Over the past several years there we have seen a lot of positive movement away from single use plastics, as well as the use of alternate materials instead of plastic.

For example, those disposable plastic zipper bags that are so prevalent in our kitchens. We now have zipper baggies made from silicone we can use to stash our sandwiches and snacks, and these can be washed and use over and over again. Great! Right?

Well, of course it is great they are reusable rather than being added to our landfill after a few hours of containing something. Obviously, any time an item has a longer life span instead of being used once and tossed is a step in the right direction. Seeing silicone so often replacing plastic products I began to wonder how positive is this switch, really? Are we embracing silicone so quickly that it’s eventually going to become the new plastic in terms of waste and disposal issues? This is a subject I want to dig into deeper, and plan to write about this often.

I am passionate about learning more and sharing recycling myths, tips, do’s and don’ts and innovations. We have been given the ‘Reduce, Re-Use, Recycle’ mantra for a long time, and we seem to be in a growth phase of understanding better the reality of what each of those words can mean in our lives.

Back to silicone vs plastic: Here is the admittedly VERY oversimplified break down of what I have learned in quick search.

• Silicone is durable and often used to make alternatives to single use plastic products.

• While it is technically a recyclable material, it degrades when processed so it is actually considered down cycling.

• There are very few facilities reprocess silicone at this time.

• Silicone’s ability to withstand high heat makes it a great material to use in lots of products, yet not so easy to recycle.

• Silicone in landfills doesn’t seem to be as toxic as plastic, but it actually takes even longer to break down than plastic does.

I am curious to learn more about this and will share my education with you as I go. For me, I plan to keep thinking about the items I use and what the full life span of the materials are. The process from the raw materials to the end of life, as well as how many lives that material can realistically have, are important to me to consider.

What are your thoughts on silicone and how prevalent it is becoming? I would love to hear from you.