bags made from potato starch or 100% recycled polythene, also bio-degradable. And a special treat—a professional, high-specification digital scale made out of hemp plastic. The base is made from a blend of natural hemp fibres fused into a plastic compound to create a strong and lightweight new material. Keeping a greener kitchen suddenly seems like a real possibility.