I’ve Gotten Rid of All the Plastic Scrubbers, Sponges, and Brushes in My Kitchen

In the past few years, Blueland has supplanted most of the cleaning products in my house. Its dish tabs are entirely plastic-free and made from naturally derived enzymes. Everything comes out of my dishwasher reliably grime-free and shiny. Conventional dish-fluid tabs like those from Cascade are encased with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) film, a water-soluble synthetic polymer. There has been anongoing debateover whether these dissolve toxins and microplastics into our environment, but there’s no need to jump into the kerfuffle when you can just avoid them completely.

This is simply my favorite sponge. One side is made from Forest Stewardship Council–certified cellulose (so it’s made from plant matter), and the other is made of natural loofah (basically a dried gourd). The two sides are stitched together with cotton thread. Synthetic sponges are often made from polyester or polyurethane, both of which leach microplastics. Scrub Daddy sponges are made from polycaprolactone, which is derived from petroleum and is a thermoplastic, allowing it to change its texture according to the temperature of the water. The Blueland scrub sponge works just as well as the Scrub Daddy and often performs better than standard green and yellow kitchen sponges.

I first saw this set in a client’s home when I was working as a private chef, then went online and purchased it before I was even done cooking dinner. I was shocked at how effectively the sisal brush could remove burnt-on residue on stainless-steel pans.

The linendish towelsI use in my kitchen were made byKitchen Garden Textiles, a line of eco-friendly linens for both commercial and home kitchens, but its founder, Heidi Barr, has since folded the company and became the driving force behind thePA Flax Project, which aims to organize farmers to reestablish the flax-linen industry in Pennsylvania. These are the closest I could find to Barr’s, which have held up in my kitchen even after years of use. Once they do disintegrate, my chef-husband has used them to wrap porchetta before grilling, which keeps marinades in and meat moist. Linen is compostable and it has been fun to play around with it in cooking, as one might with banana leaves.

Since I’m pretty devoted to nontoxic cleaning solutions, I tend not to worry too much about wearing gloves when cleaning. If you are really opposed to getting your hands dirty or need some protection, these If You Care gloves are made from FSC-certified latex with a cotton lining.

Since I use gloves so infrequently, I’ll usually reach for single-use ones so I don’t have to worry about having a place in a small kitchen to dry and keep rubber ones.

While I often use a dry Swiffer with a terry-cloth cotton towel to clean my kitchen floors (you’re not going to find a plastic-free Swiffer), I once found myself in a hardware store in Bologna where I picked up a horsehair and wood brush. This similar one is, like mine, made entirely without plastic. I use it to sweep up crumbs.

I fell in love with walnut dish scrub pads when I was testing products for our guide to thebest dish spongesand was pretty bummed when I found that most on the market still contained plastic — many of them use materials like recycled water bottles combined with walnut shell, which is better than using virgin plastic but would still release microplastics as the pad degrades. Thankfully, these coconut-coir (derived from coconut husks) dish scrubbers are just as abrasive without scratching up pans and dishes.

The Strategist is also a longtime fan of thisJapanese scrubber, made from hemp palm fibers.

If you’re looking for the structural integrity and stretchability of a conventional kitchen trash bag, you’re probably not going to find it in a bag made from cornstarch. Compostable, plastic-free bags have many great applications, such as picking up pet waste or lining compost containers, for instance, but for kitchen refuse, you might have to be willing to binder clip them to the bin and to treat them with extra care. Be careful when buying them in bulk, because they can degrade in storage, depending on your climate.

I’ve been really impressed with Cleancult’s products, which are not only plastic-neutral certified throughRepurpose Globalbut whose toxin-free formulations seem to work exceptionally well, even when it comes to the dirtiest countertops and oiliest dishes. Its Pink Grapefruit spray cleaner comes in an aluminum bottle (there’s not a whole lot one can do to avoid a plastic spray nozzle, unfortunately). It leaves my wooden kitchen island satiny after wiping, and I also use it on mirrors and stainless-steel surfaces since it leaves them neither cloudy nor streaky.

This dish soap lathers really nicely and smells fresh without being aggressively scented. Plus, its refill comes in a milk carton. Yes, there’s a plastic cap, but that seems to be the only plastic component in its packaging. You can also purchase the same dish soap in analuminum pump bottle, but since I have so many pump bottles saved I did not feel the need to purchase the aluminum one. The soap easily cuts through greasy and oily dishes, without me having to use too much elbow grease, and it leaves even my crystal glassware sparkling.