We collected a few pro tips and broke them down in categories to make them easy for you to pick the ones that are most practical for your life.

Cooking and Food Prep

• Don’t put plastic food storage containers in the microwave. Instead, transfer your leftovers to a ceramic or glass dish before reheating.
• Replace old plastic containers. If it’s brittle, etched, or cracked, throw it out. When you buy new storage containers, go for glass, stainless steel, or silicone.
• Transfer frozen food to a different container before cooking.
  Instead of putting frozen meals or steam-in-bag vegetables straight into the microwave, dump into a ceramic or glass bowl and cover with a silicone microwave cover. Same with oven-baked meals (like lasagna), which often come in plastic or plastic-lined paper containers. Take it out of its container and stick it in a glass baking dish.
• Toss old nonstick pans. That slick coating can leach chemicals and particles every time it gets hot, especially if it’s scratched. Once your nonstick pans start to look cracked or peeled, it’s definitely a good idea to get rid of them. When you buy a new pan, stick with stainless steel, cast-iron, or ceramic.
• Chuck banged-up plastic cutting boards. They release lots of little particles every time you chop. Replace them with wooden boards when you can.
• Swap out your stovetop utensils. These get hot when used on the stovetop. Consider investing in wooden, silicone, or metal spoons and spatulas for cooking.

Grocery Shopping

• Buy fewer ultra-processed foods. Lots of foods contain some microplastics thanks to environmental contamination, like fish and even fresh veggies. But food is exposed to more plastic during processing; the more processed the food is, the more likely it is to have plastic in it. For example, one study found instant rice contains many more microplastics than uncooked rice; another showed frozen breaded shrimp contains significantly more microplastics than plain chicken breast. And plastic food packaging can release more microplastics.
• Buy in bulk. If you want to cut down on plastic packaging, head to the bulk aisle. Instead of buying snack packs of nuts, for instance, buy in bulk and divvy it up into silicone baggies.
• Skip the single-use bottled water. Bottled water has a lot of plastic in it. It’s okay to grab one in a pinch, but don’t make it your go-to. And don’t reuse it or leave it in a warm place as this increases the chance that plastic will leach into the liquid.
• Use a refillable metal or glass water bottle. Yes, tap water contains some microplastics. Exactly how much depends on the water source, how it’s treated, and your home filtering system – but the levels are generally much lower than bottled water.

Take-out

• Order in less. When you do, just don’t reheat those leftovers in the takeout container.
• Use your own silverware. 
• Bring your own coffee cup. Most disposable cups are coated with heat-resistant plastic lining and most lids are plastic. Pour a piping hot latte in there, and microplastics are more likely to come off.