7 Reasons To Use Beeswax Wrap Instead of Plastic Cling Wrap
I’m often asked what easy, safe, effective swaps can be made in the kitchen. Replacing single and multi use plastics are my Safer Swaps Specialty. Plastics are not only unhealthy for our bodies, they are also unhealthy for our earth. I want to help you ditch Plastic Cling Wrap once and for all! Today I’m going to share with you 7 Reasons To Use Beeswax Wrap Instead of Plastic Cling Wrap. It’s a common sense, easy swap that I know you will love!
What are the benefits of Beeswax Wraps?
Beeswax Wrap Lasts a Long Time & Saves You Money
Reusable products are long-lasting, help reduce waste, and save money. Think about your experience plastic wrap… It’s rarely able to be used more than once. It folds over and clings to itself and tends to rip when stretching it. It’s a headache! Beeswax wraps are reusable and last up to a whole year.
Beeswax Wrap Helps Food Stay Fresh Longer
Plastic is a durable material, but it’s not breathable, meaning it can cause fresh foods to get hot and wilt.
Beeswax acts like a natural barrier (similar to how the skin of a fruit protects the flesh), but it’s still breathable, so food stays fresher, longer.
Beeswax Wrap Is Biodegradable
Over time the protective wax coating on your beeswax wrap will wear away.
Once your beeswax wrap has come to the end of its useful life, bury it in the backyard. Unlike plastic cling wrap, beeswax wraps will biodegrade. Score 1 for Mother Earth!
Beeswax Wrap Reduces Waste & Is Safer For Wildlife and the Environment
Waste, particularly plastic waste, is a big problem for the planet and local wildlife.
Looking for sustainable alternatives to plastic is a great way to reduce household waste and the potential for plastic to cause problems in the local environment.
Switching from plastic to beeswax is one less plastic pollutant in the environment that finds its way into our water and soil and thereby into us.
Beeswax is a safer switch for our health!
Plastic wrap in the United States is made of polyvinyl chloride or PVC and contains a “plasticizer” called di(2-ethylhexyl) adipate (DEHA). DEHA is not a phthalate but is chemically very similar to the phthalate DEHP.
Studies in the 1990s showed that DEHA could cause liver tumors in mice, and other studies showed that DEHA migrates from plastic wrap into food—especially in high-fat foods such as cheese. In addition, a 1998 study by Consumers Union tested plastic-wrapped foods and found DEHA levels higher than what is recommended and even permitted by European advisory committees and regulatory agencies. The FDA, however, has not established a limit for how much DEHA is safe in our food because there is insufficient data on its health effects on humans. No government body has officially classified it as a cancer-causing chemical.
Plastic Beeswax Has Antimicrobial Properties
Like honey, beeswax has been shown to have antimicrobial properties that help keep things clean which is great when dealing with food.
Beeswax is Better Than Aluminum Foil Too!
Aluminum foil is actually far worse for the environment than plastic wrap across the board – use of fossil fuels, water pollution, human health impacts, and greenhouse gas emissions. Aluminum will leach into your food at unsafe levels and has been associated with Alzheimer’s, bone diseases, and can even reduce your brain cells (yikes!).
@greenlivingdetective, thank you for your post about foil. I usually do not let foil touch my food but I did assume it was better for the environment than plastic. I was so wrong.