Over on Twitter, fairygirl25 (aka Elizabeth) asked us:

how can u reuse plastic wrap after u use it once in the microwave?

We don’t use plastic wrap in the microwave so I’m not sure how it changes it to stop you being able to reuse it like ordinary plastic wrap/cling film/saran wrap again. Could anyone shed any light on that? Do you reuse plastic wrap?

(Instead of plastic wrap, we use lids or off-set plates on top of bowls for steaming/heat retention. That seems to work for everything we do in there – but admittedly that’s not much. If you have a microwave, what do you use?)

As for recycling, plastic wrap is usually hard to recycle as it’s PVC based (resin code 3) but some stuff is now LDPE (resin code 4) so may be accepted in some recycling facilities. Check on the packaging to find out what you’ve got and ask your local authorities for their advice.

(Apologies for the lack of posts over the last few days – one of our beloved cats died very, very suddenly on Monday night and it threw me somewhat. :( )

Last week, during our lunch themed week, I asked about alternatives to plastic bags & film wraps for packed lunches and it made me think about reusable alternatives to disposable cling film/foil in the kitchen general.

We’ve not really used film for years – a combination of deliberately wanting to avoid using it and being burned buying a couple of rolls of really not clingy clingfilm. I occasionally, when I’m in a rush, use a bit of tin foil as a temporary lid but mostly I use proper lids – we’ve got a selection of random lids which largely fit our standard eating bowls, and we’ve got some plastic can covers.

The downside with the plastic can covers is they only work for cans that are precisely standard size. That’s why I like these homemade reusable bowl covers. They’re elasticated so can be used on a range of sizes of cans, bowls and assorted tubs. A great, simple idea!

What have you done to reduce the use of disposable covers/wraps like cling film/saran wrap in your kitchen?

A few years ago, I bought a box of supermarket value cling film (aka plastic wrap, saran wrap, cellophane) but in the process of making it value, the producers seem to have left out the cling.

I don’t use it much anyway (more of a fan of re-usable tubs) but whenever I do use it, it’s absolutely infuriating because it doesn’t stick to the bowl/pan in question, or to itself, thereby rendering itself utterly pointless as a thorough covering. Grrr.

So any suggestions on what I can use it – essentially just very thin plastic sheeting – for instead?

(Photo by Ilmari Karonen, c/o Wikipedia)